Torch and Twang.('Just A Little Lovin' and 'Watershed')(Sound recording review)

When the British singer Dusty Springfield went to American Studios in Memphis, in 1968, to work with the producers Jerry Wexler and Arif Mardin and the engineer Tom Dowd, the hope was that they could do for Springfield what they did for Aretha Franklin--infuse her vocals with both earthy and empyrean qualities. The resulting album, "Dusty in Memphis," was hailed as Springfield's finest, and it has aged perfectly, which is to say not at all. On "Just a Little Lovin'" (Lost Highway), the country-rock singer Shelby Lynne has decided, for the most part, to cover songs associated with Springfield, including a handful from "Dusty in Memphis." It's an interesting conceit--Springfield was primarily an interpreter, while Lynne has made her career as a powerful vocalist and sharp songwriter, especially on albums such as "I Am Shelby Lynne" and "Identity Crisis." From the first, it's clear that this is not simply a retread: Lynne and her producer, Phil Ramone, slow down most of the tempos and strip down most of the arrangements. The result is a shift in tone away from Springfield's approach (which used false cheer to suggest a deep mournfulness) toward something sparser and bleaker. It works sometimes, most notably on "The Look of Love" (Ramone produced Springfield's original), but other ...