Betty Davis - Betty Davis / They Say I’m Different

Run for cover!

Think of Millie Jackson when she felt her bitchiest, crank the attitude up a notch, remove the orchestration, and you’re still nowhere near the force of a first-time listen to Betty Davis. And for many, with these two albums assuming their own legend since they were first released (1973 and 1974 respectively), this will be the first time with the onetime Mrs Miles Davis.�

With a who’s who of musicians, including ex-members of The Family Stone and Tower Of Power, both albums are as raw as they come. Two tracks on her debut, If I’m In Luck I Might Get Picked Up and Anti Love Song, lay the stall out by their titles alone. Come They Say I’m Different, turquoise whips (on He Was A Big Freak) and “Gettin’ off humpin’ to John Lee Hooker” enter the picture. In just a year, Davis has gone from the girl with attitude to man-eating huntress.

Over 30 years on, these still take you by surprise. The likes of Peaches and Madonna, hell, even Scary Spice, need to bow down to Betty Davis. With excellent sleevenotes filling in a relatively unknown story, Light In The Attic have once again dome tremendous service to the music we rarely get to hear anymore.

4 stars 4 stars 4 stars 4 stars

LITA | 026 CD / 027 CD

Reviewed by Jason Draper
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