Only A Woman Like You

Amazon.com Many thought that pop balladeer Michael Bolton's personal transformation ended when he lopped off his shoulder-length hair and released 1998's My Secret Passion , an album of operatic arias. But his first record of new material in four years shows that the boomer pinup boy has continued his metamorphosis. Signed to Jive Records, the label that spawned the careers of Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys, Bolton enlists the services of Swedish pop Svengali Max Martin, the man who penned Spears's "Oops!... I Did It Again" and the Backstreet Boys' "Shape of My Heart." Superstar producer Mutt Lange wrote the title track and manned the boards, while Lange's spouse, Shania Twain, and Richard Marx made writing contributions. As a result, Bolton has ended up with a pop confection that could top a cake. Ardent, heartfelt, and as transparent as a bride's peignoir, Only a Woman Like You for the most part shows the singer at his very best. Like a hero lifted out of the pages of a Harlequin romance novel, Bolton whispers sweet nothings with every breath he takes. While most of the album sticks tight to a tried-and-true formula of impassioned protestations of undying devotion, Bolton takes a left turn into the boy-band zone with the Latin-tinged "Dance with Me," sounding like an aging Backstreet Boy backed by breaks and rhythms that just beg to be choreographed. Similarly, the misbegotten "I Wanna Hear You Say It" and "This Is the Way" do Bolton's considerable gifts a disservice. --Jaan Uhelszki