Monday, January 21, 2008

ANYONE WHO HAD A HEART: A week from Tuesday Shelby Lynne will release a new album entitled Just a Little Loving featuring covers of songs popularized by Dusty Springfield. The album has received regular airplay on WXPN in Philadelphia.

My initial reaction to the songs I've heard so far was negative. Lynne's "readings" of these classic songs are generally contemplative and a little dark. The originals, many of which you can find on the incomparable Dusty in Memphis, have a soulfulness that I find deeply moving. Springfield infuses the songs with a buoyant joy. See also The Look Of Love: The Burt Bacharach Collection.

Then I started to read a little bit more about Lynne. I'd known, of course, that her sister was the alt-country singer Allison Moorer (who is married to Steve Earle). I had not known, though, that when Lynne was just 17 years old Lynne's father, an abusive alcoholic, shot and killed her mother and then turned the gun on himself while his daughters looked on. Shortly after she turned 18, Lynne began supporting herself and her sister by playing music in local clubs. Over the ensuing 20 years, she's had some successes (notably, her 2000 release I Am Shelby Lynne, which led to her being awarded the 2001 Grammy for best new artist) but perhaps more than her share of disappointments in the music business.

Looking back over her career, I find that I prefer Lynne's darker songs: her Aretha Franklin-esque "Thought It Would Be Easier", the bitter "Your Lies", and her profound cover of "A Rainy Night in Georgia." Given what life has dished out to Shelby Lynne, maybe there's a reason for her focus on the dark side. Sometimes it feels like it's raining all over the world.

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