In the liner notes, NABCO's Amy Langer suggests that the songs on Women for Women 2 will increase awareness about breast cancer. The informational aspect of the album comes less from the actual songs than from the liner notes themselves, which include a variety of well-meaning reminders about the importance of keeping regular appointments for breast examinations, getting mammograms and eating healthily. There is a list of organizations to contact for further information, with phone numbers and website addresses that will prove helpful if you happen to misplace the phone book. Some of the artists themselves have even contributed comments about breast cancer; Sheryl Crow points out that "young women can get breast cancer, too." These quotations will not tell you anything you don't know or anything explained in NABCO's liner notes, but the star-factor lends even the banal some novelty.

Women for Women 2 promises music from "some of the most talented women around," and most of the artists are indeed among the pop chart divas. The notoriety and the gender of the performers seem to be one of the few things that link them; the musical styles represented range from r&b to country to alternative. You will also find several examples of soft pop from the early '90s (Celine Dion, Amy Grant and Vanessa Williams, to name a few). The songs drawn from this batch of lite rockers may not be the ones that secured their fame or their contracts for Disney soundtracks, but their style will be familiar to anyone who frequents elevators.

If you haven't heard the Women for Women 2 songs as muzak, you may have heard them on the radio or on previous releases. Jann Arden's "Insensitive" has become standard pop radio fare; Sheryl Crow's "I Shall Believe" showed up on the Grammy-winning Tuesday Night Music Club. The Indigo Girls' contribution, Emily Salier's "Power of Two," has appeared on no less than four previous releases, including Indigo anthologies and the soundtrack for "Boys on the Side."

To be fair, two songs on the album do seem to venture beyond the beaten path of soft pop and decidedly mainstream "alternative." Joy Askew joins forces with Peter Gabriel in the sparse, haunting "I'm Still Looking for a Home," in which the pulse-like rhythm expresses a quiet spirituality. In "We're Not Alone," Leah Andreone's contemplative introduction gives way to driving rhythms and raw vocals. Her lyrics ("all my answers turn into whys") also suggest a willingness to question the boundaries of pop music that many of her peers on the album remain within. Perhaps any fundraising album depends to a certain extent upon the draw of mainstream artists; in this case, the dark horses provide a welcome change of pace from the standard fare.

The inclusion of lesser-known artists such as Askew and Andreone suggest at least an attempt on NABCO's part to create not just a sure-selling consumer product, but also a collection with thematic continuity. Langer describes music as carrying "a message for the breast cancer cause" to women all over the world; and although the songs do not offer anything nearing explicit commentary on the subject, many do present images of female resilience. Oleta Adams' version of Elton John's "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" expresses an earthy energy in the face of difficulty; Carole King's "Natural Woman" medley gives this energy a specifically female source. But equally provocative is the elusive woman-figure of Joan Osborne's "Lumina" and Vanessa Williams' rendition of "Sister Moon." These images of ethereal femininity, serving as the songs' titles and subjects, represent the motivating spirit of this album. In fact, the greatest artistic contribution of Women for Women 2 may be the concept of "woman" as a central image through which even the mainstream of female pop can represent an attitude of common purpose.