Sara Evans

BORN TO FLY

(RCA)

Nashville records -- those seeking to be played on country radio, anyway -- are all alike. A handful of producers, songwriters, and musicians (or their imitators) make most of them, and it serves no singer well to have an idiosyncratic voice. Sara Evans, an emerging success who has been elevated to co-producer for her third album, has an exceptionally rich and expressive voice. Her 1997 debut, Three Chords and the Truth, suggested the young singer might be a neo-traditionalist on the order of Mandy Barnett. No Place That Far (1998) didn't make that mistake, surrounding her with the sweet, safe sounds of contemporary country (soft rock, if you prefer) -- and a starlet was born.

In Born To Fly her voice remains the star attraction, and when it is let the slightest bit loose (as on the title track, and the husky, bluesy "You Don't"), one is reminded what an extraordinary instrument it is. Rarely, however, are the songs she sings equal to her gifts, and rarely does Paul Worley's production step back far enough to let her voice shine. Sara Evans -- even if she is now helping to make these choices -- deserves better.

-- Grant Alden