I figured this would be a pretty blah album from an artist I usually enjoy, but was pleasantly surprised. It was a lot more funk- and soul-tinged than her studio albums, and while she did a bit too much talking, I really liked the new songs that were added and most of the remakes of the old ones (with the exception of “Fallin’,” which was so good to begin with that the “unplugged” version just seemed heavy-handed).

And, okay, I’m really a sucker for good horn sections.