Unfiltered isn’t an unusual description of Shelby Lynne.
The country-pop singer-songwriter has always been guileless, both in her music and public life.
Her songs -- which most people started paying attention to with her breakthrough 1999 release “I Am Shelby Lynne” -- shudder and ache with insights about love, loss and redemption.
Her latest album, “Revelation Road,” the third release on her own Everso Records, bleeds with emotion, from Lynne wondering, “Does my heart need these scars to keep me alive?” on “I Want to Go Back” to the eerily descriptive, “Load up the gun, full of regret. I ain’t even pulled the trigger yet,” on “Heaven’s Only Days Down the Road.”
The murder ballad is as close as Lynne has ever come to sharing, through music, her own family tragedy: When she was 17, her father shot and killed her mother and then himself.
But Lynne, 43, is a fighter, a survivor with a smoke-hued voice who, on “Revelation Road,” demonstrates her musical acuity by writing, producing and performing the whole affair.
Her current tour, which comes to the new Red Clay Theatre in Duluth on Jan. 21, will feature Lynne solo in a 22-song set, armed only with a guitar and her tart edge.
Speaking recently from a studio near her home in California, Lynne talked about "Revelation Road" and why she’ll never record another cover album.
Q. It’s odd to see this album described as your most personal because I’ve always thought your music had a raw authenticity to it.
A. I keep hearing that, I guess, because it was written in my bio for this album. That's why I don't like sending out a bio. As far as I'm concerned, I write what I feel in my heart. I put it on the record and let the listener decide.
Q. That said, "Heaven’s Only Days Down the Road" might be the most personal song you’ve ever written. How difficult was it to commit those thoughts to music?
A. I don't have a problem baring my emotions in music. That's one of the reasons I'm glad to have music in my life. I'm pretty resilient as far as being a human being. A lot of songs write themselves.
Q. Who do you listen to for inspiration?
A. For inspiration, nobody. But for enjoyment, lots. I'm a person who observes and tries to watch what is happening in the world around me for inspiration. But for enjoyment I listen to everything from Miles Davis to whatever is current out there.
Q. Is it true that you’re working on a project with your sister [Allison Moorer] this year?
A. No, I'm not.
Q. Did something change, or was it never really planned?
A. We don't talk about each other.
Q. OK, then. So you’ve released your last few albums independently. What kind of freedom have you found doing it your way?
A. I have all the freedom in the world. I'll make albums and put them out when I want to. I never could have made this album on a major label. Record labels aren't very creative; they're just places to do business. I'm glad to have my own thing and be able to make art.
Q. "Lead Me Love" was on an episode of "Parenthood" recently. Is that type of marketing something you’re exploring more of now that you are independent?
A. It's another way to make a living. It's another way to get your music out there, and that means somebody likes it. Radio doesn't exist for someone like me. Satellite [radio] is great and they'll play me on several channels, but that's a whole other ballgame.
Q. It’s been 10 years since you won a Grammy. Are you still interested in trying to achieve mainstream acclaim?
A. I don't think I've ever been mainstream. I've always done my own thing and never worried about what anybody else is doing. Grammys are fine. I love having mine, but it's a political process and I'm not much of a politician.
Q. Would you ever do another cover album, like your Dusty Springfield release [2008’s "Just a Little Lovin’’]?
A. Hell, no. She was it. I think every career is worth one cover album, otherwise you turn into a [bleeping] jukebox. If you want to hear a cover, go listen to the original.
Concert preview
Shelby Lynne
8 p.m. Jan. 21. $30 (general admission). Eddie Owen Presents in the Red Clay Theatre, 3116 Main St., Duluth. 404-478-2749, www.eddieowenpresents.com.
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