Let's face it. A good fiddler does not a singer-songwriter make.

Proof: True Reflections, the first solo release by Boyd Tinsley, the fiddler extraordinaire of Dave Matthews Band.

Somewhere along the line while playing with DMB, Tinsley must have gotten the idea that he needed to express himself and put out some music of his own. It's a shame because he excels much more as the slightly shadowy sideman.

The lyrics here are the kind of sap that you'd find in a grade school poetry competition. Lines like "Got something to show me/ Bring it all to me now" or "I want to tell you I love you/ and it's alright" might mean something to Tinsley, but it sure leaves the rest of us feeling pretty empty.

Being of the school that bad lyrical content can be redeemed by a little musical quality doesn't save this album either.

Sadly enough, the music on the album is also what you'd expect to find in a grade school music competition.

And then there's the cover of Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl."

Tinsley saves for last "True Reflections," his contribution to DMB live shows, but even it can't save the album. And DMB fans looking for a presence of the band's namesake will only find it on this final song.

Tinsley even foregoes his rambunctious fiddling throughout most of this stuck-in-mid-tempo affair.

It all begs the question: Who thought this album deserved a record deal?

RCA could have served us all much better by shunning this poor moneymaking scheme and actually releasing something deserving of being heard.

This will surely be a test of the blind faith of most the DMB crowd, and it will likely alienate Neil Young fans everywhere.

This is truly music for the middle-aged, tone-deaf and emotionally-retarded among us.