Wynonna's 'Sing' reflects influences

Wynonna Judd always has drawn on a wider range of influences than her country music peers. She indulges those influences with wholehearted gusto on "Sing: Chapter I."

Concentrating on covers of classic material -- the only original song is a powerful Rodney Crowell composition, "Sing" -- the big-voiced Kentucky native sweeps from Depression-era swing to bawdy blues to elegant pop to Stones-style rock 'n' roll. She also tosses in a few country standards, adding modern atmosphere to Hank Williams' aching "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" and nailing the emotional complexity of Tammy Wynette's great "Till I Get It Right."

With her voice as burnished and fully toned as ever, Wynonna would be expected to shine on such ballads as "Anyone Who Had A Heart" and "When I Fall In Love" -- and she does. But what might surprise those who know her for sharing tears with Oprah on daytime TV is how uninhibited she sounds on the bluesy "I'm A Woman" and how much swagger she brings to the party on "The House Is Rockin'" and "I Hear You Knockin'."

Wynonna has never paid attention to boundaries anyway, and as always, she's all the better for it.

CHECK THIS OUT: Wynonna has often cited Bonnie Raitt as a musical hero, and she both celebrates that influence and injects her own flamboyant flair in a winking take on "Women Be Wise," a mischievous blues tune by Sippie Wallace popularized in the 1970s by Raitt.