Bettye LaVette's acclaimed 2005 release I've Got My Own Hell To Raise brought well deserved recognition to this R&B maverick who has been recording since the early sixties, and another chapter in her storied life. Now comes The Scene of the Crime, an almost autobiographicallook back at the long hard road LaVette has traveled. To make music this raw and direct, LaVette enlisted "dirty south" rockers The Drive By Truckers as her backup band and coconspirators. With swampy guitars, slippery Wurlitzer piano (courtesy of the legendary Spooner Oldham), and a driving backline, The Scene of the Crime conjures up the spirit of great loose 70's bands like the Faces while offering Bettye a urgent, vital setting for her razor-sharp vocals. The CD also features Bettye's first songwriting credit, a cowrite with the Truckers' own Patterson Hood titled "The Battle Of Bettye LaVette," a hard rocking tune that chronicles her struggles in a pointed, take-no-prisoners style. The album was recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, a city known for its legendary soul & pop recordings. It is also the town where Bettye recorded a masterpiece titled "Child of the Seventies" back in 1972 that was shelved, then fi nally released 30 years later. For Bettye, going back to Muscle Shoals to record was like returning to the scene of a crime; thus the album title, and the intense, personal music within that will make this a soul album for the ages. Patterson Hood's father is legendary Muscle Shoals bass player David Hood who also happened to play on "Child of the Seventies." David Hood appears on 3 cuts of this new album along with the great Spooner Oldham, house keyboard player in Muscle Shoals for many years.Huge press campaign including interviews with Rhythms, The Big Issue and more. Expect a ton of feature reviews and interviews righth across Australia. Album is being serviced heavily to ABC Radio National, Community and Specialty Radio The Drive By Truckers presence on thisrelease will bring a new group of hardcore fans to Bettye's music.

Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Take Me Like I Am (Still Want To Be Your Baby)
2. Choices
3. Jealousy
4. You Don't Know Me At All
5. Somebody Pick Up My Pieces
6. They Call It Love
7. Last Time
8. Talking Old Soldiers
9. Before The Money Came (Battle Of Bettye LaVette)
10. I Guess We Shouldn't Talk About That Now