Sloan: 4 Nights At The Palais Royale

When the Nova Scotia guitar-pop band Sloan made its U.S. debut with 1993's Smeared, it was met with indifference, becoming another in a mounting number of modern-rock casualties left in Nirvana's wake. Unfairly cast aside as undistinguished also-rans, the group members responded by softening their sound for 1994's Twice Removed, bringing out sweeter, more melodic arrangements on many memorable songs, but again to no popular avail. Dropped from its label and left for certain retirement, Sloan instead retreated to conquered territory in Canada, where it stopped eyeing the fickle chart barometer and turned out two wonderful, less-hyped albums: 1996's One Chord To Another, a shimmering pastiche of '60s pop, and last year's propulsive, guitar-driven masterpiece Navy Blues. With the latter adding to an impressive catalog of arena-ready rock songs, and a rabidly devoted home fan base already in place, Sloan has picked the ideal time to release a thrilling double-disc live album, 4 Nights At The Palais Royale. Going double-live is just the sort of grand gesture that keeps Sloan out of step with late-'90s protocol, but as unashamed fans of Kiss' Alive! and The Who's Live At Leeds, the band members happily embrace the anachronism. Recorded near the tail end of the Navy Blues tour, 4 Nights was intended as a bonus for fans—only 5,000 copies are available in the U.S.—which probably explains the singalongs and waves of audience hysteria left in the mix. But for the uninitiated, this two-hour, carefully sequenced opus contains stellar renditions of Sloan's best material, and for disciples, it's an essential, transporting experience.