All the Way
Throughout a near-50-year career that has seen few low points, at least professionally, Etta James has established herself as one of music's most talented R&B, blues, and jazz singers. OnAll the Way, she attempts to tackle the easy-listening genre with a diverse set of ballads that span the Frank Sinatra-approved title track to covers of songs by Prince, Simply Red, John Lennon, and R. Kelly. Appearing after two roof-raising albums--2003'sLet's Rolland 2004's explosiveBlues to the Bone--this is a jarring change-up. Amidst schmaltzy production, cushy trumpet, and mushy keyboard strings, James settles into a Sunday-morning-coffee-and-newspaper approach.Occasionally the force of James's distinctive, compelling voice overpowers the syrupy backing, but, for the most part, the plain-vanilla arrangements diminish and even enervate her typically spicy vocals. Unlike the classic "At Last," on which James pushed the romantic song into overdrive, she remains in neutral for the majority of these tracks. There's no interplay with the band, and she makes a few missteps, such as the lackluster version ofWest Side Story's "Somewhere" (that goes nowhere). Those seeking low-key yet accomplished background music versions of James Brown's "It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World" and Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" will find this just what the elevator operator ordered. The rest of James's fans may feel the woman who could once sing the phone book and make it sound riveting has dialed a wrong number.--Hal Horowitz