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"Gold"
It's more and more obvious that what
Linda Eder wants is a Barbra Streisand-type career, one built
on a solid Broadway base but that reaches way beyond it. The
multiple Star Search winner was launched by her stage appearance
in Jekyll and Hyde, which was written by husband Frank Wildhorn,
and she remains committed to show tunes (as long as they're by
Wildhorn) while sprinkling her albums with select covers. In
this case, she tackles the Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun,"
as well as "Son of a Preacher Man," the soul classic
popularized by Dusty Springfield and Aretha Franklin. Among the
Wildhorn offerings, the title track is the most auspicious, as
it's an excerpt from a musical-in-progress about sculptor Camille
Claudel. Much to her credit, Eder doesn't oversing, a trap that's
often snared performers eager to impress. Gold's main drawback
is that the arrangements remain on the safe side: you get the
sense that Eder would more than rise to the occasion if she were
confronted with more challenging material. Just like the Bee
Gees helped Streisand produce one of her finest pop albums, Eder
should hook up with some studio wizard who could push her around
a bit. --Elisabeth Vincentelli |
