Bettye LaVette, Covering All The Bases

Piano bars, day-cruise entertainers and six seasons of "American Idol" have done irreparable harm to the reputation of the cover song, but soul singer Bettye LaVette brings respect back to the remake with her latest, "The Scene of the Crime." Counteracting LaVette's mastery -- and making sure that karaoke fans don't start putting on airs -- is Queen Latifah's new collection of covers, "Trav'lin' Light," which shows that, more often than not, there is nothing like the real thing.

LaVette's raspy squall buries Latifah's slick cooing, but the albums are separated by intent rather than vocals. While Latifah endeavors only to pay tribute to artists she admires, LaVette, by her own admission, wants to trump everyone whose material she touches. And she succeeds in most cases.

On her Grammy-nominated 2004 cover project, "The Dana Owens Album," the Queen served up an eclectic mix, tackling everyone from Al Green to the Mamas & the Papas. "Trav'lin' Light," on the other hand, features songs best suited to a Mother's Day recital. Latifah's predictable, safe picks include Phoebe Snow's "Poetry Man," as well as "Don't Cry Baby," which Bessie Smith, Etta James and many others have recorded. The one real gem is Latifah's interpretation of "I'm Not in Love." Hearing the singer-rapper-actor groove her way through the Brit pop of 10cc is a revelation, especially after her weak stab at the ubiquitous Nina Simone signature, "I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl."

It is tempting to chalk up the blandness of "Trav'lin' Light" to an artistic maturation, but how then to explain the fiery LaVette? The Detroit singer, who is enjoying a major career comeback, is 20-plus years Latifah's senior, yet has no interest in pandering to the quiet-storm demographic.

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, contains nothing as wonderfully incongruous as the Fiona Apple and Sinead O'Connor do-overs on LaVette's 2005 disc, but it's fantastic nonetheless. 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.

The album's one original is "Before the Money Came (The Battle of Bettye LaVette)," an aggressive, pained retelling of the singer's history -- she discusses the shelving of her 1972 album, "Child of the Seventies," and how she toiled in obscurity for decades while singers she knew became household names. (Latifah's only non-cover is a song from her recent turn as Motormouth Maybelle in the film version of "Hairspray.")

LaVette's tales of woe continue with Willie Nelson's "Somebody Pick Up My Pieces" and Elton John's "Talking Old Soldiers." "I may be just an old has-been to some/But I know how it feels to grow old," she sings, slightly tweaking Bernie Taupin's words. The song wasn't written with LaVette in mind, but while attempting to best Elton, she turns the track into something poignantly her own. Her ability to make the work of various singers and songwriters sound autobiographical pays far better tribute to their talents than does Latifah's simple rehash.

Queen Latifah is scheduled to perform at Strathmore Hall on Oct. 14. Bettye LaVette is scheduled to perform at Wolf Trap on Oct. 31.

DOWNLOAD THESE: LaVette: "Talking Old Soldiers," "Before the Money Came (the Battle of Bettye LaVette)," "Somebody Pick Up My Pieces"; Latifah: "I'm Not in Love"