Lang trades his blues guitar for a gospel choir

After half a decade of wrestling with the fact that he can't impress people with his youth anymore, singer/songwriter/guitarist Jonny Lang has changed from a blues wonder-boy into a pseudo-soulful young man.

His fourth studio release since breaking through as a teen guitar-throb in 1997, "Turn Around" is almost a 180-degree spin for the artist.

The album mixes a little bit of rock with pop and R&B, recycled to sound like the greatest Backstreet Boys CD or the worst Stevie Wonder LP ever.

After the debut "Lie to Me" introduced him as a promising young upstart with vast potential, Lang became a highly sought-after collaborator. As a 16-year-old he was recruited by legends such as B. B. King and The Rolling Stones for jam sessions.

Unfortunately, during his early twenties the adolescent struggled with drug and alcohol addiction. Lang apparently felt it was time to change the way he went about life and music and began treading new paths.

The deep gospel track, "Turn Around," serves as a palpable testament to the immense faith that keeps Lang going.

Longtime fans will be disappointed with the overall lack of guitar work on the album. His few solos are lazy, pentatonic hand warm-ups that get subdued and almost lost in the mix for the few measures they are allowed to run.

Lang nearly makes up for this shortcoming with a fuller voice. At times, the buoyant hopefulness and searing anguish in his singing are inescapable. The 13-member Jonny Lang Thankful Choir lends a bit of breadth and credibility to the front man as well.

There are moments when the vocals are transcendent, such as the transition from the third verse into the chorus of the title track. In a raw falsetto scream, Lang wails the call, "The choices you make..." as the band thunders back, "...might be mistakes."

However, the heavy-handed drum and bass lines are often stiff and clunky, causing the quality of the singing to vary tremendously. Tracks like "Other Side of the Fence" and "Don't Stop (For Anything)" are more bump than substance.

Some tracks are marred by generic songwriting and singing. "Thankful" features a duet with Michael McDonald, who sounds similar to the way he is impersonated on South Park and drags Lang down with him.

Blues guitar aficionados take note: Jonny Lang plays gospel now, so set this one back down in the contemporary Christian radio bin.