Jason & the Nashville Scorchers, “Reckless Country Soul,” Praxis/Mammoth. (**)

There’s something to be said for anyone who follows his own path in pop music, and Jason Ringenberg and his mates certainly came out of Nashville in the ‘80s with enough independent spirit and enthusiasm to win your affection--on a limited basis.

The problem is the group--neither in these early, long-unavailable tracks nor in subsequent albums--had much more going for it than its love for country and rockabilly styles. Some engaging moments, but you know by the end of the album that Ringenberg is feeding off a tradition rather than contributing to it.

*

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).