{$Mandy Moore} doesn't capture the headlines the way {$Britney}, {$Christina}, or, thanks to {@MTV}'s revelation of her status as the dumb blonde for the new millennium, {$Jessica Simpson} do, but working under the radar is a good place for her to be. While greater attention was paid to her peers, {$Moore} proved that she's a genuine, credible actress in {#A Walk to Remember} and {#How to Deal}, far outshining {$Britney}'s turn in {#Crossroads}; she never succumbed to the {^Stripped} antics of {$Xtina}; and every career decision she'd made so far, choosing classy albeit glossy mainstream projects, displays that she has more smarts than {$Simpson}. Where all the aforementioned divas were more or less hidebound to fashion and {\dance-pop}, {$Moore} decided to broaden her horizons and position herself for a long-term career with her third album, {^Coverage}. With this record, she leaves {\dance-pop} behind and heads toward mature {\pop} -- and in a far more effective fashion than {$Jessica Simpson}'s {$Andy Williams} revamp {^In This Skin} -- by positioning herself, with the assistance of producer/engineer {$John Fields}, as a {\pop/rock} singer by covering classic singer/songwriters such as {$Carole King}, {$Joni Mitchell}, {$Carly Simon}, {$Cat Stevens}, and {$Elton John}, as well as cult {\pop} icons like {$XTC}'s {$Andy Partridge}, {$Mike Scott} of {$the Waterboys}, {$Joe Jackson}, and {$Todd Rundgren}. Though the selections {$Moore} and {$Fields} have made are predictable -- each songwriter is showcased by one of his or her best-known songs, with the arguable exception of {&"Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters"} for {$Elton} and {$Bernie Taupin} -- that does make sense, since it piques curiosity: listeners will want to know how does {$Mandy Moore} sing {&"Can We Still Be Friends,"} {&"I Feel the Earth Move,"} and {&"Senses Working Overtime."} The answer: pretty good, actually. {$Moore} still has the problem of being a more likeable vocalist than a knockout singer, but she makes up for her lack of pizzazz through her hard work and good taste. While it is true that it is disarming to hear some of these songs cleaned and polished for mainstream radio, at times the reworking can be quite effective, as on the surging {&"The Whole of the Moon"} (the best of the {\alt-pop} reworkings) and the passionate take on {$Joan Armatrading}'s {&"Drop the Pilot"} (the best {\singer/songwriter} reworking). And while there is some awkwardness here -- mainly deriving from {$Moore}'s plain-spoken, earnest delivery and {$Fields}' slightly fussy, slick arrangements not quite suiting the idiosyncrasies of these songs -- it's refreshing to hear an aspiring {\pop} singer work with a strong set of songs by distinctive writers instead of cookie-cutter professional tunesmiths who only have the charts in mind. {$Moore} and {$Fields} still have the charts in mind, but they're trying to do something of substance within the modern mature-{\pop} framework, and while {^Coverage} isn't always successful, it is always admirable and likeable, and certainly puts {$Moore} on the right path for an interesting, successful career. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide