LeAnn Rimes

In her Seventies country-rock heyday, Linda Ronstadt brought a lusciously formal
approach to pop singing, which put all the money on song interpretation. Los Angeles
ballads, singer/songwriter rarities, rock & roll chestnuts; North American regionals, Sinatra,
opera – over the years, all became serious business indeed to Ronstadt, whose voice
always seemed important enough to command its own U.N. seat. We Ran, done... More >

Not content to split the difference between Patsy Cline and Debbie Boone, this young teen and her in-it-to-win-it voice turn as grotesque as a mascaraed five-year-old in a beauty pageant. She begins by imagining a guy who "worships my body." Her Dad Rimes production and Carole Bayer Warren crossovers reveal Mutt Lange as the easygoing popster he is. She never cracks a smile, rarely revs a tempo. And in the only climax she understands, she colors in the "Purple Rain" so dark I'd say its purple was black if that metaphor weren't patently ridiculous. (Grade: C+)