When En Vogue paired their wailing, Black voices with bombastic rock guitars on highlight singles "Free Your Mind" and "Don't Let Go", the exciting fusion (already claimed, with favorable results, by the likes of Aretha, Donna Summer, The Pointer Sisters, Nona Hendryx and Janet Jackson) birthed a re-ignited hope that more high-profile female R&B artists would follow suit. Sadly, few, if any, did. Of all of today's contemporary soul figures to venture down this lane again, "Tina Turner Jr." Beyonce seems the most likely choice to give it the most justice (it's a future album sound she should definitely ponder) with mousy, Starbucks-ian singer/ songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae falling somewhere towards the opposite end of that list.

The idea of Rae taking on The Raconteurs' 2006 herky-jerk delight "Steady, As She Goes" was sure to incite "What!?!", "How!?!" and "Why!?!" all across the blogosphere upon it's initial announcement. Corinne's soft spoken folk-soul musings can be sweet and all, but she doesn't seem to have any kind of enticing edge to make this work on any level.

Aware of the curiosity factor, Rae eases the listener into the idea, opening the track with a heavy-lidded organ ballad treatment that bears the promise of an intriguing, though somewhat expected, AM-lite revamp. Then in a sudden 180 shift, the familiar Scooby-Doo thump of that kooky rhythm emerges and the numbing realization hits that Corinne is going to attempt a more straight forward remake. Because of this , the entire affair falls somewhat flat, with Rae's simplistic vocal failing to match the track's fiery groove.

Mildly likable when it could of veered into a more extraordinary realm, Rae misses out on a chance to break out of her box and show the world a side to her that isn't so boring. Everyone at one point wants to be a rock star, Rae proves here that she hasn't discovered that inner-Chuck Berry just yet.

DL: "Steady As She Goes (Cover)" (YFH)