Leanne Rimes

She might be seen in some quarters as the Brittany Spears of country music but there's no denying that this seventeen-year-old prodigy has an impressive vocal range and an instinctive feel for mainstream country material.

Following her sizeable international hit last year with the re-mixed dance version of 'How Can I Live Without You', Rimes returns to the safer ground of early country styles with this eponymous-titled collection. Gathering a dozen or so bona fide country classics - most of them from the 50s and early 60s - she effortlessly runs through them in a sort of classy Karaoke style, her big voice not always successfully capturing the nuances of the originals.

Included here are faithful versions of three of Patsy Cline's most celebrated numbers ('Crazy', 'I Fall To Pieces' and 'He's Got You'), a couple of Hank Williams classics ('Your Cheating Heart' and 'Lovesick Blues') and two songs made famous by Ray Charles, ('Born To Lose' and 'Crying Time'). Marty Robbins' 'Don't Worry' is also included while Kris Kristofferson's 'Me And Bobby McGee' is given a more up-beat treatment - closer to Janis Joplin's ragged version than the poignant original. The only new song here 'Big Deal' is also the least country-oriented track on the album, sounding more like her nearest rival Shania Twain.

The fact that the originals aren't improved upon and that the choice of material is predictable and safe in the extreme, makes you wonder who would really want to own this record.