Veteran soul singer Betty LaVette shows she’s still looking for new worlds to conquer. She delves into the Bob Dylan songbook, mostly focusing on lesser known tunes, and gives them a dash of Southern cooking on this album. She teams up with drummer Steve Jordan, as well as Dylan alumni Larry Campbell/g, Pino Palladino/b and Leon Pendarvis/key. Keith Richards joins in for a cameo guitar solo on a funky rocker with B3 oozing on “Political World” and Trombone Shorty slides in with extra percussion for a rocking soul sister of “What Was It You Wanted.”
LaVette is a masterful at creating moods with her nuanced voice; getting raspy and world wise on “Emotionall Yours” or sassy and defiant on “Do Right To Me Baby” and the foot stompin’ title track. She’s earthy and Memphis swampy for a clever take of “The Times They Are A-Changin” and plays with the time like a languid lover on “It Ain’t Me, Babe” while taking you to the delta with some steel guitar strings on “Going, Going Gone.” LaVette exposes the richness and flexibility of not only Dylan’s pen, but of her own heart.
Verve Records