While Enuff Z'nuff's 1989 debut boasted a Cheap Trick-meets-Van Halen bravura, the follow-up to that album, Strength, suffers from the worst sort of Beatlesque ambition. Determined not to repeat itself, the band wildly overreaches with the mawkish balladry of "Goodbye," the belabored embellishments of the title track and the clumsiest of social commentary in "Mother's Eyes," which includes the following insight: "Nothing can change/Til we arrange/All of life's important fingers on one hand."

Yet for all its growing pains and signs of strain, Strength suggests that Enuff Z'Nuff remains a band worth watching. Derek Frigo is a burgeoning guitar hero (his father, violin virtuoso Johnny Frigo, guests on two tracks), while the songwriting team of frontman Donnie Vie and bassist Chip Z'Nuff combines metal and melody with the in-your-face popcraft of "Heaven or Hell" and "Baby Loves You."

Even at its best, however, Enuff Z'Nuff remains derivative, and the music that hits the hardest shows that attitude will take this band further than originality ever could. From the slam-bang intensity of "Long Way to Go" to the deadpan wit of "Holly Wood Ya" to the best Badfinger knockoff in years with the album closer, "Time to Let You Go." Enuff Z'Nuff retains a cheeky charm that is difficult to resist. More than likely, the weaknesses of Strength represent a misstep rather than a dead end. (RS 603)

DON MCLEESE