Paula Cole"s third release is a lesson in sticking to what you know. A trained jazz vocalist+ Cole uses this studied vocal styling with great affect. Never overusing her vibrato+ she breathes a unique and emotional character into each song with a well-placed whisper+ unexpectedly powerful crescendo+ or a desperate+ aching wail. One moment she portrays a freestyling beat-poet rapper ("Rhythm of Life")+ the next a tragically downtrodden blues mamma ("La Tonya"). She also knows how to produce a song. On "Free+" sitar uncoils behind a scrim of dark ethereal notions. The title track has bright acoustic-guitar melodies dancing on shimmering synths that resonate like the rim of a crystal water glass caressed by a wet fingertip. Throughout+ she builds a foundation of sprawling+ blooming musicality adapted from her preceptor Peter Gabriel. But lyrically+ Cole slips into her bad habit of harping on the obvious. On "Amen" a DJ"s scratch flips a switch in the middle of the song where Cole begins spouting a list of notorious characters in need of repentance+ citing Saddam Hussein+ Jack Kevorkian+ O.J. Simpson+ and all Reagan-era republicans. Exhibiting a Jewel-esque naiveté on "Be Somebody+" she advises+ "In the face of totality+ show the other cheek." The lyrics are trite+ but after a few listens+ they"re a minor distraction from the mighty-fine body of music contained in this release. Amen to that. <I>--Beth Massa</I>