BETTYE LaVETTE Debuts At No 1 On Billboard's 'Top Blues Album' Chart

LOS ANGELES, CA. (Top40 Charts/ Epitaph Records) - BETTYE LaVETTE's second CD on Anti-, "The Scene of the Crime," has debuted at the No 1 spot on Billboard's "Top Blues Album" Chart in the first week of release. Fans and critics alike are captivated by LaVETTE's remarkable interpretation of songs on the new disc.

Critics continue to heap accolades upon LaVETTE's "The Scene of the Crime," including The Washington Post: "LaVette joins forces with the Drive-By Truckers (Patterson Hood produces, along with David Barbe and LaVette herself) on the brilliant follow-up to her 2005 cover album, 'I've Got My Own Hell to Raise.' 'The Scene of the Crime,' which is a little bit country and a little bit Southern soul... it's fantastic. LaVette is miles ahead of most working singers when performing the songs of Ray Charles ('They Call It Love'), and George Jones ('Choices') in her uniquely wrenching, scab-picking way."

Elsewhere, the Village Voice notes: "LaVette sings 'Scene' as if she's been backed into a corner and relishes the sensation." Meanwhile, the Boston Globe declares: "...an album as lean, mean, and gritty as the cover image of someone behind a steering wheel, peering into the rearview mirror with windshield wipers in motion. LaVette, in case you hadn't heard, was the comeback story of 2005. A mainstay on the club circuit but unknown to the masses, LaVette released 'I've Got My Own Hell to Raise' on Anti-. It turns out she was just clearing her throat with that celebrated album; on 'Scene,' she delivers on the promise that her best work lies ahead of her."

In harmony with the other outlets, The Detroit Free Press states: "LaVette digs into the material in her gritty, fiery way, delivering blistering versions of Eddie Hinton's 'Still Want to Be Your Baby (Take Me as I Am)' and 'You Don't Know Me At All,' co-written by the Eagles' Don Henley. Topping this collection is LaVette's showstopping rendition of Elton John and Bernie Taupin's heartrending ballad 'Talking Old Soldiers,' which obviously has deep personal meaning to her."
Perhaps, the most succinct statement came from Blogcritics.org when they called BETTYE LaVETTE and "The Scene of the Crime": "The real deal."

Current tour dates are as follows:
Wed, 1/31 Vienna, VA The Barns at Wolf Trap
Thurs, 11/1 Sellersville, PA Sellersville Theater
Sat, 11/10 Fallon, NV Barkley Theatre
Sun, 11/11 Sacramento, CA Sacramento Horseman's Club
Mon, 11/12 San Francisco, CA The Independent