Melissa Ferrick - Everything I Need (1998)

After several years of touring and the release of a live album in 1997, Melissa Ferrick found herself back in the studio of producer Rob Laufer, with Everything I Need being the fabulous result of their collaboration. In Laufer, Ferrick found someone who could help get the musical voices out of her head and onto some tape. And together they brought some of the catchiest, unheard tunes of 1998 to life. The drum loops and slide guitar admittedly bring Sheryl Crow to mind, though not in a bad, knock-off, wannabe way. To her credit, Ferrick is ever the original in melody, lyric, and arrangement. And these cuts are as close to hit pop songs as you'll probably ever hear from her. They even go so far as to incorporate horns and '70s-style funk guitar parts on "It's Alright" to match the musical content to the lyrical. And if the title track isn't one of the most upbeat, sing-able ditties you've ever heard, you've been listening to some pretty fluffy stuff. Nevertheless, in inimitable Ferrick style, the pain and pathos also figure prominently enough to balance the scales of all this newfound happiness. It wouldn't be a Melissa Ferrick album without a good healthy dose of angst.