BETTYE LAVETTE

Bettye LaVette’s delicious rasp and emotional delivery make her a top-notch interpreter of songs. It’s a formula that’s worked since 2005’s I’ve Got My Own Hell to Raise, and here, she turns in another tour de force covers record. The Detroit native makes these songs her own, occasionally altering lyrics to fit her experiences. On the Pogues’ “Dirty Old Town,” she references the Dodge Main plant and the 1967 riots, adding a rough-edged groove to match the new imagery. Her sultry take on Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” is arguably her best cover to date, while versions of Neil Young’s “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere” and Patty Griffin’s “Time Will Do the Talking” showcase her country-soul chops. The title track, a Sly and the Family Stone B-side, finds LaVette reflecting on her 66 years: “They said I was dying, but I didn’t wanna go / I kept on believing I had to live some more.” Gritty and graceful, it’s the epitome of LaVette’s sound—and of the woman herself. –Juli Thanki