Dirty Side Down, the 11th studio album from Widespread Panic is setfor a May 25th release on ATO Records. Dirty Side Down is comprisedof 12 songs that incorporate Panic s unique blend of rock, jazz andblues inspired textures into songs flowing with melody, rhythm andemotion...

Filmed in Widespread Panic's hometown of Athens, Georgia, Panic in the Streets is evidence for the good people at Guinness to ponder as they try to verify the band's claim of hosting the "world's biggest CD release party," with up to 100,000 Spreadheads in attendance...

There's nothing wrong with being a jam band, so long as when the verses and choruses fade away and leave a little space, you can actually deliver the goods. Instrumental dexterity is important, sure, but so are hooks, melodies, and the other elements of pop songwriting...

Athens, Georgia's second most popular band does a little redecorating here, tightening up its patented sprawling jams into more manageable soundscapes and adding strings and horns to its already expansive musical palette...

"You gotta see 'em live" is the last defense of nearly every band who can't make a decent studio album. Widespread Panic, however, is one band whose studio efforts--such as Space Wrangler and Ain't Life Grand--have been quite good but still pale in comparison to this two-CD concert souvenir...