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Just A Little Lovin'  >>

Shelby's new album, Just A Little Lovin', was inspired by one of her favorite singers, Dusty Springfield. The album features nine clasic songs associated with Dusty and one stunning original written by Shelby, inspired by Dusty.

Shelby Lynne Photos

More from Shelby Lynne

The Definitive Collection

I Am Shelby Lynne

I Am Shelby Lynne  >>

The boldly named I Am Shelby Lynne may serve as an introduction to a gifted vocalist for most, but the one-time Nashville phenom has more than a decade of recording experience under her belt. Still, in many ways this is an introduction to a new talent. This time out, the Alabama-reared singer-songwriter refused to live up to anyone's expectations but her own, expertly melding soul, rock, pop, and country strains into an eye-opening set that demands to be addressed on its own terms. --Steven Stolder

The Definitive Collection  >>

Suit Yourself  >>

Lynne's follow-up to 2003's Identity Crisis works the same sparse, moody territory, but if the title of the former spoke to her self-esteem at the time, Suit Yourself shows her being more confident in every way. Again acting as her own producer, Lynne took the demo tapes she made in her California home studio to Nashville, where she augmented her first-take vocals with guitar (the Wallflowers' Michael Ward), keyboards (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' Benmont Tench), bass, drums, pedal steel, Dobro, and mandolin, employing those instruments merely as brush strokes on a wide-open canvas of voice and emotion. Throughout, Lynne strives to make the project so relaxed that a listener feels as if he's sitting cross-legged in the room--the first track begins with studio chatter, and elsewhere you can hear ice cubes clinking in a glass and the sound of someone pushing the stop button on a tape recorder. For those who prefer a more polished production, this fly-on-the-wall approach may be disconcerting, especially as the occasional track seems unfinished or a bit too rough, with an out-of-tune guitar or a rhythmic disconnect between singer and players. But ultimately, the album satisfies with the honesty and strength of the material, which ranges from Lynne's killer cover of guest Tony Joe White's "Rainy Night in Georgia" (here titled simply "Track 12") to the smoky groove of "I Cry Everyday," the wistful ballad "Old Time's Sake," and the Waylon Jennings-like "Iced Tea." Speaking of outlaws, "Johnny Met June," one of the most memorable tracks, details the Cashes' "meeting" on the far banks of the Jordan. Lynne wrote it the day Johnny died. --Alanna Nash

Identity Crisis  >>

Shelby Lynne wrote, sang, produced, and played all the guitar parts on her mellow, moody, and sonically stripped-down eighth album, Identity Crisis. Surely the title ironically refers to Lynne's eclectic career itself rather than this slow-burning, excellent album, with its lyrics so personal and honest, one feels like a voyeur at times. Identity sounds like a living room session; the demos made for the big album before the hot-shot producer came in and ruined everything. Lynne's voice is as relaxed, assured, and richly emotive as ever, buoyed by acoustic bass and guitars, electric piano, and minimal percussion. Notable deviations from the candlelit vibe include the mid-tempo rocker "Gotta Be Better" (which sounds like PJ Harvey jamming with X), the gospel chorus that peaks through on "10 Rocks" (the record's sole hokey tune), and of course "Lonesome" (a gorgeous old school Nashville-sheen tune that expertly evokes Patsy and Kitty with multi-tracked vocals and sweeping strings). The story goes that a lengthy phone conversation with Willie Nelson led to the lovely, uplifting last tune, "One With The Sun." Which is cool, because if this album is reminiscent of anybody, it's Nelson ca. Red Headed Stranger --Mike McGonigal

Restless  >>

Temptation  >>

Only after leaving Nashville did Shelby Lynne reinvent herself as a soulful R&B singer. During her Music City days of the early '90s, she gained critical raves that didn't translate into wider success. One reason was this fetching 1993 Nashville-produced album of big-band Western swing, produced by Brent Maher, which appeared long before the words swing revival crossed anyone's lips. It revealed Lynne's assets in a stronger showcase than her earlier Epic recordings. She's radiant and sensual on the torchy "Little Unlucky at Love," but the uninhibited swing tunes, including her explosive performance of the title number, defined the album. She maintained that finger-popping momentum with "Some of That True Love" and "The Rain Might Wash Your Love Away." Lynne turned seductress on "Tell Me I'm Crazy" and honky-tonker on "I Need a Heart to Come Home To," the album's most overtly country number. Now that Lynne's gained wider exposure, it's worth remembering that pushing the envelope is nothing new for her. --Rich Kienzle

This Is Shelby Lynne: The Best of the Epic Years  >>

18 track compilation from her 3 early Epic albums plus non-album singles. Includes 8 tracks that do not appear on the similar US collection 'Epic Recordings' as well as having 2 additional tracks. The non-US tracks are, 'Things Are Tough All Over', 'Little Bits & Pieces', 'If I Could Bottle This Up', 'Under Your Spell Again', 'Till A Better Memory Comes Along', 'Alive & Well', 'I'll Lie Myself To Sleep' & 'The Very First Lasting Love'. Now available at a much lower price. 2000 release.

Love, Shelby  >>

When former country starlet Shelby Lynne reinvented her musical persona on 2000's flawed but affecting I Am Shelby Lynne, critics salivated and even the Grammys responded with a belated Best New Artist trophy. The album's sound, somewhere between classic Memphis grooves, gothic swamp music, and post-Brill Building AM pop, was special enough that word of Lynne's studio collaboration with hyper-commercial producer-songwriter Glen Ballard (Alanis Morissette, Dave Matthews Band) set some minds to worrying that her edge would be lost. They can stop fretting. Love, Shelby is actually superior in some ways to its predecessor. If anything, Lynne's writing and singing here are even more compelling. Ballard's touch is limited mostly to stacks of electric and acoustic guitars, which seem designed to slide the songs onto contemporary radio, and the updated, hip-hop-shaded beats that power many cuts. Lynne's concerns are front and center, whether in the vows of emotional openness and resilience on "Wall in Your Heart," "Trust Me," and "I Can't Wait" or the intimations of Southern soul on "Bend." John Lennon's "Mother" becomes a sort of autobiography in her hands--her father killed her mother in a murder-suicide when Lynne was a teenager--until switching the song's perspective to her dad's in the final verse. Her story gives the soaring "Killin' Kind" (previously heard on the Bridget Jones's Diary soundtrack) a hint of ambivalence about romantic surrender. A couple of cuts, most obviously "Jesus on a Greyhound," succumb to the self-consciousness that marred a couple of I Am Shelby Lynne's sketches, but that's a minor complaint in the face of what this record's best has to offer. --Rickey Wright

Soft Talk  >>

Reissue of 1991 album for the country singer/songwriter compared to Patsy Cline. 'This Is Shelby Lynne'.