Shelby Lynne - Just A Little Lovin’ (2008/2012) [SACD]

Originally released by Lost Highway Records in 2008, Just A Little Lovin’ is Shelby Lynne’s stirring, emphatic tribute to the late British singer Dusty Springfield. In contrast to the thickly scored originals, Lynne’s recordings of many of the covers are presented in comparatively spare arrangements, favoring acoustic guitars & pianos. In addition to the Springfield tracks, Lynne also covers Tony Joe White’s ”Willie & Laura Mae Jones.” PopMatters’ review proclaimed that the album, ”manages to go to emotional places that remain unattainable to your run-of-the-mill pop vocalists.” Some of Dusty’s biggest hits are covered here including ”You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me,” ”I Only Want To Be With You,” & ”How Can I Be Sure.”
It’s a risky move for any singer to attempt a direct ascent on the towering peaks of Dusty Springfield’s evergreen legacy. (Rolling Stone once called Dusty in Memphis the third most “essential” rock album by a woman.) Just a Little Lovin’ achieves the unlikely: a tribute to an immortal artist which both glorifies its subject and elevates the worshiper kneeling at her altar. Lynne’s 2001 breakthrough, I Am Shelby Lynne, was both utterly fresh and nostalgically infused with a Memphis-like spirit. Much of Just a Little Lovin’ is as familiar as an old pair of shoes. Lynne’s original contribution, “Pretend,” fits snugly between the classics, but it’s the loose, practically improvised vibe of this recording that breathes new life into Bacharach and David’s “Anyone Who Had a Heart” and, especially, Randy Newman’s “I Don’t Want to Hear It Anymore.” Genius producer Phil Ramone lends the entire collection the kind of intimacy he brought to Paul Simon and Billy Joel’s most atmospheric 1970s recordings. Restrained instrumentation–often simply guitar, upright bass, a sprinkling of piano, and light percussion–turn even the teenage bubble-gum anthem “I Only Want to Be with You” into a sultry meditation. It’s hard to imagine another recent album more successful in melding retro-reverence with contemporary moderation. The result arouses emotion even as it enchantingly relaxes. –Ben Heege