Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook is a Cover Album by soul singer Bettye Lavette. Coming off 2007's The Scene Of The Crime, LaVette continued her climb from a career in relative obscurity with a well-received rendition of "Love, Reign O'er Me" at a ceremony honoring The Who and decided to build her next album around similar classic rock remakes. Interpretations continued LaVette's rise as a cult artist, topping the Billboard blues charts in mid-2010.
Tracklist:
- "The Word"
- "No Time To Live"
- "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"
- "All My Love"
- "Isn't It A Pity"
- "Wish You Were Here"
- "It Don't Come Easy"
- "Maybe I'm Amazed"
- "Salt Of The Earth"
- "Nights In White Satin"
- "Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad"
- "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me"
- "Love, Reign O'er Me" (Live At Kennedy Center Honors, 2008)
Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook demonstrates the following tropes:
- The Cover Changes the Gender: Applies wherever relevant - "Maybe I'm a woman..." and so forth.
- Fake-Out Fade-Out: "The Word" features a fake ending at 2:40.
- Irony: "No Time To Live" is a song about being Lonely at the Top, here sung by a woman who notoriously failed to reach such heights for most of her career.
- Questioning Title?: "Isn't It A Pity?", "Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad?"
- Rearrange the Song: Generally, slowed down to put more emphasis on the vocals with additional string elements. "The Word" ends up sounding the most like classic soul (as opposed to Rubber Soul?).
- Record Producer: Andy Kaulkin, Rob Mathes, and LaVette herself are all credited. Mathes is also credited with much of the arranging work and several instrumental contributions.
- Scatting: LaVette occasionally scats a part usually done instrumentally.
- Spotlight-Stealing Squad: The Beatles - one solo song for each of three members and one Lennon/McCartney song by the band itself, making up nearly a third of the album.
