The success of "Now And Forever," which was used as the opening credits music for the summer 1992 film hit A League Of Their Own, seems to have earned Carole King another shot at record-making, albeit with an indie label. That song turns out to be one of the few highlights of a varied collection in which King sings some love songs and then turns...

The success of "Now And Forever," which was used as the opening credits music for the summer 1992 film hit A League Of Their Own, seems to have earned Carole King another shot at record-making, albeit with an indie label. That song turns out to be one of the few highlights of a varied collection in which King sings some love songs and then turns to more serious fare, with dubious results. In "Tears Falling Down On Me," she flails helplessly against generalized injustice. "If I could," she notes, "I'd change the course of history." Wouldn't we all? "Friday's Tie-Dye Nightmare," meanwhile, is an attempt at the kind of funny, frightening song Bob Dylan made a specialty of in the mid-1960s, but it only succeeds in proving that Carole King is no Bob Dylan. The best new songs here are two that reunite King with old partner Gerry Goffin, who still has a way with a romantic lyric. Which leaves us with only one question: Why does a girl from Brooklyn use the British spelling of "colour"? ~ William Ruhlmann, Rovi