Blue Rodeo goes prog rock, why?

It's been 18 years since Blue Rodeo formed, and in that time it has certainly learned what it takes to create a great album. Palace of Gold is well produced with strong instrumentals, swelling orchestras and the same heartfelt lyrics that have made Blue Rodeo so popular in its home country of Canada and even earned it moderate success here in the states.\nThe strange thing is, even with all these strong elements combined, they make for an unimpressive album. With each record since its 1987 debut, Outskirts, bandleaders Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor have been expanding the group's repertoire, but Palace of Gold traveled too far down the wrong road.\nMany of the songs are strongly influenced by the bad half of '70s pop, which the band clearly isn't comfortable with. "Cause for Sympathy" strangely channels the spirit of Jeff Lynne, even though he hasn't done us the favor of dying just yet.\nThere are a few good tracks on this album. Those tunes that hearken back to its country/rock roots aren't Rodeo's greatest accomplishments by any means, but do show what potential the band does have. \nThis album was originally released in October 2002, but has inexplicably returned to market now bearing three bonus tracks. These live cuts almost make the album worthwhile to faithful Rodeo fans. Almost, but not quite.