Bettye Lavette (USA)
11/02/05
AB Club, Brussels (B)
Soul Royalty with An Attitude
A few months ago, Bettye Lavette released her most successful album to date at the age of 59. Like Solomon Burke a few years ago, Lavette - a veteran with four+ decades of experience - teamed up with producer Joe Henry to record a collection of songs by exclusively female artists (as suggested by Anti Records' president Andy Kaulkin). Even though these songs weren't written with Bettye in mind- with the exception of the Sharon Robinson-penned "the High Road" - and even though none of them could be considered traditional soul music (whether it be pop, rock, folk or country), Lavette's approach and background is so individual and persistent that you wouldn't even dare calling it something else than soul. Here's a woman who could turn the dumbest teenage anthem into a searing statement.
She has had the time to practise, of course. Lavette was
discovered in the early sixties, right before soul fully matured and became
a dominant musical force for a decade. Unfortunately, Lavette's countless
singles only became moderate successes, never cracking the Pop Charts, doomed
to be confined to collectors' collections. While she'd already cut an album
in the early 70s, her first full-length only appeared in the early 80s. By
that time however, the record buying public had found other delights to consume.
Lavette continued honing her craft and performing under the radar, until things
finally changed around the turn of the millennium, when some early recordings
were finally issued (Souvenirs (2000)) and Dutch label Munich Records
released a live album (Let Me Down Easy - In Concert). Especially the
latter proved once and for all that this fiery lady didn't deserve this obscurity.
2003's A Woman Like Me gained a broader audience, critical raves and
recognition (she received the W.C. Handy Award for "Comeback Blues Album of
the Year"), but it's I've Got My Own Hell To Raise which finally introduced
her to a broader audience looking for genuine passion, sincerity and a voice
with character.
Featuring songs by artists as diverse as Rosanne Cash, Aimee Mann, Lucinda Williams, Sinead O'Connor, Dolly Parton and Joan Armatrading, the project sounds like a hodgepodge on paper, but the bare-boned arrangements and, especially, Lavette's commanding performances, turn it into pure soul class and it couldn't have been any other way. The same can be said about her performance at the cosy AB Club. As tradition prescribes, her backing band did a two song warm-up, touching upon Bayou funk and Northern soul and when the singer finally stepped on stage, she immediately let you know you were in for something special. Looking extremely motivated and sharp, Lavette proved herself to be a relentless live performer, hollering, screaming, panting, caressing, whispering the words with a timing and intensity that was simply stunning. Her voice may not always be "pretty" in the traditional sense of the word - she's usually more of a blues shouter of the Etta James/Tina Turner-school - but the impressive range, raspy edges and occasionally even blood-raw screams possessed more feeling and guts than most artists can only dream of. Here's a woman who's been through her personal ups and downs, who's been messed around with, who's had her share of bad luck, who's been stood up, maltreated and ignored, but… she won't back down. Whether she pranced the stage like a peacock, nearly crawled like a wounded animal not willing to give up just yet, or hollered in ecstasy, it made you wanna nod and yell "damn right." That said, she not only displayed strength and attitude, but also a naked vulnerability others keep to themselves.
Obviously, the stress lied on the latest album, and Lavette soared her way through the exuberant funk of "Joy" (which, and I almost regret to say this, tramples Lucinda Williams' original), the indignant, dark groove she's turned Dolly Parton's "Little Sparrow" into, and the amazing highlight "Just Say So," one of the essential pieces of soul that have been released the past decade. On the other hand, it was also a pleasure to hear her tear through her back-catalogue with a similar eagerness. She didn't sing "My Man," which was her first record and (moderate) hit in 1962, nor "Let Me Down Easy," a song that's been a mainstay of her performances since the mid-sixties, but we did get to hear a few early favorites. She recorded Joe Simon's "Your Time to Cry," re-named it "Your Turn to Cry" and is proud enough to claim she made the song even better and even though I'm not familiar with the original, I have no doubt about the truth in that statement. Lavette is a phenomenal interpreter, capable of reaching a song's inner core and turning it inside out. Sometimes, she's also helped out by sheer coincidence, as "He Made a Woman Out of Me," a song she recorded in 1969, contains the lines "I used to tease Joe Henry, and I guess I teased too hard, 'cause one day it all happened in my own backyard.">
Lavette's backing band (bass, drums, keyboards and Zappa look-alike Bill Farris guitar) provided the perfect foundation for the singer and remained rather subservient throughout the show. Occasionally, it seemed as if the quartet lacked a certain grit and energy that would've taken the songs to an even higher level, but any band that has to compete with Lavette's voice is bound to pale compared to her colourful, all-out intensity. The show was basically one an energy-marathon, but its finale was the real icing on the cake, with a scorching "Close as I'll Get to Heaven" (from A Woman Like Me) during which she stepped off of the stage and strode to the back of the venue, followed by the turmoil of Fiona Apple's "Sleep to Dream" (with the "I've Got My Own Hell to Raise"-line) and, finally, an a-capella "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got" (the Sinead O'Connor-song her album starts off with): the culmination of the preceding hour and a half of forceful soul bliss. After having witnessed her performance open-mouthed, there are only two conclusions to be drawn: at the age of 59, with more than four decades of experience behind her belt, Bettye Lavette is only hitting her stride - if her shows have been as overpowering as this one the previous decades, then her obscurity is an insult. Secondly, Bettye Lavette is, much more than anyone else at the moment, the Queen of Soul.
Read album reviews of similar or related artists: Solomon Burke