I'm Not Dead [PA] (CD - 2006)

Personnel: Pink (vocals); Emily Saliers (vocals, guitar); Amy Ray, Butch Walker (vocals); Billy Mann (guitar, drum programming); Robin Lynch, Dan Warner (guitar); Niklas Olsson (bass guitar); Joey Waronker, Lee Levin (drums); Lukasz "Doctor Luke" Gottwald (drum programming).

Pink deserves a lot of credit for overturning everyone's expectations. After emerging in 2000 with a debut full of club-ready, R&B-influenced dance-pop, she moved on to genre-hopping hybrids (MISSUNDAZTOOD) and punk-inflected rock (TRY THIS). 2006's I'M NOT DEAD resumes Pink's game of stylistic hopscotch, as she skitters skillfully from arena rock to hip-hop-influenced jams to thoughtful folk to well-crafted pop.

Remarkably, these genre experiments work well together, and stand as a testament to Pink's unwillingness to fit into any music industry mold. Whether collaborating with the Indigo Girls on the acoustic protest song "Dear Mr. President," showing off her irresistible swagger on the electro-groove-driven "'Cuz I Can," or generating soaring pop-rock on "Runaway," I'M NOT DEAD gives listeners plenty to chew on, and the results are as tasty as they are surprising. minimize