Bramlett's back and 'Beautiful'

Bonnie Bramlett

Beautiful (Rockin' Camel Music)

ESSENTIAL "Beautiful"

Bonnie Bramlett’s R&B credentials are topshelf. She was in the Ikettes (Ike & Tina Turner's backup singers), then the powerhouse Delaney & Bonnie, whom Eric Clapton joined for a tour. She also has sung with Joe Cocker and George Harrison. She retreated from the recording scene in the 1980s and '90s (she went into acting and was on the sitcom "Roseanne"), but she has made a strong artistic comeback in the past several years. This new disc is, pure and simple, a gem. Bramlett can still belt with bravado - witness the rocking "Shake Something Loose." But many of these new songs (made with the Muscle Shoals rhythm section) are exquisitely tender and uplifting, from "Strongest Weakness" (about giving up tobacco, wine, and whiskey, but not a certain lover; it was cowritten by her daughter, Bekka) to Dan Penn's gospel-steeped "He'll Take Care of You." Bramlett also gets political (a rare gesture for her) with a cover Stephen Stills's antiwar tune "For What It's Worth" and a track about religious tolerance and gay rights, "Bless 'Em All." But the standout is the title song in which she exposes her vulnerability: "I need some love/And I need someone to tell me I’m beautiful." This is a wonderfully mature record that shows Bramlett still has a relevant touch. [Steve Morse]