"Street Man Named Desire" may not be the most clear-cut metaphor given the phrase's origins, but if you're going to make literary allusions, you can do worse than Tennessee Williams. While that's the title tune, the
Allman and
Doobie Brothers influences in the instrumental "Mystery Ship" tell more about the band -- namely, that they're a tamed biker band. The Pirates are good-natured renegades, but they never take the image too far. So "Mississippi Homegrown" is about music, not marijuana (and contains another Williams reference), "The Hard Side of Love" only hints at the Southern boogie the guys might have in them, and "All Your Eyes Can See" is a tender love song for the ladies. Powerful in spots, the album is pedestrian in others. ~ Brian Mansfield