"No Frills" is a typical 80s product. Featuring Top 40 production values (ie, safe, commercial but dull), this is not among Bette's best albums. To sample what the lady is truly capable of, you are advised to turn to her two early 70s releases, "Divine Ms M" and "Songs From A New Depression" and also her latest, "Bette". Her mid-career period wasn't particularly fertile. It didn't yield anything remotely comparable in quality or consistency and "No Frills" is just one of those mediocre albums saved only by some really terrific things in there. Much of the first side features top drawer material. The first three cuts, "Is It Love", "You're My Favourite Waste Of Time" and a definitive rendition of "All I Need To Know" quite frankly blew me away. Linda Ronstadt's more polished hit version of the latter retitled "Don't Know Much" took much of the rawness and impact away. But with the exception of the lovely "My Eye On You" and a credible cover of the Rolling Stones' "Beast Of Burden", it's mostly downhill from there on. "Heart Over Head" is painfully pedestrian while the two closing numbers are so unmemorable I can't even remember what they sound like. "Only In Miami" is, on the other hand, just one of those Latin/samba like things Bette always include in her albums. It's OK but unexceptional. "No Frills" isn't a terribly good album but if you're a Bette fan, you're gonna love at least half of what's in here and 5 out of 10 ain't too bad. I gave this 3-star album a 4-star rating only because the best of it is pretty terrific.