Katie Melua is 19. She has a record contract and a studio willing to pull out all the stops to promote her.

We hateses her.

Of course, that has nothing to do with the album. That's just the green-eyed monster in me. My jealousy of those bastards lucky people with talent and opportunity knows no bounds. It's mine. I own it.

Next.

I really wanted to like Call Off the Search as soon as I read the little bio that came with my review copy. Katie sounds like a great kid. She was born in Georgia (Russian Georgia, not the Jimmy Carter one) and moved to Ireland when she was nine. She lists her influences as Queen, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Eva Cassidy, Irish folk music and Indian music. This album, is dedicated to Cassidy. She says she wanted to be a politician or an historian, but somehow wound up as a singer/songwriter with a record contract and a studio willing to... argh! Sorry.

Anyway, from the bio--where she talked about starting to write songs three years ago and getting a small home studio set up--and from the album photos (just her and an acoustic guitar), I expected an intimate evening of music with a young folk singer with some Celtic and maybe Russian influences. Instead, I was greeted with a lush production and full orchestra. To be honest, I felt a little ripped off.

The title track opens the record, and I can see how it became a hit in the UK. It's a pretty pop ballad, but unless I'm actually listening to it, I can't for the life of me remember the tune. And that's one of the problems I have with the CD. The production is great, but it's so boringly straight, there's hardly a pop hook to be found anywhere. The only tune that I remember is "Closest Thing to Crazy." On every song I kept wishing someone like Ella Fitzgerald were singing instead.

Which brings me to the other problem I have with it: her voice. By the end of the record, I was digging my fingernails into the desk to keep myself from hitting the fast forward button. She may be great live, and I could hear flashes of brilliance, but for the most part she sounds like (as my 17-year-old son put it) one of those little kids on a pre-teen beauty pageant. At some points she's even flat.

I don't want to be too harsh, though. I can see where she could develop into a great jazzy singer. On at least one track she sounds like she'd be a natural on Broadway. But with the exception of "Closest Thing to Crazy," I doubt I'll even bother to rip tracks off this CD.