Girl Singers - Dumpster Diving

Lisa Loeb - Cake and Pie (A&M Records)
Released: 2002

Oh, my. Such a promising start to Ms. Loeb's career, and then - at least for her recording career, it just sort of tailed off.

This was the output after a five-year recording hiatus, and it starts out strong - "The Way It Really Is" is a showcase for Ms. Loeb's smart and intelligent lyrics, and "Underdog" should have been a breakout single from this one.

But the disc just sort of trails off somewhere after that, with one exception - "Kick Start" is a catchy tune that I found myself humming for a while after listening.

But overall, an uneven collection. This one is NOT available at iTunes. You may find it by the track somewhere else, but unless it's on a bargain table, you can do better than purchasing the whole disc.

Two microphones (out of four)

- Doug Boynton
01/07/07

Official Website

All Music Guide

Lisa Stansfield (With Babyface) - Dream Away/Single (Fox Records)
Released: 1994

This one was a promo copy, with just the one tune from a kids movie (one that I did not remember) titled, "The Pagemaster."

Nicely done, however. I have not one clue where you'd go about finding the out-of-print soundtrack, and couldn't recommend it if you could.

But this one cut...well, I'm glad I found it. It'll be a rarity in the Lisa Stansfield permanent playlist. Yes, I know - it's from the same "Lite FM" duet genre that was so popular in the early-to-mid 90s.

But then, I've always been a "Lite FM" kind of guy.

Highly Recommended - if you can find it.

Three and one-half microphones (out of four)

- Doug Boynton
01/07/07

Official Website

All Music Guide

k.d. Lang - All You Can Eat (Sire)
Released: 1995

Good stuff, but "Ingénue" was a tough act to follow. This one didn't have any breakout singles
to speak of. Less commercial in some ways, then. But Ms. Lang hasn't built a following,
really, based on commerciality.

The appeal of this album is more in the wink-and-a-smile songwriting, and this outing has a lot of that.

Better for me on the second listening, the standouts were "If I Were You," and "Sexuality."

Go. Listen to the clips. I think you'll find enough to want it all.

Recommended.

Three microphones (out of four)

- Doug Boynton
01/07/07

Official Website

All Music Guide

Nancy Wilson's Greatest Hits (EMI/Collectables)
Released: 1986

All of the sixties hits in one place, and the price was right. Ms. Wilson's take on Stevie
Wonder's "Uptight" is worth the price alone, and that's not something you're going to find at
iTunes.

The cover art, however, is downright scary.

Recommended.

Three microphones (out of four)

- Doug Boynton
01/07/07