Tough on Crime

by Thom JurekAfter three projects on Chesky Records (as well as a number of indie outings), singer/songwriter/actress Rebecca Pidgeon returned to the music scene after an eight year hiatus, within which she married David Mamet and began raising a family. Tough on Crime was produced by Larry Klein, who enlisted a number of star session players-including Walter Becker and Billy Preston, Dean Parks, Scott Amendola, and Albert Wing. While the song settings are lovely, they are simply nothing more than that. Pidgeon is a clever wordsmith and can write melody, the problem is each seems the same. One can hear traces of everyone from Joni Mitchell and latter day Rosanne Cash to Shawn Colvin, but Pidgeon's only originality is simply the articulate and ironic wordplay. She can write a line as tight as Rickie Lee Jones, but as a vocalist she simply lacks the chops. Her sound is all airy, bright, and subtley effusive. "Ordinary Blues" is the only song on this set that really stands out due to Pidgeon decision to stretch her voice from the half whispered croon that is so prevalent everywhere else on the disc, and the band gets to cooking besides. There are other moments here, but not enough of them to hold a listener's interest for any length of time. One more note: the cheesecake cover and inner photos do not help this artist's cause