Jennifer Kimball's new CD, "Veering From the Wave" (Imaginary Road/Polygram), isn't so much a solo debut as it is a reintroduction to a familiar artist. Listeners will instantly recognize Kimball's voice by virtue of her work with The Story, the commercially-successful and critically-acclaimed group that in the early-'90s blazed the trail for contemporary, chart-topping folk-pop artists like Sarah McLachlan, Paula Cole and Jewel. As one-half of that now-legendary duo which made two albums for Elektra Records ("Angel In the House," "Grace In Gravity") and helped foster a whole new genre of intelligent, acoustic-based folk-pop -- to which radio responded at the time by creating Triple-A (Adult Album Alternative), an entirely new format -- Kimball supplied the group's signature harmonies and a hefty dose of comic relief in its live shows.

F. Scott Fitzgerald once said that there are no second acts in American life, but with "Veering From the Wave" -- which establishes her for the first time as a full-fledged, solo singer-songwriter in her own right -- Jennifer Kimball has proved him wrong, with a sound and sensibility that is at once instantly familiar to fans of The Story while indisputably staking claim to its own territory. That territory includes the multi- layered, radio-ready folk-pop of "Kissing In the Car" and "It's a Long Way Home", the introspective, art-folk of "An Ordinary Soldier," the experimental touches of the world-beat flavored "Take One Step" and the dissonant stylings of "World Without End." Add to that the genre-defying "Revelations" -- a meditation on mortality which paraphrases 11th-century Persian poet Omar Khayyam while veering from Jane Siberry-like verses to bouncy, Motown-inspired choruses, ending with a Beatlesque bang circa "Sgt. Pepper" -- and the Celtic-meets-reggae acoustic-rock of "The Someday Cafe," and what you wind up with is a stunningly complex yet utterly accessible and ingratiating pop tour-de-force.

Whereas in The Story she played "second fiddle" to main singer-songwriter Jonatha Brooke, on "Veering From the Wave" Jennifer Kimball takes front and center as vocalist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, handling keyboards, guitar, baritone ukelele and "strumstick," a kind of backpacker dulcimer. The album features 11 Kimball compositions plus a perfectly- chosen cover of Crowded House's overlooked pop classic, "Fall at Your Feet." Kimball's core band reads like a folk-pop all-star lineup, including guitarist Marc Shulman (Suzanne Vega, Chris Botti), bassist Zev Katz (Rosanne Cash, Shawn Colvin), backup vocalist Lucy Kaplansky (Shawn Colvin, Nanci Griffith) and Ben Wittman, former Story drummer and producer, who put both those skills to work on "Veering From the Wave." In addition, a few old friends from The Story lend their support, including guitarist Duke Levine (Mary Chapin Carpenter) and bassist Mike Rivard, and guitar/bouzouki gunslinger Larry Campbell (Bob Dylan, k.d. lang) also appears on a few cuts.

To quote the title of one of her songs, Kimball's debut album might come as a revelation to those who had no idea there was such a powerful creative force lurking inside the harmony singer, who in addition to sharing vocals with Jonatha Brooke in The Story, has lent her considerable vocal prowess to a veritable who's who of contemporary singer-songwriters, including Patty Larkin, John Gorka, Catie Curtis, Lucy Kaplansky and Carrie Newcomer.

Kimball actually counts herself among those who didn't realize she had the resources necessary to pull together an album of original songs. After leaving The Story, she says, "I thought I'd be on the periphery and continue to sing background vocals and make contributions to other peoples' projects." Her departure from The Story was not easy, but staying was impossible. "I had painted myself into a corner," says Kimball. "I didn't write and Jonatha was increasingly writing songs that were just for her. I will always tip my hat to Jonatha musically -- I think she's a brilliant songwriter -- but in the end I had no creative place there, and I was just going absolutely insane." To make matters worse, after she quit The Story, a last-ditch attempt to save her already-unraveling marriage failed, and Kimball found herself suddenly alone in the aftermath of the two key relationships in her life.

It was undoubtedly out of the ensuing struggle to fend off darkness that the seeds were planted for much of what was to become "Veering From the Waves." Drawing on a musical palette that pays tribute to The Story while revealing such diverse influences as Johnny Cash, Saint-Saens, Pink Floyd, Ravel, Led Zeppelin and medieval church music, Kimball displays an ear for the pop hook which is as uncanny as her grasp for such a well- turned phrase as "You are a highway with no exits/They say she drove you to extremes," which kicks off the hypnotically swirling "It's a Long Way Home." Kimball is equally effective with understatement, such as the haiku-like lines that begin the darkly elegant, "An Ordinary Soldier": "It was easier, when I let go/It was easier, than you will know/Your lovely face, your deepest eyes/You fade from me, in this disguise."

While the songs on "Veering From the Wave" are personal -- in a sense they tell a story about coming to terms with endings and beginnings (a motif emphasized by having most of the cuts bleed into one another) -- they are not strictly autobiographical, says Kimball. "You write about what you know. That makes for the best songs. But you sing each song with the conviction of an actress, keenly aware of actually BEING the person in the song, even when you are NOT that person."

"Singing with conviction" is as apt a description as any of Kimball's vocal talent, which Billboard editor Timothy White, in describing The Story's unique harmonies, termed "an airborne metaphor for heartache." Now, in the service of her own songs -- which are at once richly poignant, sonically complex and joyously accessible -- her achingly pure soprano is even more heartbreaking, as it reveals emotional truths that cut deep into Kimball's own soul.

Reviewing a concert early in The Story's illustrious career, one insightful critic wrote, "Jennifer Kimball....mastered the delicate art of knowing when to hold back and when to let loose." With the spotlight now on Kimball alone, there'll be no more holding back.