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I've Got My Own Hell to Raise
 
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I've Got My Own Hell to Raise

Bettye LaVette
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews) | More about this product
Price: $13.98 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
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Songs from this album are available to purchase as MP3s. Click on "Buy MP3" or view the MP3 Album.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Samples
Song Title Time Price
listen  1. I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got 2:11$0.99 Buy Track
listen  2. Joy 3:55$0.99 Buy Track
listen  3. Down To Zero 3:10$0.99 Buy Track
listen  4. The High Road 4:29$0.99 Buy Track
listen  5. On The Surface 3:26$0.99 Buy Track
listen  6. Just Say So 4:29$0.99 Buy Track
listen  7. Little Sparrow 4:41$0.99 Buy Track
listen  8. How Am I Different 4:28$0.99 Buy Track
listen  9. Only Time Will Tell Me 4:33$0.99 Buy Track
listen10. Sleep To Dream 3:46$0.99 Buy Track

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Frequently Bought Together

I've Got My Own Hell to Raise + Scene of the Crime + A Woman Like Me
Price For All Three: $48.95

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  • This item: I've Got My Own Hell to Raise ~ Bettye LaVette

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  • Scene of the Crime ~ Bettye LaVette

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  • A Woman Like Me ~ Bettye LaVette

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Product Details

  • Audio CD (September 27, 2005)
  • Original Release Date: September 27, 2005
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Label: Anti
  • ASIN: B000AMJDG0
  • Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #19,977 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

    Popular in this category: (What's this?)

    #9 in  Music > R&B > Soul > Northern

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

After four decades toiling in the record business with little more than a fervent cult following to show for it, Bettye LaVette can seem like soul music's equivalent of Roy Hobbs, protagonist of the bittersweet baseball fable The Natural. Whether this riveting collection of ten covers by an eclectic range of contemporary female singer/songwriters will change the husky-throated Detroit native's fortunes seems irrelevant: Its spare, dusky groove and intensely emotional, in-the-moment performances seem utterly disconnected from concerns as trivial as fame and fashion. A forceful, timely reminder that soul thrives on the singer and not the song, LaVette doesn't so much cover these songs as reinvent them from the inside out, be it the chilling, a capella read of Sinead O'Connor's "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got" that opens the album, a gritty take of Lucinda Williams' "Joy" where the singer burns with a fire that might make Tina Turner envious or her recasting Dolly Parton's "Little Sparrow" as bluesy omen and "How Am I Different" by Aimee Mann as inviting, r&b shuffle. In a musical era where soulful authenticity and emotional resonance are too often virtual, this album is a delicious dose of the Real Deal. -- Jerry McCulley


Product Description

With one eye on the intimate concept albums Sinatra invented at mid-'50s Capitol, and the other on the gritty yet sophisticated soul records produced at Atlantic in the '60s, this release offers ten songs that tell the story of Bettye LaVette. Recording stints at Motown, Atlantic, Epic, and a host of smaller labels left her with dreams to burn, and she pours every moment of hope and heartbreak from her 44 years in music into her tough-minded new collection. Choosing only songs written by female artists, she spins the tale of a woman in a world where men make the choices. For every moment of fear and loss, there's an answering moment of triumph and defiance. The songs are from such artists as Sinead O'Connor, Lucinda Williams, Joan Armatrading, Rosanne Cash, Dolly Parton, Aimee Mann, and more.
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Customer Reviews

29 Reviews
5 star:
 (22)
4 star:
 (6)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (29 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
43 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars This is amazing stuff, folks, September 27, 2005
By Robert English (Independence, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I'd never heard of this performer until a report on "CBS News Sunday Morning" by Bill Flannagan of VH1 ("Up Next and Recaps" on September 25) included a brief description about this meaty slice of music. I'm not normally grateful to a newscast, but in this case I certainly am - I might have missed out on this incredible singer.

Comparisons to Ann Peebles or Tina Turner come to mind, but that misses the mark since there's a smouldering presence in Bettye's voice that isn't matched elsewhere. The late Janis Joplin would have had this voice in her head as an ambitious ideal to approach, but could never hope to attain.

The musicians in the back give Bettye some wonderful support, enabling her to simply deliver without having to carry lesser talent along with her. The recording quality is supurb, and whatever ambience the studio brought to the table only helps to create the magic surrounding these knockout performances.

