by Jason AnkenyAfter a series of LPs that established her reputation as a torch singer par excellence, Sue Raney made an abrupt but appealing creative turn with Alive and in Love, eschewing the ballads of previous efforts to tackle a series of up-tempo, sun-kissed pop songs that capture the full scope of her lovely vocals. Created in collaboration with arrangers including Gene Page and Ralph Carmichael, the songs are buoyed by feather-light strings, syncopated rhythms, and a soulful sophistication recalling Dionne Warwick's records with Burt Bacharach and Hal David (a comparison further driven across via a lithe cover of the classic "Walk on By"). Raney never sacrifices the beauty and power of her voice in the name of crossover aspirations, however. Songs like "Who's Afraid" and "Smile" retain all the expressiveness and nuance of her previous music.