Dress Rehearsal
Carolyn Dawn Johnson's sophomore effort proves just what the young Canadian learned the first time out. Where her debut,Room with a View, spawned the pop-ish hit records "Complicated" and "I Don't Want You to Go," it was an uneven effort that too obviously revealed her tentativeness as she made her way from songwriter to artist.Dress Rehearsal, on the other hand, presents a far more mature performer and artful writer. Johnson still maintains what made her special in the first place--her Everywoman approach to life, love, and the pursuit of romantic (now wedded) bliss. As "Simple Life" and "God Doesn't Make Mistakes" show, she's just as insecure as the rest of us, if only more poetic. Thankfully, über-producer Dan Huff restrains himself here, managing to incorporate hyperventilating rock guitar and aggressive percussion without losing a modern country feel, though Johnson might do well to loosen up even more on her beguiling rhythm numbers, particularly "My Little Secret," which reprises the barely contained lust of "Complicated." A pretty face and a winsome personality go a long way, but who wouldn't like to know more about the animal side of those hidden desires?--Alanna Nash