Customer Reviews

Scene of the Crime

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Without a doubt, Bettye LaVette is among the very best singers performing today. Much has been written about her astonishing "comeback," which, when compared to others who had big records years ago, came back onto the scene with a hit and then vanished again, there is no "comparison." LaVette is now where she should always have been -- with her peers, the greatest of singers. "When The Money Came" tells it all. I can't get enough of that one.

This new CD really grows on you. That's the case with every album I purchase because usually, I get stuck on one or two tunes that I can't leave alone. On SCENE OF THE CRIME, I became mesmerized by "Talking Old Soldiers," which I listened to 12 times straight before I could pull myself off the floor. Another recent LaVette recording did the same thing to me, her version of Bruce Springsteen's "Streets of Philadelphia," which one critic noted, "doesn't belong to Bruce any longer." Well, "Soldiers" is now Bettye LaVette's.

It's been said, "don't let Aretha Franklin get near one of your songs," well, the same can be said of Miss LaVette. Not only have Bettye's records catapulted her towards the heavens, her electrifying stage performances have "time-traveled" people back in time -- a period when singers didn't need 20 dancers prancing behind them, pyrotechnics and other special effects. LaVette is from the school of "hit the stage, grab the mic and sing your butt off."

With the Grammys being handed out to "artists" of questionable talent and abilities, who just happen to sell a lot of records, wouldn't it be refreshing to see some REAL ARTISTS win for genuine QUALITY work?

Note: Bettye just picked up a Grammy nomination for this album for Best Contemporary Blues Album of 2007.

There's a focus throughout this set of THE VOICE, and the voice is Bettye LaVette. Recorded in Muscle Shoals and produced by her, together with David Barbe and Patterson Hood there's a sparse stripped down feel to the set which allows plenty of space for her to show off what fantastic condition the voice is in. Add to that the sinuous keyboard work of Spooner Oldham, together with a fine performance by Drive-By Truckers who wrap their sound around her voice, and Oldham's keyboards.
There's not a horn section in sight, and performance is probabaly better for the sparsity that it encourages. The excellent sleeve notes by Patterson Hood (whose father David Hood from the original Fame session band appears on the album as well) suggest that the musicians and the artist found the whole experience cathartic and the intensity of the end produce suggest that it was.
It's one of those albums that is best heard as a whole rather than trying to pick out specific songs, but I'd agree that the reading of Elton John's "Talking Old soldiers" is an unexpected and brilliant reading of an unlikely tune to be recorded in the set.I also like the version of Ray Charles "They call it love" and Ed Petterson and Kim McClean's " I guess we shouldn't talk about that now".
It's an album recorded by an artist who at 61 years old appears to be at the very top of her form, and leads to speculation as to "What next?". Before there's an answer to that is the opportunity to enjoy this fantastic album.

Bettye LaVette is like a vintage bottle of Bordeaux; she gets better with age. Scene of the Crime picks up where she left us with I've Got My Own Hell to Raise. I'm a relatively new fan having discovered Bettye about three years ago. I've seen her about a half dozen times during these past few years, and always walk away breathless. During this period of time, I've acquired four or five of her older records. I enjoy all of them, but I've got to say, I like the deeper, smokier voice that I hear on the newer ones. In addition to the changes in her range, she's developed the distinguishing characteristic of all the great vocalists I've seen/heard over the past thirty plus years (Sarah Vaughn for example), the ability to make someone else's song their own. She owns the material on this record. This record also has the swampy undertones of the great work that came out of Muscle Shoals in the late Sixties, early Seventies. All in all, it's another long ball from one of the greats.

