I know pop music critic Sean Daly thought he was punking me when he handed over an advance CD release from Sally Kellerman, the original "Hot Lips" Houlihan in Robert Altman's 1970 classic, M*A*S*H. That's his way of thanking me for loaning him my Slumdog Millionaire screener DVD, providing his most recent obsessions: the Jai Ho dance (now on Melonhead's blog) and the exquisite Frida Pinto.

The joke's on you, Mr. Daly. Kellerman's eponymous second release - who knew she had the first? - is a sexythrowback to nights of smoky cabarets and mornings recovering from the sins of the evening before. Kellerman is, unbelievably, 71 years old now (airbrushing helps on the cover but a more honest photo is in the liner notes) and mostly sounds great. A bit heavy on the breathiness and croak-moans at times but a fine selection for audible seduction.

It helps that Kellerman has a cadre of SoCal pros surrounding her: Grammy winning producer Val Garay (Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Neil Diamond), an invaluable rhythm in bassist Leland Sklar and drummer Russ Kunkel and keyboardist/songwriter Cris Caswell (a Grammy nominee for directing Karin Allyson's jazz CD).Caswell penned the jaunty opening track, Nobody's Perfect that I'm talking my musician friend Sandy Atkinson into adding to her act.

Sally is end-to-end sensuality, playful enough to avoid sounding like a horny old lady on the make yet serious enough to make her snagging you not such a bad idea. Kellerman is a bit too derivative sometimes - her mimicry on Nina Simone's Sugar in My Bowl, for example - can be viewed as an actor getting into a role, rather than an artist creating. I love the slow, chugging groove she lays on Love Potion #9, turing a novelty song into a tribute to aphrodesiacs.

A little Bonnie Raitt here, a smidgen of Etta James there, and everywhere the devotion to old-school grind music for older listeners (like me, and Daly in a few years when he stops smirking at gray hairs). Sally is a CD I'll play again, when the moon is right and time is tight so let's get down to business.

Unfortunately, YouTube doesn't have any video clips from Sally (to be released Feb 10). But I found these audio samples from the CD on Kellerman's Web site, to give you a taste of what she does.

Borrowing Daly's schtik: Download this: Nobody's Perfect.

Reminds me of: Hot Lips and Maj. Frank Burns having their sexual escapades broadcast over the 4077th's P.A. system.