Aimee Mann

You'll forgive Bachelor No. 2 for sounding a bit like the Magnolia soundtrack. Both were recorded around the same time and share some of the same songs. However, Bachelor No. 2's delicate, fragile air hangs heavier than its movie counterpart, and Mann's somewhat acerbic humor is sharper, making this the superior collection.

Before the release of the Magnolia soundtrack, Aimee Mann was undervalued for years by
the music business. So her independently released latest effort, Bachelor No. 2, could also
be called Sounding Great Is the Best Revenge. It's an album of tuneful, intimate pop-rock
songs, a few of which ("Driving Sideways," "Deathly" and "You Do") will be familiar to
Magnolia fans. The highs -- including "The Fall of the World's Own Optimist," a coll... More >