Forgive me Father for I have sinned. It’s been roughly 16 years since my last confession, and in that time I haven’t been—how should I say this?—entirely open in my romantic relationships. No doubt the Big Guy is well aware of my indiscretions, because why else would my skin burn when I listened to Women’s Work, a benefit album by women, about women, and for women? There I was, lying on the floor, bottle o’ Bud in one hand, Playboy in the other, and this mostly acoustic feminist rant on the stereo. And damn if it wasn’t two minutes into Ani DiFranco’s shrieking live take on “Cradle and All”—the part where she almost hyperventilates about “last night’s underwear in my back pocket, sure sign of the morning after”—when I smelled smoke. Talk about a guilty conscience: DiFranco was making me feel as if I had booted her out of the sack! Now, if it was Natalie Merchant we were talking about—oh sorry, where were we? Despite the fact that further remarks about the female gender will probably render me sightless, I must be honest: There isn’t much on the 13-track Women’s Work that has much bite. Vonda Shepard’s pretty postcard, “Maryland,” stands out among the world beat-wannabe drivel. And thank, er, gosh for Toni Childs, whose wispy, soothing collection-closer, “I Met a Man,” actually has a male backing vocal. Of course, it’s only a coincidence that the best song on the album features a man. Because we all know women are better than men. At everything. Now, I was wondering if we could do something about this burning flesh…—Sean Daly