Lisa Karp/Dr. John: Fucsia Blues

This eclectic release with the strangely misspelled title should be a boost to the career of a young singer in search of a musical identity; it certainly won’t hurt the career of the colorful Dr. John, who could have become the Henry Higgins to her Eliza Doolittle. But he makes the mistake of letting her go her own way, as on the annoyingly repetitive “Try” and “Dose of You,” which should have called “Double Dose”; there is no justification for overdubbing her voice. And talk about double-dosing: there’s no need for two versions of “Good News Rumors.” The whole album is only around 33 minutes; more fresh material was needed, not a virtual repeat of “Rumors.”

To Dr. John’s credit, when Karp sounds best it’s because of his piano and synthesized- bass work. Karp’s strong point is her refreshing approach to lyric writing, particularly “Curve of the Truth” and “My Life Hotel.” The duet “Everything’s Broken” manages to combine some primitive Delta sounds and some of Dr. John’s “Gris-Gris” roots with a bottom line of memorable innuendoes. But Karp is still a work in progress.

Originally Published July 1, 2006