Lilith Fair: A Celebration Of Women In Music, Volume 2
Similar in scope toLilith Fair: A Celebration of Women in Music, which captures the inaugural tour, the 1998 festival is presented on volumes 2 and3, with each disc available separately this time around. Volume 2 offers a large dose of the folksy acoustic fare we've come to associate with VH-1 (i.e.,Natalie Merchant,Lisa Loeb,Shawn Colvin), with a side helping of angry-young-woman rock (Tracy Bonham,Sinead O'Connor,Holly McNarland) and an assortment of other performers. While wholly enjoyable, the standouts areQueen Latifah's diva-style dish on "Life," O'Connor's impassioned "Fire of Babylon,"Angelique Kidjo's West African pop tune "Never Know," andEmmylou Harris's duet with Sarah McLachlan on "Angel," which transports theSurfacinghit to realms heretofore unrealized.--Paige La Grone