Bettye LaVette covers The Beatles, Pink Floyd, etc.

[BeatlesFan]

LaVette's voice is so authoritative, in fact, that she's unafraid to reinvent songs that might have otherwise seemed untouchable. It's not that The Moody Blues' "Knights in White Satin," Elton John's "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me," Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" and Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed" are so unimpeachable that they can't possibly be approached by other singers; it's that they're so often instantly familiar in earlier incarnations. They can't be covered credibly and made fresh by just anybody. But Bettye LaVette is exactly the sort of singer to pull it off, as she does on the new, self-explanatorily titled Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook. A fearless iconoclast, she does these and other songs justice by injecting them with her own warmly brash personality; by burrowing into them and really inhabiting them.

You can listen to the songs here: First Listen: Bettye LaVette, 'Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook' : NPR

 

[Soot and Stars]

Hey thanks for the artist thread Beatles Fan! I enjoyed it because I've heard a lot of buzz around Bettye and know I can hear where it comes from! I read the bio and it's so cool that she's been around for so long amongst the other greats and finally she's getting her due. Now on honesty, did I like every interpretation. No! But I respected them. For once an artist remakes a song and actually changes it. The lady knows her voice and oozes soul and like the reviewer says "She lives in the songs" meaning to me she knew where she wanted to go and had great control. Anyway, for the most aesthetic listening out of the four I heard it was her interpretation of "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me"! Glad to see you delving into artist threads and hope to see more BeatlesFan!

 

[BeatlesFan]

 

[BeatlesFan]

Hey thanks for the artist thread Beatles Fan! I enjoyed it because I've heard a lot of buzz around Bettye and know I can hear where it comes from! I read the bio and it's so cool that she's been around for so long amongst the other greats and finally she's getting her due. Now on honesty, did I like every interpretation. No! But I respected them. For once an artist remakes a song and actually changes it. The lady knows her voice and oozes soul and like the reviewer says "She lives in the songs" meaning to me she knew where she wanted to go and had great control. Anyway, for the most aesthetic listening out of the four I heard it was her interpretation of "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me"! Glad to see you delving into artist threads and hope to see more BeatlesFan!

I like how different her covers are from the originals. She has a great voice.

 

[guitar dude]

LaVette isn't confined by the melodies and arrangements of these songs because she says she heard them differently in the first place. She allows The Moody Blues' "Nights In White Satin" to soar but also anchors it to something and gives it weight.