And still gettin' it while the gettin' is still good. Those who enjoyed Caught Up, Millie Jackson's last song cycle, won't be disappointed by this new collection; those still unfamiliar with her will find this a good starting point, for Jackson is one of the most engaging characters to emerge in recent years.

Like its predecessor, Still Caught Up details a shaky marriage, the first side from the wife's point of view and the second side from the girlfriend's. It's definitely the stuff of which soap operas are made—yet Jackson and producer Brad Shapiro are too smooth and knowing a team to get caught up in that trap. They have fashioned an album of ever changing moods, one of modern, uptown rhythm & blues that retains a strong country feel: an album of depth.

Shapiro uses just about every trick in the producer/arranger's book without cluttering up the set. There is dialog, banks of strings, vocal choruses and overdubbing galore, but it all meshes. He livens it up with one fast track ("You Can't Stand the Thought") just when it's needed and with nice touches, flourishes really, like the somber piano-and-string arrangement on "Making the Best of a Bad Situation" or the acoustic guitar intro to "Tell Her It's Over."

But the real show remains Millie's vocals. She moves effortlessly from sassy smart talk to a coarse, booming singing voice. She attacks each song full out but with attention to detail and nuance—witness her stunning transformation of "Loving Arms." And she displays a sense of humor that can't be beat; you can hear it on whole songs ("Leftovers"), on lines that jump out ("Your thang been just as ragged as a bowl of sauerkraut") and in the utterly bizarre album ending, when the deserted girlfriend is loaded into a straitjacket and led off as she cackles and sobs hysterically.

So Jackson and Shapiro have found a comfortable groove that draws the best from both of them. Two albums on, it's probably not wise to stay with too much longer, but for now there's no doubt—they've scored again. (RS 196)

JOHN MORTHLAND