Save Ferris: Modified : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

The only good thing about Save Ferris' 1997 ska-by-numbers destruction of Dexy's Midnight Runners' finest moment was that singer Monique Powell didn't change its title to "Come on Eric." This seven-person SoCal ensemble has clearly realized that giddy two-step rhythms and Eighties cheese-pop references couldn't sustain them. Modified is full of premature stabs by this poor-woman's No Doubt at something lasting: gratuitous turntable scratching ("The Only Way to Be"), Elvis Costello-oid art reggae ("Angry Situation"), shameless radio-programmer brown-nosing ("Turn It Up") and uncanny Sheryl Crow impersonations ("Holding On"). Smash Mouth recently pulled off a like-minded multipop transformation, but despite a similar knack for disposable hooks, Save Ferris don't boast the character to do the same. Even when the band is rocking full throttle, Powell sings as if she's belting out the latest Disney ballad. (RS 826)

BARRY WALTERS