It only takes a quick look at the cover to get a reasonably decent idea that this isn't your typical album: Decked out in a grossly oversized suit and heavy theatrical makeup, is not your typical singer, either. Both the cover and the music within lean heavily to the dramatic -- 's delivery is all in a very operatic falsetto, though most of the music itself is more of the early-'80s European dance school (indeed, one of his collaborators here was , probably best-known for his later work with ). Only one of the tracks here was self-penned; rather, gets down to work here as an interpreter, turning in suitably skewed versions of and 's The real highlights here are his take on 's song and a rather straight (ahem) reading of the aria from ' work . It's pretty hard to imagine your typical music buff embracing this song, let alone the entire album, but fans of off-kilter music will certainly find a lot to love about this album. ~ Sean Carruthers