Bettye LaVette
'The Scene of the Crime '
Detroit soul queen flirts with banality, recovers.
The indie Tina Turner follows up her tightly wound 2005 comeback, I've Got My Own Hell to Raise, in the company of Drive-By Truckers and Muscle Shoals vets, whose mannered blues shuffles unfortunately sound like they're backing a beer commercial. On the better, slower songs by Elton John and Uncle Ray, the band trades slide guitar for pedal steel, and LaVette's fierce voice drops to a whisper. Then, on Willie Nelson's pleading ballad "Somebody Pick Up My Pieces," devastation ensues.
Now Hear This:
Bettye LaVette - "Before the Money Came (The Battle of Bettye LaVette)" DOWNLOAD MP3
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