The title of the CD takes on a new meaning after staring into the eyes of the angry possum glaring at you from the cover. From the moment this CD was placed into my hands, I have not stopped laughing -- or rockin'.

The Thumbs are fronted by Todd Steed, one of the only local musicians who will stand up in a crowd and admit he likes Knoxville.

Steed's razor sharp wit is what makes his music so compelling. His ability to eloquently sum up those things in life we all experience brings the listener into his world. It gets scary when you discover it is not so far from your own.

The Thumbs' are fueled by Steed's blazing guitar. His sound approaches something like Devo's first album thrown in a blender with two or three Minutemen records and flipped onto frapp.

His lyrical wit steals the show on stage and on album, but his guitar playing is something that shouldn't be overlooked. Steed can make you laugh, cry or scream without opening his mouth if he has that guitar in his hand.

Paul Noe does an impeccable job on bass and Dave Jenkins lays down some of the best drum tracks in town, as usual. Noe and Jenkins can also be seen playing in the Doubter's Club (formerly known as the Judybats), a band that couldn't try to be more different. Scott Miller from the soon-to-be-famous V-Roys makes an appearance on the CD, and Leinad Eroom gets credited on the sleeve for "possum sedation."

The Thumbs songs are sure to inspire a grin. Steed takes a clever look back at teenage rejection in the song "I was a Geek." The song, "Pain You Need" looks at relationships with lines like, "pain is something/ you seem to need/why else would you/stay here with me?" The song "Generation Why" has some great insights about life in general while the song "Local Scene" is the local scene, period.

At first the CD has a Lo-Fi feel, but as it continues, the scope of the recordings becomes more obvious. The guitar sound is huge, and the vocal tracks shine on all the songs. "Downtown Girl" has a beautiful harmony by the band. Steed also makes good use of the tremelo effect on the guitar and also on the vocals, an approach that hasn't been used since Elvis died.

The track "John Ward" can't be forgotten. A fond and witty look at a UT tradition, this song could be the equivalent of Frank Zappa's "Valley Girl." Ten years from now 100,000 drunken fans will know the Thumbs, saying, "Isn't that the band that released that hilarious song about that announcer guy?"

The Opposable Thumbs play at the Mercury Theater tonight and will be selling their CD to anyone smart enough to buy it. The opening band, the State Champs, are reason enough to get there early--they recently told me they would be pulling all the stops for this one.

The show starts at 10 p.m. and will be $5 at the door.