Album Review: Just A Little Lovin' by Shelby Lynn
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*Rating* 7.5*How Proud would Dusty Springfield be?* 8.5*Summary* Shelby handles Dusty's ditties with the gentle caress of a first time lover. of course, a little "day after awkwardness" is normal.
Ah...the cover Album. That most guilty of audio pleasures tends to be a surprisingly delectable creation or a bloating greasy confection...but either way, in the end, is usually just empty calories.So why do artists do it? Do they not see the inherent braggadocio in trying to make another's work "your own"? Can they not see that, no matter how pure the intentions, the entire work will essentially be a gimmick? Or can they, when the moons align just right, create something that stands on its own merits?From what I know of musicians, the cover album has one of three muses:1) Experimentation - Can I play it faster? Can I do it Hip Hop style? Can I have a choir of dogs bark it?2) Cockiness - I honestly believe I can do it better than the original.3) Reverence - This artist is my hero, and seek to respect their legacy with my own, carefully crafted renditions.So here we are. Shelby Lynn's 12th album in 20 some-odd years (Just A Little Lovin') is a gentle, stripped down collection of Dusty Springfield songs with one original thrown in for good measure. On paper, classic country shaved down to the essentials, sung in a breathy cow-girl voice, seems cliched, even for a covers album. Do it softer, do it prettier, find the message in the music, etc. Almost every important musical act in the last century has had a cover of their songs done in this manner... so if Sarah Mclachlan can't get the Beatles' Blackbird right, what can Ms. Lynne hope to achieve diggin through Dusty's dirty laundry? Well, luckily for Shelby, this isn't paper. This is music...and music is all about soul. And that's where this equation starts to make sense: one of today's most sincerely soulful vocalists carefully interpreting the veritable "White Queen of Soul" more in the style of a sunset painted backporch bluesman than a studio twangin' country crooner.If you are a Dusty fan, you'll love it or hate it, naturally...and even to those who aren't fans, there's a bit of a mental conflict with what to think of this beautiful bastard child - this *shudder* cover album. It helps that Lynne can be a little unpredictable (for better or worse..see 2001's pop/rock "Love, Shelby"). It would have been easy to go the cheap-shot "acoustic version" route. But not Shelby Lynne. When I say Shelby has "stripped down" Dusty's songs, I don't mean watered down or diluted. I mean laid bare, flesh exposed, a sensual revelation.Think of it as an Uncovered Album...and enjoy this Little Lovin' by Shelby Lynn.
Ah...the cover Album. That most guilty of audio pleasures tends to be a surprisingly delectable creation or a bloating greasy confection...but either way, in the end, is usually just empty calories.So why do artists do it? Do they not see the inherent braggadocio in trying to make another's work "your own"? Can they not see that, no matter how pure the intentions, the entire work will essentially be a gimmick? Or can they, when the moons align just right, create something that stands on its own merits?From what I know of musicians, the cover album has one of three muses:1) Experimentation - Can I play it faster? Can I do it Hip Hop style? Can I have a choir of dogs bark it?2) Cockiness - I honestly believe I can do it better than the original.3) Reverence - This artist is my hero, and seek to respect their legacy with my own, carefully crafted renditions.So here we are. Shelby Lynn's 12th album in 20 some-odd years (Just A Little Lovin') is a gentle, stripped down collection of Dusty Springfield songs with one original thrown in for good measure. On paper, classic country shaved down to the essentials, sung in a breathy cow-girl voice, seems cliched, even for a covers album. Do it softer, do it prettier, find the message in the music, etc. Almost every important musical act in the last century has had a cover of their songs done in this manner... so if Sarah Mclachlan can't get the Beatles' Blackbird right, what can Ms. Lynne hope to achieve diggin through Dusty's dirty laundry? Well, luckily for Shelby, this isn't paper. This is music...and music is all about soul. And that's where this equation starts to make sense: one of today's most sincerely soulful vocalists carefully interpreting the veritable "White Queen of Soul" more in the style of a sunset painted backporch bluesman than a studio twangin' country crooner.If you are a Dusty fan, you'll love it or hate it, naturally...and even to those who aren't fans, there's a bit of a mental conflict with what to think of this beautiful bastard child - this *shudder* cover album. It helps that Lynne can be a little unpredictable (for better or worse..see 2001's pop/rock "Love, Shelby"). It would have been easy to go the cheap-shot "acoustic version" route. But not Shelby Lynne. When I say Shelby has "stripped down" Dusty's songs, I don't mean watered down or diluted. I mean laid bare, flesh exposed, a sensual revelation.Think of it as an Uncovered Album...and enjoy this Little Lovin' by Shelby Lynn.
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