Copyright 1999 Star Tribune  
Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)

December 28, 1999, Tuesday, Metro Edition

SECTION: VARIETY; Pg. 3E

LENGTH: 370 words

HEADLINE: CD reviews

BYLINE: J.D. Considine; Richard Paton

BODY:
   Disc of the week

AIMEE MANN, "Magnolia Soundtrack" (Reprise)    

    Writing a soundtrack album usually requires that a songwriter defer to the structure and narrative of the movie in question. "Magnolia," however, is that rare exception, a collection of songs that works as an album in its own right. Consisting mostly of songs written or sung by Mann, "Magnolia" offers an intoxicating cocktail of singer/songwriter introspection and Beatlesque ear candy.

    It helps that Mann has honed her deadpan soprano to perfection, rendering "One" with such melancholy grace that she outdoes Harry Nilsson's original, but her greatest strength is as a writer. "Deathly," for instance, evokes the need to break up with devastating wit and clarity, while the snazzy "Momentum" is a perfect pop bauble, deftly gilded by producer Jon Brion's vividly colored arrangement. A true star turn.

_ J.D. Considine, Baltimore Sun

BACK