Interpretations: British Rock SongbookAnti ***

More than 40 years in the soul and r'n'b game have stood Bettye LaVette in good stead. True, she's never had a run of real good fortune despite releases for Atlantic and Motown and the patronage of James Brown and Otis Redding, but LaVette's magnificent rasper of a voice and winning ways with other folks' songs have earned the Detroit singer a sizeable fanclub. Here, LaVette takes on well-weathered numbers by The Animals, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Who, Pink Floyd and others from the halycon days of British rock. Over slow, sultry, southern-friend soul grooves, LaVette turns these songs inside out to find the drama in the mix. The album truly soars when she takes liberties with the material (her version of Elton John's Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Meis moody blue in colour). LaVette plays Dublin's Village on June 11th. See bettyelavette. com

Download tracks: Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me, Love Reign O'er Me