Amy Rigby 18 Again: An Anthology Koch By David Chiu

Singer/songwriter Amy Rigby has made three terrific albums in the mid to late '90s, offering stories of heartbreak, disillusionment, and the trials and tribulations of romantic entanglements. A disciple of the humorous and incisive songwriting of Randy Newman and Loudon Wainwright III, Rigby speaks for the disaffected middle-age women out there with a sense of compassion and insight. Those not familiar with her work can use this anthology as a logical starting point. You can't argue with the choices of songs here, including the wonderful Time for Me to Come Down, "20 Questions," the Stax-influenced "The Good Girls," the pop rocker "All I Want," the dreamy "The Summer of My Wasted Youth," and the country-esque "Beer and Kisses." On some of the tracks, Rigby's frail-sounding voice speaks of the hard-bitten experience and feistiness reflected on the songs; despite those, she reveals the glimmer of hope on "Wait Til I Get You Home" and "We're Stronger Than That." Rigby proves that age is just a number and doesn't diminish one capacity's to feel or to rock out.

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