Gold
It's more and more obvious that whatLinda Ederwants is aBarbra Streisand-type career, one built on a solid Broadway base but that reaches way beyond it. The multipleStar Searchwinner was launched by her stage appearance inJekyll 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 theBeatles' "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