Lynda Carter - Crazy Little Things (2011)

Although 59-year-old actress Lynda Carter remains best known for her starring role on the TV series Wonder Woman in the 1970s, she began her career singing rock & roll in her native Arizona as a teenager. When Wonder Woman was at its height, Epic Records signed her and released Portrait (1978), which was her only album until Potomac Productions issued At Last more than 30 years later. Crazy Little Things is its follow-up, and it demonstrates that Carter has much more than an adequate singing voice. The collection is full of familiar pop/rock songs dating from the 1940s to the ‘70s, and a notable performance is Carter's version of Glenn Frey and Don Henley's Eagles standard "Desperado." Of course, the song is also known for a cover by Linda Ronstadt, another daughter of Arizona, and Carter's alto is in the same register as Ronstadt's, making their voices similar. Ronstadt's reading is much more emotional than Carter's restrained interpretation, however. Her real antecedent is suggested in her version of "Sentimental Journey," the song that made a star out of Doris Day. Carter is much more in Day's camp than Ronstadt's, even though most of her repertoire here dates from the rock era. She certainly can handle a rocker, as she does on "Let the Good Times Roll." But she is better with lighter fare. Carter has made a living in clubs for many years, and this album suggests what audiences are likely to hear if they see her in Las Vegas or Atlantic City, drawn by her TV fame: a good, professional performance.~Crazy Little Things Review by William Ruhlmann