Bettye LaVette - Tell Me A Lie

CD debut for long forgotten soul gem

By the time she landed at Motown in 1982, raspy-voiced Bettye LaVette from Muskegon, Michigan, had experienced her fair share of ups and downs. Her career got off to a flying start when she scored a Top 10 Stateside R&B smash with her first 45, My Man – He’s A Lovin’ Man, for Atlantic in 1962, but subsequent recordings for a variety of labels during the 60s and 70s failed to get her noticed.

After a long fallow period, LaVette’s ailing career was given a boost when Nashville producer Steve Buckingham cut some demos with the singer and persuaded Motown to sign her. Bathed in an organic aura of country-tinged Southern soul, Tell Me A Lie was unlike anything else Motown released in the 80s and seemed stylistically out of kilter with some of the label’s acts from the era, such as The Dazz Band and The Mary Jane Girls. Ironically, though, the album’s anachronistic quality has made it stand the test of time. Unlike many 80s soul albums, its production doesn’t sound dated and the combination of LaVette’s cathartic vocals with strong songs – such as the Sam Dees-penned Right In The Middle (Of Falling In Love) – results in a memorable album.

4 stars 4 stars 4 stars 4 stars

Reel Music | 66748-78003-2

Reviewed by Charles Waring
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