Water to Drink
Early in her career, Victoria Williams showed snatches of scattershot brilliance amidst an occasionally maddening amount of clutter. But upon marrying ex-JayhawkMark Olson and moving to a ranch in Joshua Tree, California, the singer-songwriter's newfound serenity and sense of place blossomed into a minor masterpiece: 1998's sweeping yet intimateMusings of a Creekdipperspoke frankly of mortality and the reassurance of love, family, and faith.Water to Drinkmostly melds the down-home folksiness of her Creek Dippers side project with her own expressive jazzy pop, but she isn't shy about stretching out into funk ("Junk") and even bossa nova (the title track is an Anglicized cover ofJoao Gilberto's "Agua de Beber"). Love and affirmation are again overriding themes, as titles such as "You Can Be," "Joy of Love," and "A Little Bit of Love" attest. WhileWater to Drinkis by no means a better album than its predecessor, it's more fun: Williams revels in these songs and the giddy, girlish covers of "Until the Real Thing Comes Along" and "Young at Heart." That said, the best songs here are the quirky character studies, especially "Gladys and Lucy."--Anders Smith-Lindall