"You’ve got a singer here who is willing to stretch and not content to live in the safety zone. Bettye Lavette’s voice is the superb line that connects Lucinda Williams’ “Joy” to Dolly Parton’s “Little Sparrow” via numbers by Sinead O’Connor and Joan Armatrading. Those songs never sounded better and neither has one of r&b greatest under-acknowledged vocalists.” Elvis Costello

“Ache has never sounded so funky. Weary, wise, defiant and vulnerable, Bettye’s a force of nature... She’s outdone herself on this one.” Bonnie Raitt

With one eye on the intimate concept albums Frank Sinatra invented at mid ‘50s Capitol, and the other on the gritty yet sophisticated soul records produced at Atlantic in the ‘60s, I’ve Got My Own Hell to Raise offers a carefully selected batch of ten songs that tell one story: Bettye Lavette’s. Recording stints at Motown, Atlantic, Epic and a host of smaller labels have left Bettye Lavette with dreams to burn, and she pours every moment of hope and heartbreak from her 44 years in music into her tough-minded new collection. Choosing only songs written by women artists, she spins the tale of a woman in a world where men make the choices; for every moment of fear and loss, there is an answering moment of triumph and defi ance. The songs may be from AIMEE MANN and FIONA APPLE, DOLLY PARTON and JOAN ARMATRADING, but the transcendent whole is Lavette’s alone.

Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got (Sinead O'Connor)
2. Joy (Lucinda Williams)
3. Down To Zero (Joan Armatrading)
4. The High Road (Sharon Robinson)
5. On The Surface (Rosanne Cash)
6. Just Say So (Cathy Majeski/John Scott Sherrill)
7. Little Sparrow (Dolly Parton)
8. How Am I Different (Aimee Mann)
9. Only Time Will Tell Me (Toni Brown)
10. Sleep To Dream (Fiona Apple)