A Woman Like Me
Unless you’re a serious student of classic soul music, the name Bettye LaVette might not mean much. Smarten up. On her first domestic album in more than 20 years, the middle-aged singer with Detroit roots offers a strong, raspy, go-for-broke vocal style that locks onto lyrics by originalRobert Crayproducer Dennis Walker like a death grip. Indeed, the highly emotional tone in her voice taps deep reservoirs of experience. Savor, in particular, the love-gone-cold ballad "Thru the Winter" and a tuneful manifesto for strong women titled "Close as I’ll Get to Heaven. Unfortunately, some of the songs run a bit long, with padded arrangements and blowzy, overbalanced playing from a few of the West Coast studio players (but not her faithful keyboardist Rudy Robinson). LaVette’s outlay of emotion just may be too rough and demonstrative for some listeners, but it's their loss.--Frank-John Hadley