See Me, Feel Me, Touch Me, Heal me

by William RuhlmannBy the time of the release of her second album, Jennifer (still going by only her first name), in addition to her appearances with the Smothers Brothers, had taken over a prominent role in the L.A. production of Hair, which Parrot Records played up by having her lead off the record with "Let the Sunshine In" (which, unlike the 5th Dimension, who scored a hit with it, she sang with the apocalyptic verses intact) and "Easy to Be Hard" from the musical. Guitarist/comedian Mason Williams, who had jumped to fame on the Smothers Brothers show with his instrumental hit "Classical Gas" (and featured Jennifer on his 1968 LP The Mason Williams Ear Show), turned up here to accompany her on his "Saturday Night at the World" and, of all things, an excerpt from Donizetti's Don Pasacale. Otherwise, producer Al Capps followed the first album formula of having Jennifer cover contemporary material, including songs by the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Jacques Brel, and, as the title indicated, the finale from the Who's new rock opera Tommy. This time, though, the filler that marred the first album was gone, and Jennifer had grown as a singer primarily by learning not to over-sing. By toning down the histrionics, she sounded more involved emotionally, and with arrangements that had more of a rock edge, she even got to do some belting, which demonstrated the power of her voice. Like her first album, her second was not a popular success; unlike her first, it deserved to be.