There’s a point at which mellowness becomes narcolepsy and stain becomes a shroud. This, Washington’s third CD and her first with her own band backing her up, is that point, defined. Not that Toni Lynn Washington hasn’t got a nice, honeyed voice, sort of a Dinah Washington tempered with Irma Thomas, but we’ll never know how good it is if she keeps making albums as helplessly, hopelessly generic as Good Things. The silkiest stuff is the most engaging, as the band weaves comfortable little vignettes foe her voice to roam around in, a la “Satisfaction,” with its comfy domesticity, and the sleepy sexuality of “Oh What A Dream.” (Tim Gearan’s guitar in particular is the embodiment of good taste.)

Any attempt to put a kick inside this little slumberland, however, is met with failure. The Joe Williams standard “Allright, Okay, You Win” is supposed to reverberate with the happy irony of someone letting go of their fear and security at once; instead, it sounds flat and two-dimensional, as if Washington really WERE just giving in unhappily. The band’s less than enthusiastic, as well, but you can even hear them attempting to boot Toni in her backside during “Looking At The Future.” There’s no crime in being smooth, and we’re glad she’s got such peace of mind, but can Washington please find something that moves her? We need to be moved, too. That’s what we listen for.