Defying definition
Singer Shelby Lynne to perform in State CollegeBy Keith Frederick, kfrederick@altoonamirror.com
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The first thing you notice during a conversation with Shelby Lynne is her
voice.
Simultaneously husky and soft, the Alabama native's southern drawl hits your ears like a purr rolling across gravel.
It, like her music, denies categorization. The 39-year-old singer has been called country, rhythm and blues, pop, rock, even jazz - sometimes all on the same album. But her genre-defying style is a boon to her career, she says.
"Because of that, I have the freedom to do pretty much anything I want," Lynne said in a phone interview recently from her home in Palm Desert, Calif. "I have the freedom to explore all the musical world out there. That's why I never know what I'm gonna do next."
What's "next" may be up for grabs, but what's "now" is a tour for her current album, "Just a Little Lovin.'" The tour will bring her to The State Theatre in State College for a concert at 8 p.m. Saturday.
"Just a Little Lovin'" is an album of Dusty Springfield covers that includes some of the late singer's greatest hits - "The Look of Love," "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" - as well as a few lesser known songs - the title track, Springfield's cover of "How Can I Be Sure." The album also has one original song, Lynne's "Pretend."
The idea for the record came from singer Barry Manilow.
In 2005, Manilow e-mailed Lynne and asked if she had ever thought about covering Springfield's work.
Lynne was promoting her album "Suit Yourself" at the time, but shelved the idea for future use.
She wasn't unfamiliar with the British soul singer's work. She first came across it a decade ago.
"Somebody gave me the 'Dusty in Memphis' record, and I loved it. I had never heard anything like it," Lynne said. "I was discovering a lot of new music at the time. I was really kinda searching for music that my soul was searching for.
"I discovered John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band, Al Green and Dusty all in the same week."
The music of all three appealed to her, particularly the sometimes sparse arrangements and production.
"Today, everything's so loud," Lynne said. "These records were (from) back when it was just 'Hey, that's enough.'"
Taking the hint from records like those, "Just a Little Lovin'" is a pared-down collection. Whereas Springfield's original versions of the songs were uptempo and jazzy, often full of strings and horns, Lynne took the same songs and cut out all the extra bits. At times, Lynne seems to be singing with no accompaniment at all.
The arrangement wasn't planned, but came naturally from the recording sessions.
"We just kinda got together on a Monday morning and I said, 'Let's just start at the top of the list," she explained. "We liked the vibe, it was really kind of mellow. The sparseness was really my favorite part about it. It was just comfortable to keep it really low key."
Mirror Staff Writer Keith Frederick is at 946-7466.
