Patti Scialfa's second album, 23rd Street Lullaby, was a paean to the romantic, wild, unbridled joy of running around the New York City of the '70s -- a place that no longer exists -- as seen through the eyes of a wiser, seasoned, yet untamed adult heart. Play It as It Lays is its mirror image. Released just a shade over three years later (a brief time for Scialfa, whose debut set Rumble Doll was released in 1993) the songs on Play It as It Lays deal with doubt, heartbreak, betrayal, uncertainty, anger, and restlessness, and find redemption in embracing them all as part of the whole. Co-produced with Steve Jordan and Ron Aniello, Scialfa's songwriting has developed into something so focused that its economy and its sharpness are as becoming as a shiny new stiletto -- one that cuts deep but leaves the most beautiful of scars. The band employed here is essentially the same (without the high-profile guests spots of Marc Ribot and John Medeski): Willie Weeks, Nils Lofgren, Clifford Carter, and Bruce Springsteen (who are affectionately dubbed the "Whack Brothers Rhythm Section"), with Michelle Moore, Cindy Mizelle, Curtis King, and Soozie Tyrell (who also plays violin on a pair of cuts) helping on backing vocals. But the sound, while rooted in the same blend of American roots styles that Scialfa's songs always have, is wider and deeper. There is more reliance on blues, soul, and gospel here while the rootsy back porch, street corner rock roll, and countrified folk are retained.

1		Looking For Elvis
2		Like Any Woman Would
3		Town Called Heartbreak
4		Play Around
5		Rainy Day Man
6		The Word
7		Bad For You
8		Run, Run, Run
9		Play It As It Lays
10		Black Ladder