Etheridge lays down the raw

Melissa Etheridge grows more graphic and more daring with each new release. Known for her raw emotion, she's also now known for her raw sensuality, as many of the songs on her new album, "Lucky" (Island), attest. The title track, while keeping with her broad-brush, arena-rock guitar sound, finds her wanting to "live shockingly."

In "If You Want To," she decrees, "I'm waiting here now in bed and I'd like to talk to you." In the Springsteen-like "Meet Me in the Dark," Etheridge suggests, "Meet me in the dark, never let me go." And she gets even more erotic in "Kiss Me" ("Your kiss is like medicine, a prescription to ecstasy").

The album starts on a formulaic note, as the first three songs sound recycled. But Etheridge is too good not to offer some creativity. The album builds beautifully (guitarist Blues Saraceno adds appealingly stormy licks to "Secret Agent" and "Giant") and there's a touching 9/11 song in "Tuesday Morning." Etheridge's former guitarist, John Shanks, who has produced records for Sheryl Crow and Michelle Branch, returns for some of his string magic. But the standouts are the ballads, namely "When You Find the One," a gorgeous tune with a welcome subtlety. It clashes with some of the overwrought rock elsewhere, but it marks a direction that Etheridge might want to follow in the future.