Search - Bettye Lavette :: Very Best of

Motorcity Magic!!!!

ian | 09/15/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have written several reviews, to date, on Amazon for Ian Levine,s recordings as I have been a huge fan of the said gentleman for at least the last twenty years. One may, therefore, be forgiven for thinking that I am, to some degree, biased. This would be correct and I,m not about to apologise for it so read on!!Bettye LaVette is another of the many recording artists who had enjoyed a previous career with the Motown Record Label. When Ian Levine set about tracking down those artists who had contributed their own individual vocal talents to the building of what started as a small company run by Berry Gordy, he achieved what no other person had either been prepared to do or even to have been bothered to do, and that is to reunite those, who had, for want of a better phrase been put out to grass!! This project had begun on a small scale when Ian used his own Nightmare Record Label to release a quantity of 12 inch vinyl, aimed at the then current disco market, but that had the added magic ingredient of including a Tamla motown feel to them. These early releases include Signal Your Intention by Kim Weston, Running Out Of Luck by the Velvelettes, Don,t Get Mad, Get Even by Mary Wilson, This Old Heart Of Mine by Gee Morris and Don,t Burn Your Bridges by Mary Wells. But Ian had a far greater plan yet to come and when the Nightmare label came to an end Ian launched Motorcity records as a testament to the artists and music that he had loved and collected himself during his formative years. This project has not only remained one of the freshest and most truly original contributions to soul music to this day but was a business venture that would see Ian Levine face sometimes unforseen truths regarding what had once been some of the finest names whose voices have graced this genre. Along the way Ian would have to cope with Diva tantrams, Financial complications, and a clutch of singers, some of whom, were suffering from mental illness. Nevertheless Ian produced over 800 songs and managed to reinvent artists with a fresh new sound, many of whom had been forgotten. Bettye LaVette is just one of the artists who has greatly benefitted from her time with Ian levine who has provided her with classic new material that allows her to show her raw vocal energy. my own personal favourite is Time Won,t Change This love, but you will choose your own. Buy This Album. Play It. And Turn The Clock Back to the days of Motorcity!!!!"

Nobody Sings Like Bettye LaVette!

Oliver Pennington | New York, New York United States | 10/16/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I am a big Motown fan. Believe me, I thought that Martha Reeves and the Vandellas had the last word with "Jimmy Mack" and "I'm Ready For Love," but Bettye LaVette has not only stolen those two songs, but Diana Ross and The Supremes' "Surrender," not to mention The Marvelettes' "Danger, Heartbreak Dead Ahead."



It got me to thinking. If LaVette had been the lead singer of the Marvelettes, they would have been bigger than both the Supremes and the Vandellas! What was going on in the head of Berry Gordy? It's reported that he wasn't interested in either Bettye or Aretha Franklin when he began his company.



LaVette was actually the first of that Detroit crowd to hit it big (on the charts) with Atlantic Records' "My Man." After taking some bad advice from some Detroit folks, Bettye demanded to be released from her Atlantic contract (after her manager had been murdered). Bad decision. Well, she was only 16 or 17 at the time.



These MotorCity recordings, show us what a blunder Motown made. LaVette is superb on every cut, but the background singers were much too loud on some tunes. Her uptempo version of her own legendary hit, "Let Me Down Easy" is surprisingly outstanding, what a number!



Bettye's voice is URGENT. She can holler and scream, she can be soft and beautiful, and she can make YOU want to get up and shake your booty! Truly, it's hard to believe that this lady wasn't born and bred in a black Baptist church! Her soul is as deep as the rivers.



Now that her "comeback" is real, the world, especially America, will get to hear a truly great artist. LaVette doesn't run away from what she is, she is a self-proclaimed STONE COLD SOUL SINGER (and a fabulous one). Everybody in music is TRYING to sing this music (mostly without true success) but Bettye doesn't even have to try - it's in her blood. Today, wonderful things are happening to this singer who truly deserves to be A STAR. Bettye is getting choice gigs in the USA and around the world. Her new CD, "I've Got My Own Hell To Raise" is getting the most unbelievably incredible reviews I've ever read. We love you, Bettye."