Dana Glover

Ever get hooked on American Idol? It’s big laughs to watch a bunch of glorified karaoke vocalists bluff their way through overblown pop-tunesmith hackery masquerading as “songs” by resorting to such cheap parlor tricks as melisma—where the singer negotiates a melody the way a drunken driver manhandles a levee road. Ker-splash! Dana Glover has a more gemlike voice than any of Simon Cowell’s wannabes; she looks far prettier than the strippers, failed thespians and mall rats on that show; and she was signed to DreamWorks by Robbie Robertson and recorded by ace pop producer Matthew Wilder. However, as much as I wanted to like this mélange of Caucasian gospel, ersatz Americana and rafter-rattling Vegas balladry, I kept hitting the “stop” button before opting instead for June Carter Cash. Now there was a singer.