Double Standards

On her follow-up to Play It Cool, the 2001 album that introduced her reinvention from comedian to singer, Lea DeLaria performs jazzed-up versions of pop and rock numbers. She leads off with a version of "Dancing Barefoot" that Patti Smith fans will be hard-pressed to recognize, then goes on to put the jazz stamp on numbers such as No Doubt's "Just a Girl," Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun," and Green Day's "Longview." In full smooth-chanteuse mood, DeLaria keeps the gratuitous pyrotechnics in check and is at her best on the tracks where she and arranger/pianist Gil Goldstein stick to the original melodies--indeed, most of the songs on this CD are distinguished by immediate melodic accessibility, and choosing to trust them is the wisest choice. And the musicians certainly deliver. Still, it's hard to shake off the impression that this is a stylistic exercise that gets caught up in its own self-aware coolness. --Elisabeth Vincentelli