As the front man for Catherine Wheel, Rob Dickinson built a strong following during the '90s alterna-rock peak. Although they spent most of their career criminally underrated, Catherine Wheel built a strong following of fans and garnered a few mild radio hits. Now Rob is out on his own, and the reissue of his solo debut, Fresh Wine For The Horses, gives opportunity to reevaluate this rock talent.

Fresh Wine For The Horses delivers a mixed bag and unfortunately might not be what long-time Catherine Wheel fans would expect or hope for. The disc starts off with "My Name Is Love," which although catchy as you please, comes off as a touch saccharine-sweet for the once dour lyricist. It's far from a bad track, but it's a signal that he's not entirely picking up where he left off.

The album progresses with results that largely vary from decent to bad. On the pop end, we have tracks such as "My Name Is Love," "Intelligent People," and "Oceans," all delivering watered-down versions of older Catherine Wheel-style songs. They sound a bit too radio-friendly, or as if they aspire to be, which is an oddly uncomfortable feeling. Likewise, the new song on the reissue, "The End Of The World" comes off as an obvious attempt to be played during the end credits of some big-budget tear jerker. Again, it's certainly not a bad track, if evaluated in a vacuum, but here it comes off as schmaltzy and a bit forced.

On the bad end of the spectrum are some songs that just don't work. "Bathe Away" sounds like Rob is trying to channel someone else's failed alt-'90s sound, with chuggingly crunchy guitars and lack of dynamics. "Bad Beauty" is a mild trip to nowhere.  "The Night" is also a pop track, but just largely lies there, missing some of the spark of the aforementioned radio songs.

It's not all bad news. There are some moments that deliver what more CW fans are looking for with this record. "The Storm" rocks, and "Handsome" and "Towering And Flowering" are standout tracks that rekindle a dormant spark of attitude and urgency missing from much of the other new material. "The Mutineer" is a sweet, but short, close to the record.

As a bonus for the reissue, the album contains an EP disc entitled Nude, consisting of acoustic versions of some of Catherine Wheel's more popular tracks. "Black Metallic," "Crank," "Ma Solituda," "Show Me Mary," and "The Nude" receive mostly straightforward acoustic renditions with acoustic guitar, electric guitar touches, bass and occasional keyboard/string pads (which are more odd than helpful). "Black Metallic" and "The Nude" fare the best of this bunch, although all are expertly delivered. "I Want To Touch You" ends the set with a nice and moody alternate arrangement that really works.

Overall, Fresh Wine For The Horses is a disappointing start for a very talented musician's solo outing. Throughout the record, Rob's voice is in top form, and even on some of the weaker tracks he is still lyrically acute. But many of the songs either just lie there or introduce a tamer side of Rob that I'm not entirely sure we needed. There are enough instances of strong writing and performance to give hope for things to come, but not enough to make this a solid album.