Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories - Tails (1995)

Lisa Loeb is a rarity in the music industry. She released her first single -- the gentle "Stay," taken from the Reality Bites soundtrack -- before she was signed to any record label and saw it hit number one. Record companies were eager to sign her, and she eventually settled with Geffen. Instead of rushing out her debut album, she waited over a year, releasing Tails in the fall of 1995. Surprisingly, it didn't fade away, becoming a hit with adult alternative radio stations and listeners. That's because Tails delivers on the promise of "Stay." While the basic folk-rock elements of the song are present, much of the material on the record doesn't sound like her breakthrough hit; there are some distorted guitars here and there, and she even rocks out a little bit. Nothing on Tails is as good as "Stay," either; there are too many sophomoric lyrics and unfinished melodies, but it is a pleasant record and, in its own way, charming. There is an innocence and naïveté about Loeb that makes her music sweetly ingratiating, even when her ideas are underdeveloped.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo