HOT PICK

Following the elaborate production on her blue-eyed soul classic, I Am Shelby Lynne, and 2003's Identity Crisis, Shelby Lynne does a 180 on Suit Yourself by adopting a casual, rustic, acoustic-based basic band approach. Consequently, one of the best vocalists around has never sounded so immediate, so vulnerable, or so alluring. This Grammy-winning performer can still slice and dice a faithless lover with the best of 'em ("You Don't Have a Heart"), but this time out she seems to be finding love and satisfaction in all the right places, whether it be in a new prospect (the funky "Go With It") or a familiar paramour ("Iced Tea"). She also takes time to wax nostalgic about one of the great romances of our time, in the lilting, Bobbie Gentry–like "Johnny Met June," written on the day Lynne heard of Johnny Cash's death. She brings in her buddy Tony Joe White to play guitar and harmonica, then covers a couple of his well-turned tunes: "Old Time's Sake" and the enduring "Rainy Night in Georgia." On the latter (which is listed as "Track 12"), Lynne cooks up a heady, slow-boiling soul stew, suggesting both Brook Benton's original gem and Conway Twitty and Sam Moore's deeply felt duet version. The band includes the impeccable Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench, the Wallflowers' Michael Ward on guitar, pedal steel virtuoso Robby Turner, and Lynne's favorite co-conspirator, Brian "Brain" Harrison, on bass; these players support Lynne with affecting, minimalist stylings, ranging from folk-flavored to southern soul to country blues, all rendered with impressive restraint and lots of heart. Laid-back though it be, Suit Yourself kicks like a mule, bites like a crocodile. David McGee