Few artists of any genre have Bettye Lavette's ability to redefine the meaning of songs that have long been fixtures of our consciousness. While she has done this for me several times, her reworking of Elton John's and Bernie Taupin's "Talking Old Soldiers" from her "The Scene of the Crime" album is a wonderment. Her stylistic approach really isn't that different than Elton's on "Tumbleweed Connection" which is excellent in its own right, but her rendition is among the most shattering evocations of the loneliness of aging imaginable. As a person of a certain age, this song takes the breath out of me, like a punch to the gut every single time.
Bettye Lavette
Hello all, I am playing the newest BL disc, Things Have Changed; I don;t know her or her music well at all, but love Dylan, and this is a disc of Dylan songs done in her style, and produced by the great drummer Steve Jordan. From my perspective is pretty great. Also has Larry Campbell on it.