Where would she be if she'd picked Chris Barron? Pocket Full of Kryptonite sold five million copies, presumably providing a cushion for the bearded singer and his disowned princess. But three largely ignored follow-ups and a live album later, Barron had lost his voice and his band, and a shrewd princess couldn't be blamed for splitting.

Six years after the Docs' last spin, the original lineup quietly released Nice Talking to Me last fall, and Barron's prepping for a smattering of full-band festival shows with a solo gig Wednesday at the Tin Angel. The time away from the mic apparently wasn't long enough for him to hone his lyrical skills, because he works the same tired metaphors into multiple songs. But "My Problem Now" is really catchy, and the jams are tighter than the princess remembered.

Maybe she's feeling forgiving, so she pulls out that old tape and reassesses Kryptonite. There're the hits, all two-and-a-half of them. She'll be generous and count "Jimmy Olsen's Blues," which at least tries to be clever, even if it couldn't find the pocket if it had X-ray vision. The sunny revenge of "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" hasn't aged well but at least it reveals the bitter heart beneath the hippie smile.

But then there's the filler. The worst is the faux-funk "What Time Is It?" with its quasi-political stoner babbling: "Ayatollah, he's hopping mad/ Jibber about some damn jihad/ Send me back to old Baghdad/ Spin doctor, it's oh so sad."

On side two, "Two Princes" is the only salvageable tune. So what if it's not a great fairy tale? Almost 15 years on, it's still radio catnip, and the royalties alone should've swayed the king. But for her sake, let's hope the princess picked the other guy when she had the chance.

(m_fine@citypaper.net)