Melissa Errico - Blue Like That (2003)

Melissa Errico's gifts as an interpreter are without question and she's lit up every show she's been in prior to this album, from a concert version of Kurt Weill's One Touch of Venus to Michel Legrand's underrated Amour. But realizing perhaps that Broadway is a dead end if you want mainstream success, Errico looked for pop crossover material on her solo debut. The CD's mood is neatly encapsulated on the first track, "I Still Love You," which feels as if you've tuned in to an AM station in 1974. That song was penned by Errico's brother Mike but the choice of covers confirms that the singer's stylistic roots can be found not in Gershwin or Porter but in soft-rock songsmiths such as Joni Mitchell, Randy Newman, Billy Joel, and Rickie Lee Jones. In the end, Errico overcomes Arif Mardin's cheesy production and a sometimes-timid song selection thanks to good old-fashioned values: She serves the material with unfailing insight, humility, and what may be the most naturally beautiful voice to come out of the musical theater in years. --Elisabeth Vincentelli