Last week brought a lot of neat new music. Here are two great albums I didn’t include in my Saturday feature. Both were released on June 16.
Bettye LaVette – LaVette!
Soul vocalist Bettye LaVette first entered my radar screen in 2018 when I included her in a post about great female blues singers. I immediately liked how she makes songs she covers truly her own. While LaVette already recorded her first single as a 16-year-old in 1962, it took her more than 40 years until 2005 and the album I’ve Got My Own Hell to Raise to gain the broad recognition she deserved. Her latest album is titled LaVette! and it’s a true gem by an incredible vocalist.
All of the album’s 11 tracks were written by Randall Bramblett, some together with his longtime songwriting partner Davis Causey. Apart from having released albums under his name since 1975, Bramblett has worked with the likes of Gregg Allman, Bonnie Raitt, Robbie Robertson, Elvin Bishop and Steve Winwood. Guitarist Davis Causey over a 60-year career has accumulated impressive credits as well, which among others include Marvin Gaye, Jackie Wilson, Bonnie Raitt, Gregg Allman and Derek Trucks. Here’s Don’t Get Me Started, penned by Bramblett who also first recorded it for his 2020 album Pine Needle Fire. LaVette’s great rendition features Winwood on keyboards!
The soul and blues-oriented LaVette! doesn’t have any fillers. If you’d like to get a feel, also check out See Through Me (feat. Pedrito Martinez), Lazy (And I Know I), Plan B, In the Meantime (feat. John Mayer) and Hard to be a Human. Here’s a link to the entire album on Spotify.
Son Volt – Day of the Doug
Since I listened to Son Volt’s album Electro Melodier when it came out in July 2021, I’ve dug the alternative country and Americana rock band. They were formed by singer-songwriter and guitarist Jay Farrar in 1994 after the breakup of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo, who Farrar had co-founded with Jeff Tweedy in 1987. Tweedy subsequently formed Wilco.
Son Volt’s new album Day of the Doug is a tribute to the late Doug Sahm, a singer-songwriter who according to Wikipedia is “regarded as one of the main figures of Tex-Mex music, and as an important performer of Texan music”. Sahm gained initial prominence with country and roots rock band Sir Douglas Quintet. After they disbanded in 1973, he launched a solo career and also played in Tejano supergroup Texas Tornados. Sahm died from a heart attack in November 1999 at the age of 58.
Off Day of the Doug, here’s the great Sometimes You’ve Got to Stop Chasing Rainbows. Written by Sahm in 1973, the tune also appeared on May 10 as the lead single of Son Volt’s album.
While I’m not familiar with Sahm’s original music, I like the renditions Son Volt included on their album. Float Away, Yesterday Got in the Way, Dynamite Woman, Juan Mendoza and Segiun are some I’d like to call out. These covers actually make me curious to check out Sahm’s catalog. Here’s a Spotify link to the album.
Sources: Wikipedia; YouTube; Spotify
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