by Bill Carpenter
Even though the duo-tone cover looks new and jazzy, most of this cozy set was recorded over twenty years ago. Primarily working with bass, drum and piano, the smoky-voiced chanteuse delivers these eleven songs with her own inimitably laidback vigor, performing best on moody ballads such as &Am I Blue,& &Mean To Me& and &The Man I Love.& Some of these tracks have appeared on Rita's albums during her A&M Records tenure in the 1970s, but most of them remained in the vault until now. It's a fine set with simple arrangements of chestnuts such as &Bring It On Home To Me& and the blues staple &Stormy Monday.& Rounding the set out are two recent cuts, the Top 40-ish &When The Night Rolls In& and the bluesy &Out of the Blues.&