Liz Phair seems to be attempting something of a balancing act on Somebody's Miracle trying to fuse her former indie queen persona - with the sexy pop Diva that she spun into her first foray into top forty land and enjoyed a fair amount of success with. In an interview during the salad days of that mainstream swing she put it like this: I wanted to see what it was like to be liked by millions as opposed to worshipped by thousands. Which obviously sounds egotistical but in her case it was quite an accurate assessment.

Back in the day (Exile In Guyville, Whip-smart) she wrote angular songs that she sang mostly in a lower croaky register. Her unusual way with a song - uniquely spare arrangements and fearless lyricism made her a hit with critics and college and indie radio stations alike. Then after kind of falling off the radar for a few years she returned with 2003's self-titled, affair - a sexed-up mainstream makeover that was a guilty pleasure for me, but has put me on Kyle England's permanent putz list.

Somebody's Miracle I believe is her earnest attempt to bring the two camps together, which quite frankly I doubt she'll ever succeed in doing. Most of the songs here smack of kind of a middle of the road Sheryl Crow feel and it's a bit of a mixed bag that she's offered up. Her melodies and hooks are in tact but have lost quite a bit of their potency. Which isn't to say that there aren't enough good things going on here to keep her fans happy. "Stars and Planets" is a plucky take down of the music business. "Got My Own Thing" finds her gunning down a would-be lover, but not burning the bridge in case she changes her mind. "Count On My Love" is a harmony-laced jangler and the best track is a brutally introspective look at alcoholism called "Table For One" that has the lyrical potency of Steve Earle. Still if we're going by the old school scale of Excellent, Good & Phair - Somebody's Miracle falls somewhere between Good and Phair. About what I would have expected, strangely.