Joan Osborne, perhaps best known for her repetitive single, “One of Us” about a supreme being who could be just like any of us, has released her new album Righteous Love after a 5 year hiatus.

Righteous Love lands musically right between her previous two albums, Relish and Early Recordings.

Love seems to lack the raw energy and vocal vitality that came across in Early Recordings which were just that: recordings of Osborne’s early performances in New York blues clubs plus a couple studio tracks.

Love doesn’t have the easy hooks of Relish either, but it does carry on Osborne’s spirit of experimentation that threads through both her previous albums.

This time her songs take on shades of India as she marries the signature sounds of sitar and wavering vocals with powerful blues guitar.

The first half of Righteous Love is a lot better then second half. Songs like, “Safety in Numbers” and the title track, “Righteous Love” really growl and throb with Osborne’s signature wail.

But the love songs that dominate the album start to become tedious after track 5. “Grand Illusion” especially becomes irritating as Osborne struggles to write awkward rhymes.In that song she sings, “The obliteration of your isolation / the complete explosion of your fondest notion / this disintegration / is your elevation.” At least she’s not singing about love again.

Even with the repetitive theme, the final track, Osborne’s poignantly stripped down interpretation of Bob Dylan’s “Make You Feel My Love” works well.

If you already love Osborne buy this album, but for a real introduction to what her sultry, bluesy, powerful voice can do, pick up Early Recordings.