"FORGIVEN" BY LOS LONELY BOYS; EPIC RECORDS

The Texas trio Los Lonely Boys is captured in unadorned form on the group's third studio album, "Forgiven," but too many derivative and underwritten songs turn this promising outing into an uninspired one.

Siblings Henry (guitar), JoJo (bass) and Ringo Garza (drums) formed Los Lonely Boys while they were just in their teens, recording their self-titled debut in 2004. Done at Willie Nelson's Pedernales Studio, the album overflowed with infectious energy and a sackful of influences, including Stevie Ray Vaughan, Santana and Los Lobos, and contained the smash radio single "Heaven." Two years later, the Boys released the follow-up, "Sacred," which featured a horn section, accordion and harmonica.

"Forgiven" is a back-to-basics record that sounds live because it was basically done that way. Producer Steve Jordan (John Mayer's "Continuum") took the Garzas out of the recording studio, put them on a soundstage and let them play as if they were in concert. Three weeks later, out came "Forgiven."

Henry Garza's guitar playing still remains the star of Los Lonely Boys, and even if his Stevie Ray Vaughan-meets-Jimi Hendrix style is anything but original, it sure packs a punch on the opening track "Heart Won't Tell a Lie." It's "Cold Shot" by way of "Purple Haze" and truly spine-tingling.

On other songs, trite, twodimensional lyrics ("Loving You Always," "Make It Better") and an insipid foray into adult-contemporary territory ("Love Don't Care About Me") inspire yawns. Henry and JoJo typically share lead vocals and can harmonize beautifully, but it's a shame they can't come up with better material. The same holds true for Ringo, whose decent lead singing debut "Superman" is marred by more cliche-ridden couplets ("She's my lady/I'm thinkin' maybe/I'm gonna do what I can ... I wanna be her Superman").

Pointing up the band's issues with songwriting is the fact that the best tune and performance on "Forgiven" is the trio's take on the Steve Winwood/Spencer Davis Group classic "I'm A Man." Los Lonely Boys are overdue to advance beyond copying their guitar heroes and writing comic-book lyrics.