The Thorns make rosy debut

If the Eagles are looking for an opening act on its Soak Your Wallet tour of America this summer, The Thorns would be perfect.\nThe band, a supergroup featuring Matthew Sweet, Pete Droge and Shawn Mullins, has mastered the hazy country-rock vibe the Eagles made famous, and no, I don't mean that as a dis. In fact, the Eagles aren't this band's biggest inspiration; they sound more like Crosby, Stills and Nash or later-period Byrds.\nFor the record, I am a sucker for harmonies, and this album has a boatload of them. Sweet, especially, has worked harmonies beautifully into his power pop records, often his own, with the harmonies echoing against his dire feelings.\nDroge and Mullins are minor talents compared to Sweet. Droge always aping Tom Petty and Mullins coming off as a southern-fried Billy Joel. They do a nice job of keeping up here though. The all-star studio backing band behind them, including Jim Keltner on drums and Greg Leisz on lap and pedal steel guitars, helps.\nWant happy lyrics? Stay away. The lyrics are often about feeling down. Then again, if you spent a lot of money for Eagles' tickets, they might come in handy.