Copyright 1999 Times Mirror Company  
Los Angeles Times


October 15, 1999, Friday, Home Edition


SECTION: Calendar; Part F; Page 23; Entertainment Desk

LENGTH: 270 words

HEADLINE: POP MUSIC REVIEW; 
MANN PUTS EMPHASIS ON THE SONGS

BYLINE: NATALIE NICHOLS 


BODY:
      "We're winging it tonight, but I shouldn't tell you that," confided singer-songwriter Aimee Mann during one of several brief personnel-shuffling pauses in her Tuesday performance at Largo. "Maybe we'll pull it off, and you won't even know."

In a relaxed yet focused presentation that put the spotlight on her impeccable song craft, the L.A. resident and several musician pals offered new tunes from her forthcoming, self-released album, "Bachelor No. 2," as well as earlier material. The erstwhile 'Til Tuesday front-woman amply proved that she is an enduring talent who should never have had to suffer the kind of record-company nonsense she has endured throughout her solo career. Most recently, she got lost in the mega-merger shuffle when her former label, Geffen, was absorbed by Interscope.

Now happily independent, Mann is continuing her weekly residency at Largo this month, and she performed Tuesday both solo acoustic and in various combinations with her friends. Such new songs as "How Am I Different" and "Red Vines" fit perfectly with the older tunes, reflecting Mann's ability to turn bitter or sweet depending on the emotional moment she's capturing.

Although her sensibilities closely echoed those of Elvis Costello, Mann never stood in the English artist's shadow, even when closing the show with his wistful "The Other End (of the Telescope)." Not only did she infuse her own meaning into the tune, but, most remarkably, she also didn't diminish her own work with its presence.



* Aimee Mann performs Tuesday and Oct. 26 at Largo, 432 N. Fairfax Ave., 9 p.m. $ 10. (323) 852-1073.

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