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Jamie O'Neal follows up her Grammy-nominated 2000 debut with an even more formidable disc. Brave made early inroads with the hit single "Trying to Find Atlantis," a blazing album opener marked by a wailing fiddle and soaring electric guitar. O'Neal cuts loose with some serious vocal pyrotechnics in likening the search for a perfect man to the hunt for the mythological lost city, a notion that's expressed in the catchiest chorus of the year thus far. Her rueful but boldly expressed recollections of lost innocence in "Naïve" are bolstered by an '80s synth-pop backdrop, lyrical references to Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A.," a whimsical "na-na-na" background chorus, and hard-rock guitar licks. Yet O'Neal is equally effective when fueling more subtle tunes with the same fire, as on the piano-and-strings power ballad "When Did You Know," a remarkable vocal display of both strength and deep feeling in service to a query about a dying love affair. In fact, O'Neal's sophomore effort displays both variety and depth -- from the acoustic-based tear-jerker "Follow Me Home" to the guitar-heavy country-rock salute to camaraderie in "Girlfriends" ("Girlfriends kick ass!" O'Neill howls); from the forceful but deliberate ballad "Brave" to the banjo-and-guitar country workout in "I Love My Life." Like her girlfriends, O'Neal kicks ass.
Condition:NEW. Slashed case
TRACK LISTINGS
1 Trying to Find Atlantis 3:28
2 Naïve 4:02
3 Somebody's Hero 3:41
4 When Did You Know 3:44
5 Devil on the Left 4:29
6 On My Way to You 4:21
7 Follow Me Home 4:02
8 Girlfriends 2:58
9 Ready When It Comes 4:07
10 Brave 3:28
11 I Love My Life 2:56
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