Bands break up.

This leaves the individual band members at a crossroads.

Should the artist's solo material be more of the same or should it differ artistically?

When a band that had a fair amount of success parts ways, the first solo album to appear from an individual member is held to a high level of scrutiny. It seems that for every John Lennon there are a thousand Tommy Lees.

Which brings us to Chris Robinson's new CD, New Earth Mud.

Formerly the lead singer of the now on "extended hiatus" Black Crowes, Robinson uses his first solo jaunt to create a more acoustic and low-key musical experience than the Crowes' electric and boisterous southern-fried rock and roll.

While the Crowes were at their best when tearing through classic blues rock, Robinson seems determined to make his solo album a bit of a departure.

Almost every song could have been the one or two uninteresting slow songs on any Black Crowes CD, but instead they are all strung together into a boring and tedious blur.

That's not to say that the album is bad. It's just completely and totally uninteresting. After hearing one song, it might seem good, but after an hour of hearing the same thing over and over again, it gets really old really fast.

The first track, "Safe in the Arms of Love," is actually the best song. It's one of the few times on the album that Robinson shows any of his usual swagger. It's also one of several songs directed towards his wife, Kate Hudson.

And it's the only song for Hudson that doesn't sound totally ridiculous. Apparently, when it comes to Robinson's music, love is truly not the answer. It seems that he's taking the Paul McCartney route to solo success by trying to fill the world with silly love songs.

Songs like "Could You Really Love Me?," "Katie Dear," and "Barefoot by the Cherry Tree" all illustrate this point well. They are dull, repetitive and not very rock-and-roll, which is surprising since it comes from the lead singer of the self-proclaimed "most rock and roll rock-and-roll band in the world."

The few times Robinson gets away from solo acoustic stylings, it's with mixed results.

The funky "Ride" is a trainwreck. Funk is clearly not Robinson's strong suit. The song is repetitive, far too long and just plain bad.

On the other hand, "Sunday Sound" shows Robinson actually playing rock and doing it pretty well.

Is New Earth Mud bad?

Well no, it's not, at least in small doses.

It's also not good, which is the problem.

Maybe Robinson should give his brother a call and see if they can work things out. Of course, if he doesn't, he always has his wife's career to carry him through the rough times ahead.