Diana Krall

"The Girl in the Other Room"

Verve Records

Grade: B

Diana Krall is not just your mama's Norah Jones. She could be yours, too.

Krall's eighth album is full of rhythms that leave listeners with sultry jazz lounge images dancing in their heads.

Krall opens with Mose Allison's "Stop This World," where she pines for "better days this girl has known." Krall reflects on those days when everything seems to go wrong and all that is needed is an escape. The ease and vividness at which she plays the piano is complemented by her strong sense of voice control.

The title track, "The Girl in the Other Room," is a collaboration, as are many of the album's tracks, between Krall and her husband and musical partner, Elvis Costello. "The Girl" is about a woman searching for herself and wanting to be what she used to be.

"Almost Blue" is about longing for a former lover. Krall's tranquil and soothing voice is enough to lure any insomniac into a deep sleep.

"Love Me Like a Man" is a lover's dare in the savvy style of the pop-blues queen, Bonnie Raitt, who adapted this track for Krall from Chris Smithers' version.

One may recognize "I'm Pulling Through" from when Arthur Herzog and Irene Kitchings introduced it. Krall's breathy voice has instantaneous calming effects and leads listeners to the skillful piano solos that have made her nationally known.

Krall describes the flight of a bird and compares her life to it in her cover of Joni Mitchell's "Black Crow." Like the black crow, she is searching for something shiny, something to make her life worthwhile.

"Departure Bay" draws an image of a lonely seashore, a somber place to remember the past. It may depress and even chill the listener, like many of the songs on the album.

Krall's album came out just in time to soothe panicking students through preparation for final exams and smooth the end-of-the-year experience.

-- By Rindy Metcalf, Staff Writer