Waitress in a Donut Shop she sounds like she's been woodshedding. Instead of serving the warmed up leftovers so often used for the sequel to a successful album, she's stretched her own limits. Every cut on the album represents a challenge successfully met.

Muldaur unifies the eclectic material and wide-ranging assortment of superpros who accompany her through the distinctiveness of her touch. She creates tension through what she leaves out and what she refuses to do. She never loses control and never pulls out the stops. Her version of Allen Toussaint's "Brickyard Blues" is the best yet, but even on its rambunctious chorus she never completely surrenders.

When she hits the sexual metaphors of "It Ain't the Meat It's the Motion" and "If You Haven't Any Hay" she resists the temptation to break out of character or to depart from the style of the songs. She never relies on the cheap swagger because she knows that honest confidence is more convincing.

When she wanders into more emotional material she maintains that same composure. My favorite cut is a new song by the fine young writer and singer Anna McGarrigle, "Cool River." Through her vocal discretion she fulfills the song's intended mood of serenity. She leans on the haunting "Oh Papa," but she never bends it out of shape.

As good as Maria Muldaur was, on Waitress in a Donut Shop Maria sings consistently better. On the other hand, the material is not quite on a par with the earlier albums. She found no new songs to compare with "The Work Song" and "Mad Mad Me." And for music this funky, Joe Boyd and Lenny Waronker's production is sometimes too polished for its own good. But that's only by way of second guessing this extremely well-done followup to their initial triumph. (RS 176)

JON LANDAU