Bettye LaVette: Take Another Little Piece of My Heart (1969-1970) ... plus

Outside of R&B circles, LaVette has been something of an obscurity until recently. Her singles, released on a variety of independent labels, each with varying degrees of distribution competence, often stalled out mid-chart or failed to build on her earlier success. The result is a string of much sought after collector's items that never built the sort of overall legacy these works should have wrought. This compilation goes part of the way to rectifying this, pulling together material from 1969 and 1970 sessions that LaVette recorded with producer Lelan ("Brother of Kenny") Rogers for his Silver Fox label. Waxed in Memphis with a crack set of soul musicians (starring Jim Dickinson on keyboards, Charlie Freeman on guitar, bassist Tommy McLure, drummer Sammy Jackson, and a horn section), the core of whom would soon become The Dixie Flyers, these are hard-soul sides that frame the awesome rawness of LaVette's voice with sizzling horns up-top and funky, deep bass down below. The set includes all of her singles for the label, and her burning version of 'Piece of My Heart,' issued on the SSS label after Silver Fox went under. Other highlights include 'He Made a Woman Out of Me', a song that cranked its way to #25 R&B despite being banned by many radio stations down South, 'Do Your Duty' and 'Games People Play'. There are also some unreleased cuts, such as 'Hello Sunshine,' one of two duets with Hank Ballard (the other one is 'Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go'). The collection is stellar, the material is pure, gritty soul rooted in deep blues and R&B. LaVette had no gospel training, making her a pure soul singer. This is tough, rootsy material given an immediate, live-sounding treatment. The grooves are deep and wide — just check 'My Train's Comin' In,' or 'Nearer to You', written by Allen Toussaint. This compilation is simply wonderful. There isn't a weak cut in the bunch, and it leaves the listener wondering how it came to pass that LaVette didn't become a superstar. I added two bonus tracks to the comp, her 1975 Epic B-side, written and produced by Ron Dunbar, 'You're a Man of Words, I'm a Woman of Action', and the previously unreleased track 'Waiting for Tomorrow'. http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.allmusic.com/

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Bettye LaVette performing 'He Made a Woman Out of Me' on the Lilac Festival Roch NY: