Bette Midler

Bette (Warner)

Every star is eventually forced to attempt a comeback. Elvis had his 1968 comeback special. Burt Reynolds had Boogie Nights. It's inevitable. And now Bette Midler has her TV sitcom and her new album, both entitled Bette. The less said about the show, the better. If anyone can salvage it, Bette Midler can, but she has her work cut out for her. As for the album, you're better off sticking with her past efforts. As I listened to Bette, several songs seemed vaguely familiar, as if I'd heard them in an elevator or a department store. You know the kind of music-it's what they advertise on the radio as "your soft favorites."

Don't get me wrong, Midler sounds good. She's a diva in every sense of the word. And God knows she looks good on the album cover. Forget the bulk she carried as Brenda in The First Wives Club. But don't expect the raucous ditties that made her a favorite at the San Francisco bathhouses in the '70s. No "Otto Titsling" or "Knights in Black Leather" on this album. And don't hope for the poignancy of the For the Boys soundtrack, either. Well-done covers of "Shining Star" and "Just My Imagination" are the closest Midler comes to the emotional and musical high points of past albums. Overall, Bette is a good effort, but the dearth of solid material fails to show off the fabulous voice of a modern diva. C+ -Krisa R. Benskin

Poe

Haunted (Atlantic)