JONATHA BROOKE "Careful What You Wish For" Bad Dog

JONATHA BROOKE"Careful What You Wish For"Bad Dog

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"CAREFUL WHAT YOU Wish For," the title and opening track on Jonatha Brooke's new CD, isn't a cautionary tale about a coffeehouse-bred singer-songwriter reaching out to a pop audience. The lyrics would be a lot more interesting if it were. Instead we find Brooke, who gained recognition as a member of the folk-pop duo Story, embracing her Top 40 ambitions with all the studio luster she can muster once the pulsating keyboards and sweeping harmonies kick in.

From there, the album doesn't unfold so much as splinter. Part of it is devoted to other so-so pop songs that are mostly notable for showcasing Brooke's considerable vocal gift in vibrant, polished settings. She has the pipes and the A-list co-producer (Bob Clearmountain) to glide in and out of the pop world with ease, but too often the album's radio-geared tunes sound oddly familiar -- or, in the case of "Hearsay" and "Forgiven," oddly Alanis Morissette-like.

What remains is the album's better half, performances that resonate with soulful yearning, such as "Prodigal Daughter" and "Keep the River on Your Right," or that point directly to Brooke's folk roots. The latter includes "After the Tears," a melancholy duet with Eric Bazilian, and the guitar-picked musing "Never Too Late for Love." Obviously Brooke didn't set out to please some of her fans some of the time on "Careful What You Wish For," but it may well turn out that way just the same.

-- Mike Joyce

Appearing Thursday at the Birchmere.

Listen to an audio clip of Jonatha Brooke