Pebble to a Pearl (2008)

SOBER WINO With material better than what's on Pebble to a Pearl, Nikka Costa could make people say, ''Amy, who?''

Poor Nikka. Long before a certain beehived Brit hip-cocked her way into the spotlight, the American-bred Costa was working the retro-soul whitegirl growl like a pro, as evidenced on her excellent, funked-out 2000 debut, Everybody's Got Their Something (coproduced, coincidentally — or not! — by Amy Winehouse collaborator Mark Ronson). Alas, while an increasingly beleaguered Winehouse may have abdicated the throne by personal default, Costa won't likely step in to replace her with Pebble to a Pearl. Though blessed with a singularly smoky, supple voice, she simply lacks the material; Pebble is, incongruously, too smooth to turn into a pearl. B–
Download This: Listen to a preview of ''Cry Baby'' on Amazon.com or tracks from Pebble on NikkaCosta.com