Candlebox's first effort in 10 years sure to please fans

Candlebox, ''Into the Sun'' (Silent Majority/ILG Records)

Candlebox never found a true place among the pantheon of '90s bands. Unfairly lumped in with the grunge crowd (maybe because they are from Seattle), they eventually vanished after being shunned for their hard blues and classic rock approach.

Ten years after their last release, Candlebox returns with three of its four founding members in tow on ''Into the Sun.''

Fans of the band's smash hits like ''You'' and ''Far Behind'' -- which remain in heavy rotation on rock radio -- are again likely to be enthralled with Kevin Martin's soaring vocals and Peter Klett's chugging riffs and melodic psychedelia-infused leads.

They show they mean business with aggressive riffs and thunderous drums on ''Stand'' and ''How Does it Feel,'' offer the funky rock of '' ... Brewin'' and add a touch of trippy blues to ''Surrendering'' and the title track.

''Miss You'' is a melodic rocker with a crisp acoustic touch, ''A Kiss Before Dying'' soars high on Martin's wailing and disc closer ''Consider Us'' offers some surprising piano balladry.

Fans of '90s rock are sure to dig ''Into the Sun'' for the fun stroll down memory lane that it is -- unfortunately most everyone else probably won't even notice.

CHECK THIS TRACK OUT: The organ-driven ballad ''Breathe Me In'' offers a dreamy intro and slowly builds to a fist-pumping climax.

Music review: Nothing of value in new 'Dylan' DVD

Bob Dylan, ''Down the Tracks: The Music that Influenced Bob Dylan'' (Eagle Media)

Bob Dylan seems to bring the armchair scholar out of everyone.

In the latest derivative documentary on rock 'n' roll's unwilling crown prince, a half-dozen of them lead us down a very familiar path chock full of warmed-over insights into our most celebrated living musician.

There is no fresh material here. Dylan's influences have been obvious for more than 40 years. And while the uninitiated might find ''Down the Tracks'' helpful, anyone with even a thimbleful of Dylan knowledge will find this old news.

Dylan is an enigma, a chameleon and a trickster. Just when you think you've got him nailed down, he

says or does something

unexpected.

Pushing him into neat little boxes like ''Down the Tracks'' director Steve Gammond tries to do isn't worth the effort, and his attempt to liven things up with appearances by artists like The Handsome Family and Stacey Earle mostly fail.

Most irksome is a nearly complete lack of Dylan performances, footage or interviews. We get a few minutes of fuzzy images of home video quality, but little else. And what little interesting footage there is of Dylan influences like Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie and Blind Willie McTell is often marred by voiceovers.

Anyone looking for keen insight on Dylan would be better off getting it from a documentary like ''Don't Look Back'' from the 1960s. Or even better, take home Martin Scorsese's ''No Direction Home,'' which features a cagey Dylan at his confounding and contradictory best.