Satisfied  (Audio CD) 
by Taylor Dayne

You've got to hand it to Taylor Dayne. For all the gruel she's foisted on the pop music market, her return to recording after an eight-year hiatus passes muster. Dayne is nothing if not consistent. She may have almost as many "hits" compilations as she has studio albums, but each offering packs a few exhilarating surprises. The first of those in question is the calypso-fueled "She Don't Love You." An easy-going mixed chorus perfectly evinces the lyrical snarl implied in the title, while the drum kit and auxiliary percussion riff the message through with tropical abandon. And how has it taken so long for a woman to cover Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Under the Bridge," never mind giving the song the blaring horn section it should have had the first time around? After a title track that sounds tailor-made for any dentist's lobby, the schmaltzy "Dedicated" finds Dayne braying forgettable promises about love, and it's not for a few tracks that things pick up again. "Crash" brings back the brass, which always meets Dayne's near-rasp with a kindred texture that elevates both. In all, fans will find plenty to pluck here, for both the dance floor and the headphones. Satisfied, indeed. --Jason Kirk