On her riveting major-label debut, Joan Osborne astutely conflates the sacred and the profane, and over inventive alterna-cool arrangements (mandolin, sax, swaggering guitar) lets her strong, bluesy vocals rip. Co-written mostly with guitarist Eric Bazilian, her material is sharp and deep – "St. Teresa" elevates a streetwalker's struggle into Beat-poetry prayer; "One of Us" imagines a God as hurt as any human; "Ladder" hints at a post-mod Aretha. "Spider Web" is sweet hipster surrealism: Osborne dreams Ray Charles is given sight but struck dumb. She's cool with covers, too: Dylan, Sonny Boy Williamson, a sample of T. Rex's "Mambo Sun" used as percussive backdrop. What's especially winning about the woman is her range: Sexy and earnest, her voice, all on its own, conveys whole choirs of feeling. (RS 707)

PAUL EVANS