Mike Watt, recovering from his all-star alterna-rock debut solo album, returned in 1997 with what is perhaps the strongest album he has ever made. Of course, his earlier Minutemen albums will forever go down as landmarks, but in retrospect, many of the band's SST releases were brilliant but uneven affairs that put polemics (and great song titles) over consistent songwriting. Unfortunately, much of fIREHOSE's oeuvre is rife with inconsistency, and on Watt's first solo project, he and his songs were overshadowed by a boatload of high-profile musicians who contributed to the album. Contemplating the Engine Room is Watt's masterpiece, what he calls "a punk rock opera." This is a concept album that works on every level: musically, lyrically, and (most importantly) conceptually. Watt (who sings and plays his trusty bass guitar), drummer Steve Hodges, and guitarist Nels Cline form a psychic bond that allows them to dexterously maneuver the complex terrain Watt has laid out in his songs, which celebrate three guys playing together, punk rock, life, and his relationship with his dad. -- Kembrew McLeod (allmusic.com)

Credwise, Watt's got it all. He was the fulcrum of a great band, he's serious with a sense of humor about it, he's got not just politics but class consciousness, he talks a great game, and, oh yeah, he networks like crazy. The only thing he isn't is a compelling artist. He can't sing at all, can't write much, and still pretends the bass solo is a viable musical form. Like fIREHOSE (sic), like his name-dropping solo debut, this "punk rock opera" ("I just hate the words 'concept record.' That's fucking tired-ass, where opera's funny") looks great on paper and hasn't been played for a year by anyone it impressed. It will prove a valuable resource for the numerous forthcoming doctoral dissertations on the alternative rock subculture. C+ -- Robert Christgau