The deluxe edition of
Colbie Caillat's sweet-natured debut
Coco is expanded by a full disc of new material containing eight songs -- mainly covers, live tracks and alternate versions. This is the kind of material that used to show up on B-sides but now are gathered for deluxe editions, but no matter how they're presented the end result is the same: this is pleasant, unessential music. Because this is
Colbie Caillat, these odds and ends lean toward the pleasant, as she offers a breezy reggae-fied version of
Dusty Springfield's "Brand New Me," the sweet "Beijing Olympic Mix" of "Somethin' Special," a relaxed take on
Lauryn Hill's "Tell Him," a perfectly fine live take on
Bob Marley's "Turn Your Lights Down Low," then a "piano version" of the hit "Magic," and an acoustic take on her breakthrough "Bubbly." Nothing here raises a temperature or an eyebrow, it's all sun-streaked and mellow, and it's all more of the same of what was on
Coco, and it may be enough to tide over fans until they get a proper second album. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine