"If there's drama, Bettye LaVette prefers to keep it
in her singing"
There's a certain word Bettye LaVette
is hearing a lot these days, and she isn't very happy about
it. The word is "comeback." "I
wish that word could stop being used," she said... Read
more
"Soul singer finally finds the spotlight"
Don't call it a comeback. No, seriously,
don't call this sterling moment in singer Bettye LaVette's
long career a comeback, because that oft-used word implies
an "is" had become a "was," and then
miraculously morphed into an "is" again. "I
wasn't an oldie-but-goodie," LaVette says matter-of-factly
but with humor. "I was an old failure. Now it feels
like everything's about to start." Read
more
"Sister Act: Renascent R&B singer Bettye
LaVette returns with deeply personalized set of songs written
by other women."
"By the looks of the cover, Anti-
Records would like you to believe that they resurrected soul
singer Bettye LaVette from the dead. I’ve Got My Own
Hell to Raise, her first record for the imprint, features
a shadowy, yellowed portrait of LaVette that looks more like
a death mask, exaggerating the wrinkles along her mouth until
they are canyons, which is not quite the image to celebrate
her revitalization in mainstream consciousness.
Read
more
"What we have here are ten of the most
soulful songs you will ever hear."
As I began this review my first thought
was, will I be able to do justice to the incredible journey
that Bettye LaVette and company took me on, and most importantly,
will I be able to express the ultimate satisfaction I received
from this release? Read
more
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