Lisa Loeb
Firecracker (Geffen) (star) (star) (star) 1/2
Lisa Loeb has grown by leaps and bounds since recording the coffeeshop-troubadour “Tails” more than two years ago with her late band, Nine Stories. Loeb veils heartrending tales of lost love, youthful confusion and girlish giddiness in smart vocals that draw upon her vast range. Her technical abilities, in both singing and strumming, distinguish her from some of the less-gifted goddesses with whom she shared the stage last summer at Lilith Fair. She gives VH1 pop fare its due with the hyperkinetic, yet catchy “And I Do” and the wispy “Truthfully,” while “Dance With The Angels” replicates the breathless style of the adolescent Amy Grant — though Loeb’s pyrotechnics are definitely of a more worldly variety.