Kathie Lee

Universal

Supermarket tabs note with glee that the Cruella De Vil of red-haired, talk-show co-hosts is starting to flake apart like overcooked fish. Regis is publicly trashing her, hubby Frank is still living down his tryst with a busty ex-flight attendant, and Ms. Thang’s new album isn’t exactly rocketing up the charts. But let’s be fair: Kathie Lee has a strong voice, and she doesn’t warble melismatically like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan on Elvis drugs trying to yowl along with a Porky Pig cartoon, like some of those Orlando-style, toxic-pop divas do. Nevertheless, this wanks. Kathie Lee coos or mm-mmms over the treacly keyboard intro of over half the tunes here (Hallmark jingles is a more apt description), then it’s a zippy toboggan ride into overproduced-ballad hell. Cut No. 9, “Heartache, Heartache,” is the first up-tempo song, and it sounds like imitation Shania Twain from a North Las Vegas tranny-club revue. Ergo, ipecac.