Illinois Entertainer (Arsenio Orteza) On her second album Beth Thornley demonstrates why her songs have become sought-after items among compilers of TV and cinematic soundtracks. Her musical ideas and her skills at fleshing them out far exceed those not only of the major-label female competition but of the major-label male competition as well. While one might expect a woman to prove adept at the feminine sensitivity on display in "You’re Right There" and the title track, their hooks, their shifting tempos, and Thornley’s singing fulfill the hopes of fans of Juliana Hatfield who always stopped short of going all the way (so to speak) with her. On the other hand, "Mr. Lovely" and "Done" rock out with a natural fierceness that vanquishes gender issues entirely. So solid is the album as a whole that the excellent acoustic cover of "Eleanor Rigby" at disc’s end feels more like an encore than a highlight. |