If you thought that there was no genuine soulful entertainers left anymore, give this a listen before you walk away. If you miss this, you've missed the world.
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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible!, September 27, 2005
By A Fan (Two Steps From The Blues, USA) - See all my reviews
This is no comeback album. Bettye LaVette is right where she's always been, doing what she's always done; reaching into a song, finding its heart and staking a claim to it as her own. This is our chance for the world to catch up with her, and it couldn't be a finer opportunity.

"I've Got My Own Hell To Raise" is ten songs from ten female writers who, at first blush, might be surprised they've written soul songs. In each case, opening with the cappella Sinead O'Connor's "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got" and closing with Fiona Apple's "Sleep To Dream," LaVette not only taps the emotional essence of each song, she's able to transmit that emotion with no wasted effort or dramatic puffery.

Even better, the brilliance of her performance is matched by the vitality of the attitude portrayed in each song. There's not a whimper to be heard from beginning to end. There's vulnerability, but no weakness. The show of strength is exhilarating.

For those current day melisma-addicted "neo-soul" singers who think it's necessary to stretch every word over a dozen notes and add senseless swoops and trills as a sign of sincerity, "I've Got My Own Hell To Raise" will be a master class on what it means to sing with real soul. The great delight is that we get to sit in on the lesson any time we like.

LaVette sings on the razor's edge of emotion. Every note, every tone, every pregnant pause has a meaning. It is naked, it is pure, it is powerful. LaVette knows what she wants to say, and even better, she has all the tools to tell us. This is a real voice. When she wants to hammer, she hits hard. When she needs to cut deep, she's a laser.

The production of the CD provides the perfect setting for her performance. It's spare, and stripped down, making sure LaVette is always the centerpiece. Those who think horns are necessary for soul music might be disappointed, but they shouldn't be, because with this CD, horns would just get in the way. This is soul music, distilled to its essence, the way it should sound all the time.

The CD is a flat out gem. You need this CD.

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44 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Show Stopping., September 27, 2005
By A* (New York, N.Y. United States) - See all my reviews
  
Bettye LaVette can't sing. Lavette can "sang." Time and sour taste has weathered her voice and bent a weird saddened state to her phrasing but it works here. She sounds like the last great gospel singer. She has the kind of voice that Aretha should have if she fell on hard times.
The entire production is showstopping but the care she gives to Dolly Parton's work is masterful. It's an utter shame that this work might be ignored when awards are handed out but that's not the point. The point is that her work has gravity to it in a time when music is all about prodcution above everything else.
Only Mavis Staples and the still great Etta James can come close to evoking such an a lived in performance to another's material.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Oh Bettye, where have you been?
What I like about this cd is that it avoids all the rock, r&b and blues cliches.
You won't hear all those riffs and hooks that we all have heard hundreds of
times... Read more
Published 4 months ago by little grey kitty

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Miss this!
I recently discovered Bettye and became an instant fan. A fantastic voice coupled with songs that speak to the human condition. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Cindy M

5.0 out of 5 stars Hidden gem
I had never heard of Bettye LaVette until I happened to come across this CD at a local library. I immediately loved it, which is uncommon for me. Read more
Published 11 months ago by doctormanny

5.0 out of 5 stars Love it!
This album is GREAT! All of the songs are unique but go together well.
Published 19 months ago by Rankin it

5.0 out of 5 stars I've Got My Own Reflection to Raise......
As you might know by now - the life of a Seer who reviews music can get very complicating. Be that as it may, everyday in my candlelit
office I receive tons of... Read more
Published on November 18, 2007 by ! Metamorpho ;)

4.0 out of 5 stars great album
I heard a couple of samples of Betty LaVette on a website. I really enjoed what I heard so I bought the album. Read more
Published on June 14, 2007 by Martin Fuller

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing woman...
If you're a fan of classic soul, this womans work is a must in your collection. Her powerful, raspy, raw voice, together with some amazing lyrics will have you listening to these... Read more
Published on July 4, 2006 by Galileo Galilei

1.0 out of 5 stars Betty Lavette
I had not heard her before, only read about her. I discovered I don't really like her! Just don't like the style
Published on July 4, 2006 by Cherril A. Gillette

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!
This CD was one that Amazon prompted me to consider based on the "people like you bought this" technology. And lo and behold, they were spot on! Read more
Published on June 29, 2006 by J. Adams

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding CD but Amazon's Product Review is PC lame!
Let's get the quick negative out of the way first. In Amazon's Product Description, the anonymous writer opines, "Choosing only songs written by female artists, she spins the tale... Read more
Published on May 15, 2006 by L. Brown

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