AMG Review of Melissa Etheridge [Deluxe Edition]

Johnny Loftus
All Music Guide

The deluxe edition of Melissa Etheridge's landmark 1988 self-titled debut features the original album completely remastered and includes a second disc with live material from that same year -- a triumphant ten-song homecoming set at L.A.'s ~Roxy, and five acoustic performances. Expanded liner notes chronicle the Los Angeles music community's reaction to Etheridge upon first encountering her in an opening slot for Lyle Lovett; Etheridge herself describes how her debut came to be fully recorded twice, and the emotions she felt as the record broke nationwide and made her a star. Musically, the album has never sounded better. In the saccharine world of late-'80s radio pop, Etheridge's throaty, passionate vocals and boisterous, blues-based sound was immediately affecting. Here, it proves to be no less potent. The pleading, seething outro to "Like the Way I Do" burns with the same fuel Alanis Morissette would later put into "You Oughta Know," while the unstoppable force-single "Bring Me Some Water" still sounds as incredible as it did when it first took radio programmers by storm. The live material also shines, although the keyboards are a bit too prominent, and end up dating the sound a bit (particularly on "Similar Features"). Fans will love all the good-natured stage chatter though, especially Etheridge's #Storytellers-style explanation behind "Occasionally," which she then performs on the back of her Ovation 12-string. Acoustic versions of favorites like "Chrome Plated Heart" and "Similar Features" show Etheridge to be as talented a guitar player as she is a powerful, passionate singer. Highly recommended for any Etheridge believer.