Bettye LaVette: Interpretations – The Great British Songbook | CD review

(Anti-)Five years ago, 1960s soul singer Bettye LaVette emerged from decades of obscurity with I've Got My Own Hell to Raise, a peculiarly incohesive collection of tracks written by women. Interpretations is the polar opposite: here, LaVette attacks the British male rock canon. There is a thesis of sorts – many of the acts found early inspiration in the R&B and soul of her youth – but even so, it's unclear what has attracted LaVette to these lyrics. If she invests personal meaning in them, ...

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