COUNTRY POP

To consider the pedigree of actors turned musicians is to consider a whole bunch of people walking the line between self-indulgence and inpsiration: David Soul, Richard Harris, Billy Bob Thornton, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Robert Downey Jr, Scott Baio, Minnie Driver, Alyssa Milano, Russell Crowe, Steven Segal, Val Kilmer, Burt Reynolds, Kevin Bacon, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Bruce Willis, Jared Leto, Cybill Shepherd, Corey Feldman, Julliette Lewis, Traci Lords, Eddie Murphy, Brigette Neilsen, Mr T, Gina Gershon, Dominic Chianese, Clint Eastwood, Lindsay Lohan, Don Johnson, Mila Jovovich, Telly Savalas, Natalie Imbruglia, Linda Carter, Lukas Haas, Zooey Deschanel, Tony Danza, Tia Carrere, William Shatner, Kylie Minogue, Olivia Newton-John, Jeff Bridges, Crispin Glover . . . Despite the songs of Tom Waits, the patronage David Bowie and the production of David Sitek, this record feels like an affected indulgence. Would you really listen to more than two tracks if it didn’t have her name on the front?