Searching for John Doe

"A Year in the Wilderness" is probably an apt title for a CD by a guy named John Doe, but if you're wandering through your local music store and you stumble across a copy of it, I heartily encourage you to give it a listen.

There's some good Replacements-era barroom rock, some dusty, soul-searching, Springsteenish acoustic grit, and a few other tasty licks, including "Darling Underdog," which features a quirky organ interlude that, coupled with Doe's rich baritone, echoes the Doors.

Which sort of makes sense, given the shared LA roots of the Doors and Doe's seminal punk quartet, X. In fact, X covered the Doors' "Soul Kitchen" and "The Crystal Ship," and Manzarek produced their first album, "Los Angeles." So maybe I'm not imagining things.

Anyway, here's my official review, so check it out.