The Spin Doctors [ tickets ] -- a band that was hard-touring long before it met multi-platinum success with the 1991 album "Pocketful of Kryptonite" -- cancelled 45 planned shows in the wake of singer Chris Barron's affliction with a rare form of vocal paralysis.

New keyboardist Ivan Neville took over vocal duties for 10 concerts after Barron's problem first surfaced in mid-May, but the band has since called off the remaining dates on its itinerary. The extensive tour was planned behind ''Here Comes the Bride,'' the Spin Doctors' first new release in more than three years, but it and all other promotional activities surrounding the album are now on hold indefinitely.

Barron is currently unable to speak above a whisper, and doctors have given him just a 50-50 chance of ever regaining a normal singing or speaking voice. He continues to meet with medical specialists, but the results to date haven't been encouraging, according to a press release from DAS/Universal, the band's new label.

''Here Comes the Bride'' was seen as a radical departure from the Spin Doctors' previous sound -- so radical that the band reportedly toyed with a name change. While the band was previously known for a straightforward rock sound, ''Here Comes the Bride'' was described by the record company as combining elements of ''jazz, funk, pop, rap and Latin grooves -- sometimes mixed within one cut.'' Bassist Mark White, who reportedly was not enamored with the band's new direction, left the band earlier this year.