Songs From Ally McBeal Featuring Vonda Shepard - Shepard, Vonda (CD 1998)

I have only one gripe about this CD, and it's a big one to me. But first I will grudgingly acknowledge the reality of the situation:

1. Although she had had some successes previously, Vonda Shepard's career really soared after she was discovered by David Kelley and given a permanent role on Ally McBeal. 2. This CD was released at the height of the show's popularity, when the words "Ally McBeal" seemed to be on everyone's lips. 3. Probably only a minority of the show's viewers could tell you the name of the nightclub singer who appears near the end of each episode.

Now for the gripe: The CD's front cover photo is not that of Vonda Shepard, but of Calista Flockhart! Shepard's photo appears on the back of the CD, and in the liner notes, but in my opinion this is out of whack. Shepard's the singer here, for gosh sakes! (And while I'm in a dudgeon, I will state this one man's admittedly irrelevant opinion that while Flockhart may be cute, Shepard is gorgeous, and should have gotten extra consideration for the front just on that score. There, I said it.)

Okay, now that that's out of the way, let's talk about the music.

Shepard mostly sings covers of great pop tunes from the 1960s. At least she does on this CD, and based on the confessedly few episodes I've caught, she does the same on the TV show. I am guessing that her repertoire actually covers a much wider range of material, but I'm more than happy with the somewhat narrow scope of the songs included here. She has mined an era that produced a super-abundance of musical gold nuggets, so it would not have been hard for her to find good stuff to sing. Sherpard's talent lies in making those old songs sound as fresh as today.

Most cover singers seem to take one of two tacks: Duplicate as much as possible the sound of the original song, or come up with a radically different arrangement that stretches the song almost out of recognizable shape. Neither of these is necessarily bad, and the latter sometimes results in interesting novelties. Shepard steers a middle course, allowing her distinctive voice to supply the newness while the arrangements hew fairly closely to the originals.

Her voice has a sharpness to it, a kind of catch in it, really, that many female pop singers lack. That sharpness gives her singing a slight edginess, and it's what makes the back of my neck tingle when I hear her do certain songs (such as "Tell Him").

The tracks are:

1. Searchin' My Soul. The theme song of Ally McBeal and thus the logical track to lead off with. Written by Shepard, it's really quite good, an optimistic, exuberant celebration of leaving the past behind.

2. Ask the Lonely. A hit for The Four Tops in 1965, Shepard gives it the right touch of melancholy.

3. Walk Away Renee. A rock song with classical overtones, which was a 1966 hit for The Left Banke. Shepard plays the piano for this one as well as sings.

4. Hooked On A Feeling. I know, it's hard to listen to anyone sing this song now without being reminded of that odd 1974 version by a group called Blue Swede, with its "ooga chaga, ooga ooga chaga" chant in the background (B.J. Thomas also had a hit with it in 1968). Shepard rescues it, though, with an outstanding performance.

5. You Belong to Me. This has been recorded by a lot of different people, starting with Jo Stafford in the early '50s. The version I remember best was the one by The Duprees in 1962, which had a doo-wop flavor. Shepard slows it down a bit and lets the lines just sort of reel themselves out. The pedal steel played by backing musician Greg Leisz is a nice touch.

6. The Wildest Times of the World. Shepard was a co-writer on this song, and on the track she plays piano as well as sings. The lyrics are slight and I find it to one of the less memorable songs on the CD.

7. Someone You Use. Just your basic love/complaint song, this one is delivered by Shepard and her backup vocalists in a gospel style.

8. The End of the World. Violins give this track an appropriate weepy aspect. (The song itself has an interesting history. The writer, Sylvia Dee, began working on it around 1920 or '21 following the death of her father, but didn't complete it until forty years later when she presented it to country singer Skeeter Davis. Davis recorded it in memory of a friend of hers who had died in a car crash, and it became a big hit for her in 1963.)

9. Tell Him. My favorite track. I always liked The Exciters' version from 1962, and I like this even better. The guitars work especially well here to underscore the edginess of Shepard's voice. It excites my nervous system!

10. Neighborhood. An exercise in nostalgia, the words will have you remembering the boy or girl next door and dad's old car that "never got us very far." Musically, though, it's not interesting.

11. Will You Marry Me? Another of Shepard's own songs, this one has really grown on me with the listening. Don't let the title fool you; this is not one of those syrupy wedding-day songs, not with lyrics like this: I guess you sunk in, oh yeah you made it in, now I'm fumbling somewhere deep within. Will I raise my glass, or will you kick my ass?

12. It's In His Kiss (The Shoop Shoop Song). First made famous by Betty Everett in 1964. Shepard sings it with gusto and it's another of my favorites from this CD.

13. I Only Want to Be With You. Shepard does a great job with this one, but it may be her only cover here that doesn't quite measure up to the original. Dusty Springfield had a huge hit with it in 1964 and it would be hard for anyone to surpass Dusty on it.

14. Maryland. If I recall correctly the article I read on her, Shepard is from Maryland and was in fact discovered by David Kelley when she was singing in a club in Baltimore. On this song, which she wrote, Shepard yearns to "fly down the highway" to her home. It's a weak song on which to end the CD, though.