You know you're in trouble when the first track roars in like a
Tina Turner tune, as
Buffy Sainte-Marie unsuccessfully plays her hand at ballsy bar-band rock & boogie. Actually, most of the rest of the album eschews that approach in favor of more expected singer/songwriter territory, but this still makes for an unimpressive effort, with unsuitably mainstream rock production values hovering over much of the content.
Sainte-Marie mixes her own compositions with covers of songs by
Joni Mitchell,
Randy Newman, and
Carole King, but the only real highlight of the record is the final tune, the reflective and haunting ballad "The Jewels of Hanalei." ~ Richie Unterberger