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Saturday, March 30
The Indiana Daily Student

Osborne's latest effort darker, less passionate than 'Relish'

Joan Osborne is an excellent musician. Her 1995 release Relish produced the tepid "One of Us" for radio airplay, but the rest of the album was much stronger. So her eagerly anticipated follow-up had big shoes to fill. Unfortunately, Righteous Love leaves much to be desired.


Joan Osborne
Righteous Love
Interscope Records

The album gets off to an interesting start with "Running Out of Time." This track combines Osborne's classic blues riffs with beats that remind the listener of the "Shaft" or "Superfly" soundtracks. But for Osborne, love means something more dark and profane than sacred. The songs range in emotions from hatred toward a lost love to needing someone so bad it consumes the lovelorn. In the sublime "Poison Apples," for example, Osborne warns the listener "If I die before you do/ believe me I'll be haunting you/ I'll come upon you while you sleep/ to drown you in a kiss so deep." It was hard to get beyond the first minute of Osborne's tunes. The melodies she incorporates with her strong vocals make the listener feel restless and hoping to find something more substantial in the following track. Sitting through the whole album was hard, although Osborne does get better with each passing track. Osborne saves the best for last. The most redeeming track on the album involves something that Osborne knows like the back of her hand: covering an old Bob Dylan tune. She did it in 1995 with "The Man in the Long Black Coat." Here, she attempts "Make You Feel My Love" and does it with a certain grace that is unmatched in her other songs. The song quivers like the passion in her voice and is so sad and melodic, it makes listeners want to give her a hug. The signature rawness in her voice haunts the song and leaves behind a strong impression. Fans of Osborne from her Relish days beware - this album is much darker and very different from the excellent vocals of its predecessor. While the album does grow on the listener after the initial listen, it is missing the passion and raw emotion of Relish.

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