Bette Midler

To me, Bette's second album is underrated and is actually better than her first. She sounds more relaxed and like she's enjoying making the record. As varied and fun as her first album was, it always seemed she was trying really hard, which took some of the enjoyment out of it for me. My favorites here are the first two songs (Skylark and especially Drinking Again, where she nails the late night loneliness of the narrator). I also think she better captures the spirit of the girl group era with her medley of Uptown/Don't Say Nothing Bad About My Baby/Da Doo Run Run than on album #1. The only song I'm not crazy about is Breaking Up Somebody's Home. While she attacks the song aggressively, her vocal is a little hard to listen to. She did much better with the rock/bluesy material on subsequent albums like Broken Blossom, Thighs and Whispers, and the Rose soundtrack. You should definitely add this to your collection if you're a fan of Bette's.

She ain't called The Divine Miss M for nothing! Have loved her for years and this album and her first one are still on my playlist.