Rating: *** (3 out of 4)

Availability:Scarce

Brent Spiner is most popular for his role as Data -- the android who would be human -- on "Star Trek: The Next Generation." When it was announced that he was recording an album, I shuddered. Past experience with Trek stars cutting records can best be summed up with two words: Leonard Nimoy.

For those of you who are not familiar with this particular bit of trivia, Leonard Nimoy played Mr. Spock on the original "Star Trek." He also recorded two albums. His first album is actually well-respected for clever lyrical work (note, not for his voice). His second album is frequently ranked with the worst albums of all time. This does not bode well.

Brent Spiner, however, is not Leonard Nimoy. Ol' Yellow Eyes Is Back is a collection of old standards, ranging from "Toot Toot Tootsie" to "Embraceable You." Through each song, Spiner proves that he has the voice for this music with stellar skill. His rendition of "Marie" is soft, slow, and tugs at the heart strings, while "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart" runs fast and loose. The standards are new again with Spiner, and that's difficult to do.

The album loses a star for gimmicks, specifically on the song "It's A Sin (To Tell A Lie)" where Spiner is backed by "The Sunspots," LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Jonathan Frakes, and Patrick Stewart. Admittedly, they provide good harmony, and very few people speak better than Patrick Stewart, but you can't help but feel that the much-hyped group only there to help sell the album. Ol' Yellow Eyes Is Backis a strong enough album to stand by itself.

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