Bettye LaVette: I've Got My Own Hell to Raise : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

At their best, cover albums are a balance between familiar material and fresh interpretation. Here, Bettye LaVette, the veteran Detroit soul singer known for her 1965 marquee single "Let Me Down Easy," adds a twist: All these numbers were written by women. LaVette connects with the country soul of Dolly Parton as well as Sinead O'Connor's "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got." But it's Lucinda Williams' "Joy," a lyrical trip in search of stolen happiness, that suits LaVette's seen-it-all voice best. Hell to Raise is this year's Van Lear Rose: an often thrilling testament to a wonderful female talent undimmed by time.

PETER RELIC

(Posted: Nov 28, 2005)

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4of 5 Stars

I've been praising the name of Bettye LaVette every since I heard her as a teenager. At every party, her songs were in the mix and each time, people would ask, "who is that singing?" Many were so moved, they went out looking for her records.

I love almost everything on this new CD, that's why it gets a very high score. When I played "The High Road," I got stuck on it for at least 10 plays in a row.

Since getting the CD, I've seen Bettye in person and conclude that she is THE BEST FEMALE STAGE PERFORMER ALIVE TODAY, bar none. She works as hard or harder than James Brown (with whom she once toured) and Tina Tina Turner (when she was with Ike and the Ikettes) and turns her audiences into Super Bowl-type fans.

Friends across the world have reported back to me that "she was awesome," "the most thrilling show I've ever seen," "incredible." They are correct, of course. Her "live" version of "Joy" is so dynamic, it's frightening. Bettye threatens to tear her throat out with emotion, carrying her audience with her. At a sold-out Joe's Pub in New York, LaVette was greeted backstage after her show by almost half the audience who crammed the hallway waiting to continue the standing, screaming ovation when she emerged from her dressing room. She was overwhelmed.

A Grammy glitch has prevented this album the nominations for the 2006 awards. A big disappointment, but then, there's next year.

Dec 17, 2005 09:09:30

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