A3: La Peste

By the time "Woke Up This Morning" became a hit, though, A3 had already been dropped by Geffen, its first major American label. It was due only to the success of The Sopranos that the band got a second chance, this time with Columbia. We're lucky it did, because A3's second album, La Peste, is a tighter, more confident record than its predecessor.

Exile on Coldharbour Lane had two major faults. One was the pervasiveness of country music influences, which sounded tired in the A3's hands. The other was the band's inside-joke role-playing game that had members assuming names like The Very Reverend Dr. D. Wayne Love, Sir Real "Congaman" Love and Mississippi Guitar Love. Almost every song was prefaced with a spoken-word diatribe on Love, God, or The Blues, a practice that got really old really fast.

On La Peste, the schtick is gone and the country has been toned down. While the band members still use assumed names, interludes are few and far between, and A3 seems more at ease letting the music speak for itself. Instead of country, the band has wisely chosen to draw more heavily from gospel, soul, and blues, musical styles that blend much better with its techno/house foundation. Songs like "Mansion on the Hill" and "Walking in My Sleep" resonate with the spirit of Delta blues even as they incorporate George Clinton-style funk beats.

A3 really strikes gold with its cover of "Hotel California." The band provides a shocking reminder of just how dark and sinister The Eagles' overplayed original is, as the combination of ghostly, gospel-tinged backing vocals and Larry Love's gravelly bass voice gives fresh meaning to the lines "Such a lovely place/such a lovely face." It's the kind of song, much like "Woke Up This Morning," that leaves you frightened long after the 100th time you've heard it. (Columbia)

—Dan Feder

Back to A&E...