SHOVEL Glare Gouramie Records THE LINER NOTES say that Shovel is Joe, Kevin, Ryan and Scott. I don't know who's playing what, but they're doing an awfully fine job. The CD successfully captures the energy of the band's live performances, which local audiences have been raving about for several months. There are some quiet moments here, but most of it rocks with a truckload of great guitar work and solid drumming. See them live and you'll want to take them home with you--on CD, anyway. --Jennifer Murphy FLATHEAD Flathead Truxton Records A FINE EXPORT from up north, Phoenix trio Flathead delivers a solid set of bluegrass influenced roots rock on their debut CD. Recalling past legends like the Louvin Brothers and more contemporary acts like the Lonesome Strangers, this is definitely prime truck-stop music. Guitarist Greg Swanholms' guitar playing deserves special mention for propelling the music like a cross between James Burton and Dick Dale without seeming needlessly flashy. Get the disc and be sure to see Flathead on their next trip to Tucson. --Sean Murphy Smashing Pumpkins Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness Virgin Records AN UNQUALIFIED TWO-disc mess arranged for Mellotron and distortion pedal. No songs, just fragments and riffs strung together. One man's "sprawling epic" is another's sludgy pile of half-baked ideas; Electric Ladyland or Daydream Nation this ain't. Worse, Billy Corgan's passionless voice sounds like a herd of cows trying to sneer in unison. You care naught for his angst whether he wails "living makes me sick," or "the more you change the less you feel," or "Pop sodomized me." Duke Ellington said, "It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing." More recently, Keith Richards said he listens for the suggestion of Otis Redding in new music. Bottomline: you must acknowledge Africa. Corgan's so white he makes Michael Bolton look like a Swahili warrior. He may "rock" in the general sense--but he's never gonna roll. --Fred Mills

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