Mirmama

Eddi Reader's debut solo album following her split from Fairground Attraction found her pointedly backed by "the Patron Saints of Imperfection," inevitably interpreted as a comment on Fairground's U.K. number one hit, "Perfect." As if trying to distance herself as much as possible from the group's neo-skiffle pop sound, Reader adopted an atmospheric folk style somewhat akin to Enya, but not as produced or accessible, and covered such folk standards as John Prine's "Hello in There," Fred Neil's "Dolphins," and Loudon Wainwright III's "The Swimming Song." On such originals as "That's Fair" (another veiled reference to the old group?), she seems bitter. The result sounds more like the kind of quirky, side-project solo album that group members make than like the kind of bold solo statement expected from an emerging star. Reader remained an evocative singer, but the album flopped at home and RCA declined to release it in the U.S.