A good many vocalists achieve greatness, but only a rare few have become timeless. In an era when technically proficient singers are as common as ants at a picnic, a scant number can actually transcend genres by inhabiting a song rather than merely singing it.

Dusty Springfield was one of the timeless, gifted few. She possessed the intuitive ability to interpret a song from the absolute center of her soul and indelibly mark it as her own, regardless of the style it was originally written in. And while she could claim pop, country and soul hits throughout her amazing career, she was proudly and defiantly unclassifiable as any of those genres exclusively. She was simply Dusty.

Shelby Lynne has been headed down a similar path in recent years. She turned away from the calculated and overwrought country of her early career to pursue a soulful and emotional direction that embraces the best of country, pop and soul without being any of them exactly. Given her love and respect for the work of Dusty Springfield, perhaps it was just a matter of time before Lynne decided to apply her talents in a more direct tribute to honor the iconic vocalist, which she does with her latest release, Just a Little Lovin'.

The idea for the Springfield covers album came, oddly enough, from Barry Manilow, who had corresponded frequently with Lynne after a meeting at a Grammy appearance together. He e-mailed Lynne three years ago with the suggestion of revisiting Springfield's songbook.

"Yeah, it was his idea," says Lynne via phone. "I thought, "What the hell, that's a good idea.' I write my own songs all the time, but I wasn't ready to dedicate the time to make the songs that I had album-worthy, so I thought, "Hell, I'll wait and do this then.'"

Lynne was preoccupied with tour planning for her then-new album, Suit Yourself, but kept the concept in the back of her mind. After letting the idea percolate for nearly a year, and after Capitol failed to find an audience for Suit Yourself, Lynne pitched the idea to the label and got an enthusiastic response. Lynne and her manager then went through a lengthy discussion about the best producer for the project, finally settling on veteran boardsman Phil Ramone.

"We did a lot of talking on the phone, because he lives on the East Coast," says Lynne of Ramone. "We met a couple of times in Los Angeles and started making lists of songs, condensing it down. It was a real easygoing process. The songs are so good, I just chose my favorites."

With Springfield's extensive and diverse catalog, Lynne wavered for weeks on which songs to record; in fact, the only decision that was ironclad from the start was her staunch refusal to even consider redoing "Son of a Preacher Man." Lynne continued to massage her set list until she sensed the perfect balance between songs she loved and songs she felt she could offer in her own unique light.

"Besides having my favorites, they just kind of felt right together, this particular group," says Lynne. "The day we went in to start recording, we had what we called a menu of songs. I think we had 13 and we didn't cut but 11. After making records for as long as I have, you learn - don't leave anything in the can if you can help it, especially if you don't like it, because it'll sneak up and bite you in the ass if it's there. Better to cut what's there and move on. So we cut the 10 on the record, and I cut "Wishin' and Hopin'' for Europe or whatever."

Just a Little Lovin' is far from a standard tribute album. Lynne pushed the originals into new emotional territory, honoring Springfield's trailblazing interpretations by offering new and sparsely appointed versions (as well as one gorgeously seamless composition of her own, "Pretend"). Between Lynne's achingly muted vocals and the crack band that Ramone assembled (guitarist Dean Parks, keyboardist Rob Mathes, bassist Kevin Axt, drummer Greg Field), the arrangements on Just a Little Lovin' are gorgeously subdued yet unexpectedly powerful; "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" and "I Only Want to Be with You" smolder torchily with the hurt and longing that were conveyed so differently by Springfield within their original pop context.

"All I knew was I couldn't make a record that's already been made before, so I had to make the songs mine," says Lynne. "I chose these songs because I really felt I could sing them best. As many other great songs as there are in the Dusty world, these are the ones I really felt I could put my mark on and make mine. When we went in to cut, the four musicians and I became a band, really. We found a key and a groove and took off. You know when it's right. We cut "Just a Little Lovin'' on the first day. When we nailed that, I knew that was the direction to go."

After all the deliberation taken to conceive Just a Little Lovin', the recording itself amazingly only took about a week. But just as Lynne began work on what she believes to be one of the best albums of her career, the Capitol/Virgin merger left her without a label and legitimately afraid that her labor of love might never be heard.

"This is the thing - when you've done it long enough, you start going, "When things look the bleakest, there's no way it can't come out on the sunny side,'" says Lynne. "I knew that I had a great record. It was just kind of meant to be that things would fall apart. Nothing is ever perfect. Here I am, with the best record I've ever made and everything went to hell. But I knew in my heart that we had something and that it was going to be okay, and sure enough."

Lynne contacted her manager and suggested they get the album in front of Lost Highway president Luke Lewis. "It was the only place I wanted to be," says Lynne. "I knew Luke would get it. And I think he's got the best label out there that's still a record label."

Lewis was sufficiently appreciative of the amazing craft and passion behind Just a Little Lovin' and stepped in to not only give the album a home for release, but to make Lost Highway Lynne's new label of record as well.

"I don't put too much scientific thought into anything; if it feels right, I just do it," says Lynne. "When you have songs that great, you take yourself out of it and allow the song to do the work, which is what I did. I really enjoyed just interpreting these songs in a laid-back, vibey way and allowing the beautiful lyrics and melodies to take you on the ride. You can't make a great record without great songs, and it's really a feeling-good thing to sing such beautiful songs."

Shelby Lynne,

David McMillin

8 p.m. Sunday, March 30

Beachland Ballroom

15711 Waterloo Rd.

216.383.1124

Tickets: $26 adv, $28 dos