Additional personnel: Rusty Anderson (guitar); Danielle Brisebois (piano, background vocals); Paul Bushnell (bass).

Engineers include: Bob Wartinbee, Bill Cooper, Andre Berryman.

Personnel: Gregg Alexander (guitar, acoustic guitar, synthesizer); Rusty Anderson (guitar); Michael James (electric guitar); Danielle Brisebois (piano, background vocals); Mitch Kaplan, Greg Phillinganes, Paul Gordon (piano); John Freese, Matt Laug (drums); Lenny Castro, Juliet Prater (percussion).

Audio Mixers: Chris Lord-Alge; Curt Kroeger; Bob Wartinbee; Andre Berryman; Michael Brauer; Michael James ; Bill Cooper.

Photographer: Jill Greenberg.

Arranger: Gregg Alexander.

The more things change in music, the more they stay the same. The alternative rockers of the 1990s may have caused so-called corporate rockers like Poison and Bon Jovi to become less visible, but at the same time, the worship of 1970s baby boomer culture was alive and well among post-baby boomers. In 1998, one of the most memorable examples of 1970s-flavored music came from the New Radicals. Although Radicals singer/leader Gregg Alexander was quick to espouse a left-wing point of view, Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too doesn't beat listeners over the head with a sociopolitical agenda. Nor is the CD an exercise in angry 1990s angst rock. Rather, Alexander's band is a congenial and highly melodic throwback to the rock and blue-eyed soul of the early to mid-'70s. Alexander's vocals have a very Mick Jagger-ish quality, but while the Rolling Stones were a rock & roll band that occasionally dabbled in soul and funk, the Radicals favor pop/rock that is consistently mindful of classic Northern soul. Hook-happy offerings like "Jehovah Made This Whole Joint for You," "Flowers," and "Mother We Just Can't Get Enough" give the impression that Alexander holds the Stones and the artists of Motown Records in equally high regard. Without question, Brainwashed was among the more promising releases of late 1998. ~ Alex Henderson

On their debut MAYBE YOU'VE BEEN BRAINWASHED TOO, New Radicals meld sweeping hooks with aggressive harmonies and large dollops of stream-of-consciousness soul. Wunderkid Gregg Alexander is essentially New Radicals, with a voice that bounces between Karl Wallinger's husky rasp and Billy Corgan's nasal whine. His songs go by such odd monikers as "Jehovah Made This Whole Joint For You" and "Crying Like a Church On Monday." Having grown up with parents who switched religions like most people changed channels, it's no accident that Alexander avoids using heavy-handed didactic aphorisms to get his point across. Instead, his songwriting ranges from a tilt towards life's great mysteries (Amelia Earhardt's disappearance and the existence of Atlantis on "Someday We'll Know") to extolling the virtues of individualism in the face of media overload (the title track).

Throughout, New Radicals play with an exuberance reminiscent of Style Council's breezier moments ("Mother We Just Can't Get Enough") and the blue-eyed soulful side of Todd Rundgren ("In Need Of A Miracle.") Actress-cum-musician Danielle Brisebois contributes background vocals and piano and stands out particularly on the melancholy "I Don't Wanna Die Anymore."