**1/2 Adina Howard

WELCOME TO FANTASY ISLAND

(EAST/WEST)

Howard wants to be Madonna. But why, when there already is a Madonna? Better she should wanna be Shirley Ellis, or Lyn Collins, singing soulful novelties, or fronting the James Brown band at its baddest. Doesn't happen. Instead, a husky alto proves herself comfortably intimate in the sleazy slow songs that dominate her debut CD and believably wise-ass in the good, crisp Zapp-style funky stuff -- "(Freak) and You Know It," "T-shirt & Panties."

Beyond all the sexpot hype that arose from the hit "Freak like Me," Howard has found a voice strong enough to make a tell-it song like "Sexual Needs" deeper than a vehicle for showing some T&A and cute enough to put some crazy jive into the very P-funky "Could've Got Away." Absolutely none of this breaks any kind of new ground. But compared with the slack-tempo'd self-pitying whine of standard new jill, Howard's homegirl-in-the-bedroom music sounds like a party worth undressing for.

-- Michael Freedberg