Though Bettye LaVette began her career 40 years ago, it never took off as it should, despite her being the only artist to record for Motown and Atlantic.
She didn't get major attention (and touring dates) until three years ago when she was rediscovered by the edgy Anti Records.
The company had the divine idea to match LaVette's vintage vocals to contemporary songs written entirely by smart women, from Joan Armatrading to Sinead O'Connor.
The resulting album I've Got My Own Hell to Raisestruck a perfect balance between historic depth and modern audacity.
Now she returns with "The Scene of the Crime", an almost autobiographical look back at the long hard road she has traveled, and for her more than worthy followup CD, Ms.LaVette covers songs entirely by men (except for one she co-wrote). Yet it gains a juicier theme, and backstory, from the place it was recorded in: Muscle Shoals Studio.
Her voice has matured to a crackling growl, rich in colour and fierce emotion. It's particularly effective on a heartrending cover of Elton John's "Talking Old Soldiers", and on the country lament "Choices".
Not all her song selections are this astute: much as the self-righteous, take-me-as-I-am lyric suits her, it's a road she screeches down too often.
Still, its magnetic moments make you glad she didn't just give up and get a day job.
She teams up with latter-day country-funk combo Drive-By Truckers, whose leader Patterson Hood is the son of the great Muscle Shoals sideman David Hood. The Truckers put LaVette in just the right stripped and sinewy setting. Hard guitars, dark bass and striking drums surround her.
Her vocals come from so deep in the gut. Yet Ms.LaVette's rip-roaring instrument also remains beauteous to behold.
The album also features Bettye's first songwriting credit, a cowrite with the Truckers' own Patterson Hood titled '"Before the Money Came (The Battle of Bettye LaVette)", a hard rocking tune that chronicles her struggles in a pointed, take-no-prisoners style, an autobiographical account of the many obstacles she has faced in her 40-plus years of trying to make it in the music biz.
The album was recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, a city known for its legendary soul and pop recordings. It is also the town where Bettye recorded a masterpiece titled Child of the Seventiesback in 1972. For some reason, Atlantic Records shelved it. The CD didn't surface until nearly 30 years later - and only in France.
Bettye went back to Muscle Shoals to record this album, it was like returning to the scene of a crime.
This explains the title of the album.
The album highlights: "I Still Want to be Your Baby", '"The Last Time" and "Jealousy".

You've got to believe me, this CD will knock your socks off. It plays like an Elmore Leonard book reads. The songs are like chapters in this remarkable lady's over-looked struggle to find her own soul. And man, she does. And she throws it into your head with no shame.

Betty gives it to us in a more contemporary delivery, as opposed to " I've Got My Own Hell to Raise ", and she still has that unique ability to make strangers say, " wow, who is that". I first got interested in her via an Esquire magazine review, which stated Betty's voice moved people in different ways, but you would be moved !!!
Betty is truly one of a kind, and this recording will make you glad you took the time to listen.

Whether you want to call this neo-soul or just straight ahead R&B, Bettye comes alive on this disk. Here is the voice of a mature woman in sound and spirit. She can set 'em up and knock 'em down. What is so astounding to me is the brilliant marriage of the Drive By Truckers with this independent lady. These are songs that can stand alone. When you start to worry that the creative well has run dry, put this CD on for a spin. It is a joy to listen to these well-produced and heartfelt songs. The country influences mix so well with Betye' voice and style. These songs are clean and bare enough to cut through any BS reviews.

I've lent the CD to a friend for an opening of his coffee house. So, I will save any song breakdowns for another time. Suffice to say that this is an exceptional collection of songs by a hopeful and accomplished singer with a tight and swingin' band. Here is the career maker album that has always alluded Bettye until now. What a joy to hear! This one stays in the CD changer.

What a tremendous combination this is! Smoking, explosively honest southern soul from Bettye, with the Drive By Truckers providing the rock hard R&B grooves. This lady rocks the house! If Tina Turner sang with the Black Crowes, it MIGHT come out this good. Five stars and looking forward to more. Just dig the song samples for a tantalizing taste -- there are no duds on this disk.

"I've Got My Own Hell to Raise" was a fabulous c.d. - one of the best of 2005. After 40 or so years, Bettye LaVette became an overnight sensation. And something this bright, this meteoric, of course begs the question: will the next recording be this good, or even better?

I've now listened to "The Scene of the Crime" about 4 times, and honestly, I don't know. It seems even more personal, even more confessional, than "Hell." I fully agree with Patterson Hood, the author of the terrific liner notes (and practically worth the price of the c.d. alone, for its historic insights): "Talking Old Soldiers" is this c.d.'s tour de force. Nearly that good as well is "Somebody Pick Up My Pieces," and the autobiographical "Before the Money Came" ("The Battle of Bettye LaVette").

But there is not a weak or mediocre track on this c.d. - and of course, not on "Hell," either. They are both terrific. Right now, Ms. LaVette is the "It Girl" of soul. She is on a roll, and can do no wrong. I really look forward to her next c.d. She looks and sounds like the youngest 61-year-old singer around. May her star shine brightly, and may she continue to turn out discs like this, for years to come. RC

Going back over the years from the sixties to current, nobody is equal to this wondrous great singer who gets inside a song so deeply that the listener is drawn in to a life changing emotional experience through a song...raw & deeply passionate, Bettye LaVette is legendary and anyone who enjoys a great singer needs to experience "Scene Of The Crime". Keep on rocking Bettye and thank you for another magnificent masterwork!!!