Bathhouse Betty´s title harks back to Midler´s early days as a favorite of the Manhattan gay community. Its eclectic, surprisingly strong choice of material also recalls the triumphs of her first two albums. Here she discovers a sassy new anthem in "I´m Beautiful," adds Dave Frishberg´s wry "I´m Hip" for good measure, and also makes room for R&B classics like Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles´ "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman" and Big Maybelle´s "One Monkey Don´t Stop No Show." Singer-songwriters Leonard Cohen ("Song of Bernadette") and Ben Folds ("Boxing," an imagined monologue by Muhammad Ali) help offset the bathos of "My One True Friend," the latest in Midler´s series of instant-standard ballads.