Heart And Soul: New Songs From Ally McBeal Featuring Vonda Shepard (1999)

"MY WIFE BOUGHT WHAT?!?" FORTNIGHT* (JULY 1-14, 2016)

If some is good, more must be better, right? Well...maybe not. Sophomore slump, law of diminishing returns, regression to the mean, whatever you want to call it. A blatant attempt to get everybody some Christmas bonuses, this falls short on several counts:

1. no variety - we've got a bunch of slow songs here (possibly a rainy morning CD?)
2. no truth in advertising - they're not new songs, they're not all from the show, and there's no soul (for an example of a cover with soul, click here)
3. no punch - song selection is weak

Even though it's a weakly Photoshopped picture, at least Vonda gets on the cover this time. (There's a couple more Photoshop fails in the booklet: are these women the same height or not?)



While we're talking bad photoshopping, allow me to get in the game, too:

Man, this post got off-topic quickly, huh? In my defense, I had to find something to occupy my mind since this album ain't doing it.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #60

Tracks: Nothing grabs me. There's a duet with Al Green that even he can't save. Rev. Green and Shepard change lyrics and their voices don't really work together, maybe because he's freakin' Al Green and she's "a second-rate Bonnie Raitt." Roy Orbison's song Crying is one of those songs that should never be covered, ever. She even makes a Beatles song sound dull. The best track is a Shepard original titled Confetti.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: Nope

Previously revisited for the blog:
Ally McBeal: A Very Ally Christmas featuring Vonda Shepard (2000)
Songs from Ally McBeal featuring Vonda Shepard (1998)

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*I recently unearthed a CD carry case that my wife used to carry in one or more of our three former minivans.  This month, in the spirit of this blog's mission, I'll be listening to that case's contents.