"I used to be a sweetie/And I barely stayed alive," Candye Kane announces on the opening title track of The Toughest Girl Alive, and if one knows even a bit of her life history, one can easily believe it. Don"t let the tough exterior fool you, though--Kane"s got a heart of gold, and it comes through on every one of her songs. Extolling the spiritual value of being true to oneself as much as she embraces the pleasures of the flesh, Kane may seem like an odd role model with such songs as "Let"s Commit Adultery" and "(Hey, Mister!) She Was My Baby Last Night," but she cheerfully admits that if there"s a price, she"ll pay it. After all, "Makes no difference to the Lord above/He loves you no matter who you love." With a siren"s voice and an aggressively untrendy swing band behind her that"s one of the tightest anywhere, Kane has gained a following that"s rapidly approaching the outer limits of cult status; there"s even a testimony from Penn Jillette included in the liner notes, for heaven"s sake. If Kane comes to your town, you must check her out. Introduce yourself, but beware: as Jillette says, "If you get too close to Candye, you"re never going to leave. You"ll see." What"s more, you won"t want to. --Genevieve Williams