Kicking off with a brave rendition of the Smiths' "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me," Canadian singer/songwriter Jann Arden's second installment of her covers series, Uncover Me, promises to be a much more adventurous affair than its 2007 predecessor. But despite the presence of Metallica producer Bob Rock on board, the string-soaked reworking of the indie pop classic, described by Arden as "James Bond on acid," is the only real curve ball on an album that largely sticks to the same repertoire of '60s/'70s lounge-pop, soul, and easy listening classics. Alongside faithful renditions of Dusty Springfield's "This Girl's in Love with You," Peggy Lee's spoken word "Is That All There Is?," and Lesley Gore's big-band number "You Don't Own Me," there are subtle adjustments to the likes of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" and Nazareth's "Love Hurts," but it's only on the stripped-back interpretation of the Beach Boys' "In My Room" and the gritty country-pop retooling of Doris Day's "Que Sera Sera" that the Juno Award winner begins to bring something new to the table. Nevertheless, the song choices are a little less obvious the second time around, as evident on the covers of the Motels' '80s radio classic "Only the Lonely," Dorothy Moore's soul-blues standard "Misty Blue," and a stomping Motown-tinged "Glory of Love" (inspired by the Nina Simone version), while "Mr. McLennen," a self-penned melodic slice of driving AOR based on events in her Alberta community (originally written for U.S. country trio SHeDAISY), introduces one of her better recent original compositions to a wider audience. But despite its strong start, Uncover Me, Vol. 2 is just a little too safe, and ultimately bland, to be anything other than a mildly diverting stopgap, proving that Arden is much more compelling on her own material than when she's performing anyone else's. ~ Jon O'Brien