Maria McKee went from being one of rock's most direct and promising performers to one of its most frustrating between the two records she made with her former band Lone Justice. The band's 1985 debut was a sparkling showcase for the young songwriter and singer that allowed her to show off her mastery of every rock style she touched on, from revved-up country rock to updated soul; the 1986 follow-up Shelter, a confused attempt to marry McKee's flair for straight-ahead rock with her arty stylings, too ethereal for even Stevie Nicks, had none of the charm of the debut, and the band promptly broke up.

On Maria McKee, her first official solo record, 1985's rookie of the year goes a long way toward recapturing much of the exuberance of the first Lone Justice album and finally makes sense out of some of the artier ideas she had trouble articulating on Shelter. Her voice, somehow recalling both Dolly Parton and Aretha Franklin at their long-ago primes, is a technical marvel free of the self-consciousness that infects so many of today's divas. On her toughest new songs – "Panic Beach," "Am I the Only One (Who's Ever Felt This Way?)" and "Breathe" (featuring an extraordinary, reckless guitar solo from Richard Thompson) – McKee sounds several levels beyond committed: She completely internalizes the tunes.

McKee saves her most striking performance for the end: a solo-piano rendition of Thompson's "Has He Got a Friend for Me?" that expresses sexual insecurity with strength and care. Maria McKee (produced smartly by Mitchell Froom) isn't the performer's finest record – the first Lone Justice LP is a high standard for anyone to match – but it does return McKee to where she belongs. (RS 558)

JIMMY GUTERMAN