Few moments on the Grammy Awards telecast have felt stranger than Shelby Lynne's winning Best New Artist in 2001.
It's not that she didn't deserve a Grammy -- she deserved several, maybe even the Album of the Year for her brilliant I Am Shelby Lynne. But she wasn't nominated for the top album prize, just Best New Artist.
I Am Shelby Lynne, released in 2000, was her sixth album.
It was the artistic rebirth of a mainstream country artist into a tough, heartbruised singer who embraced her Southern heritage by fusing smoldering blues, earthy folk and country and gospel-fired soul with a sometimes harrowing, emotional edge. I Am Shelby Lynne's 10 songs ranged from the retro Phil Spector Wall of Sound meets Patsy Cline-like strings on the opener "Your Lies" to an unsettling and raw "Life Is Bad."
As a singer, she is much closer to a sumptuous-voiced Bonnie Raitt and Dusty Springfield than to Barbara Mandrell. But, in the best of country music's traditions, her original songs are honest and heartfelt.
The album and Grammy launched Lynne on a fascinating career path that has included bracing originals, skillfully played Americana, a wonderful album of Springfield covers and more. Listening to I Am ... again, the album is still revelatory and moving; it sounds fresh, aching, intense and soulful.
Fifteen years after she recorded it, I Am Shelby Lynne has received a fabulous reissue (Rounder/Concord, one CD, one DVD, $19.99). The original album is augmented by six bonus tunes that were recorded at the same time, including a rockin' "Should Have Been Better" and the haunting "Sky Is Purple," written about her parents' murder-suicide.
Lynne's power as a singer is one of a woman whose hurts and vulnerabilities lie just under her tough-girl exterior, where beats a tender heart and, perhaps, a tormented soul seeking peace and release. Her charged but not overpowering delivery can be unsettling, sensual and riveting. Producer Bill Bottrell collaborated in creating a superlative showcase for Lynne's transformation.
A 90-minute DVD of a 2000 concert enriches this reissue, with Alabama native Lynne and the band playing tunes from the album (including three of the bonus studio tunes here) and some amazing covers -- she makes John Lennon's searing and devastating "Mother" her own. There's also an engaging take on "Wichita Lineman."
But it is on her original tunes that Lynne really soars in performance, including the sad and longing "Miss You Sissy" -- written when she and sister Allison Moorer were estranged. On it, she sings: "Do you hurt like I do? Is it hard on you too?"
Even if you have the original recording, this wonderful, musically packed reissue is well worth your money. The six bonus tunes are as good as what was released. And the concert is bracing and moving.
Reissue of the year? Just might be. Look for an album of new Lynne material next year.
A BRIGHTER DAY
When Doris Day is mentioned, some will recall the string of movies from the 1950s and 1960s (1959's Pillow Talk, with Rock Hudson, earned Day an Oscar nomination), her animal welfare activities and hit songs such as "Secret Love" and "Que Sera Sera."
The Brit pop duo Wham! gave her a shout-out (sing-out?) on 1984's "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go," when George Michael sang, "You make the sun shine brighter than Doris Day."
Day started her career as a big band singer. During her time with Les Brown, she sang on two No. 1 hits in 1945 -- "Sentimental Journey" (No. 1 for nine weeks) and "My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time" (seven weeks). As a solo artist, she placed more than 50 tunes on the charts.
Her success as a singer paralleled her movies, where she mostly projected an effervescent personality that shined in romantic comedies such as That Touch of Mink.
But make no mistake. Day was a very good singer. Her voice was graceful, and she was a master of nuance and subtlety. Day's vocals have, as one listens closely, a striking depth, warmth and bell-like clarity. And she could be sexy, as she showed on 1965's Latin for Lovers.
The release of The Essential Doris Day (Legacy, two CDs, $13.99) almost seamlessly pulls together the threads of her recording career from the Les Brown days through movie soundtracks and studio sessions. Her hit songs are well represented among the 36 selections, including 1954's No. 1 hit "Secret Love" from her film Calamity Jane; 1956's smash "Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera Sera)" and 1958's Top 10 hit "Everybody Loves a Lover." Other high points include a luscious "When I Fall in Love" and a striking take on the bossa nova hit "Desafinado."
The booklet is loaded with cool photos and an essay by Nancy Sinatra.
Also among recent Day reissues are Music, Movies and Memories and Great Movie Hits (both on Real Gone Music, $15.99).
BRIEFLY ...
• ZZ Top, The Very Baddest, Rhino/Warner Bros., two CDs, $24.99; one CD $18.99.
The single-disc version of the Texas trio's hits is a succinct 20 tunes with most of the video-driven hits -- "Gimme All Your Lovin'," "Sharp Dressed Man" and "Velcro Fly" -- while adding in earlier classics such as "La Grange," "Tush" and "Cheap Sunglasses." For the fan who just wants the hits, this is the one.
The two-disc, 40-song version has those hits and a lot more that will satisfy the more dedicated fan, including "Sleeping Bag," "Pearl Necklace," "Just Got Paid" and "Francine." There's more down-and-dirty bluesy rock here.
• The Best of Madeleine Peyroux: Keep Me in Your Heart for a While, Rounder, one CD, $14.99
Singer Madeleine Peyroux's first album, 1996's Dreamland, was derivative of several jazz singers (particularly Billie Holiday). Over the years, Peyroux has evolved into a cabaret-esque singer who has found her sense of place and identity and has emerged as a superb stylist and interpreter.
This 15-tune compilation includes her fine take on Leonard Cohen's "Dance Me to the End of Love," Edith Piaf's "La Vie en Rose," Elliot Smith's "Between the Bars" and more. The addition of her unreleased version of Warren Zevon's "Keep Me in Your Heart" is especially welcome.
Email:
ewidner@arkansasonline.com
Style on 11/02/2014