Song of the Day 2/25: Bettye LaVette, “Everything Is Broken”

A true State of the Union address would have sounded a lot like this Bob Dylan number from “Oh Mercy,” the 1989 LP that critics treated as a comeback album. But not his original version, where Daniel Lanois’ glossy production distracts from Dylan’s delivery.

Soul singer Bettye LaVette improved it considerably by slowing it down, and her gritty voice imparts the lyrics with the anger and disgust they deserve.

LaVette recorded her first singles in the early ’60s, but mostly flew under the radar until she released her album “I’ve Got My Own Hell to Raise” in 2005, just short of her 60th birthday, to critical acclaim. That prompted Rhino to re-release her early work and kicked off a career revival. “Everything Is Broken” appeared on her 2012 LP “Thankful n’ Thoughtful.”

Dylan’s original sounds rushed by comparison, making the list of complaints sound more like a catalog of grumbles than a serious critique.

In 2018 LaVette released an entire album of Dylan covers. She gave a similar tune-up to her title track, “Things Have Changed,” Dylan’s Oscar-winning tune written for the 2000 film “Wonder Boys.”