Vonda Shepard

Ally McBeal: For Once in My Life Featuring Vonda Shepard

My favorite lounge singer is covering another bunch of songs

Review Score:

(10/10)
Yes, every time Vonda Shepard puts out another "Ally McBeal" soundtrack album I expect it to be less impressive than the previous one. Then I start listening to it and the darn things starts growing on me. I am even at the point when I do not automatically think of the particular episode where Ally went through whatever the angst of the week happened to be that night while Vonda sang "For Once in My Life" or "Can We Still Be Friends." However, there is great joy in my house because I finally, FINALLY have Barry White's velvety invocation for "You're the First, the Last, My Everything." Third time is the charm, apparently. This album is different from its two predecessors in that Al Green and Tina Turner also get their own tracks and Anastacia shows up to do a duet with Vonda on "Love Is Alive," which is probably my favorite track on the album (they cannot all be songs of love gone wrong). But whether she is singing Carole King, Bob Dylan or Rod Stewart does not really matter to me anymore. I just like to hear Vonda Shepard cover a song.

Speaking of letting others have a chance to join in the fun, of course we all wish the late, lamented Robert Downey, Jr. was not featured so prominently on the cover. I am great respect for the man's talents as an actor and I wish for him nothing but success in beating his inner demons. Furthermore, I think his duet with Vonda on "Chances Are" is decent and I would like the two-part harmonies on "Every Breath You Take" even if it was somebody else singing with Sting. But to tell the truth I would much rather hear Jane Krakowski get a solo track on the album than Bobby Boy.

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