Mario Tarradell

Shelby Lynne couldn't just sing the late Dusty Springfield's songs. That's too easy for the individualistic, enigmatic artist who began her career as a mainstream country belter, then morphed into a soulful, introspective singer-songwriter.

Randee St. Nichols

Shelby Lynne

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So when the Virginia-born Grammy winner decided to craft her Springfield salute, Just a Little Lovin', she enlisted respected producer Phil Ramone to deliver a musically intimate disc. Lovin' strips down familiar pop nuggets such as "Anyone Who Had a Heart," "I Only Want to Be With You" and "How Can I Be Sure" and turns them into coffee-table confessionals. It's a stunning, sultry effort that showcases Ms. Lynne's nuanced vocals.

"I chose the songs that I could make my own," she says by phone from a tour stop in Indiana. "There's no reason to do a record of covers if you're not going to make them your own. I wanted to remind people of how much her songs meant to us, as a fan. When I went in to make the record I didn't really have any plans. When we cut the first song, 'Just a Little Lovin',' it made the plan for us. Then the record just took shape."

The play-by-ear method of recording worked thanks to worthy material such as "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me," "The Look of Love" and lesser-known tracks "Breakfast in Bed" and "Willie and Laura Mae Jones."

"These songs are so strong ... so incredible that they can really stand in a sparse environment," says Ms. Lynne.

Even her one original, "Pretend," fits in beautifully.

"I had that song for several years," she says. "Phil thought I needed to put one of my originals there and it was the only thing that I had that even comes close. It's kind of the same sentiment of 'Anyone Who Had a Heart,' the desperation, the loneliness."

With Just a Little Lovin', the 39-year-old Ms. Lynne inaugurates her contract with Nashville's roots-music boutique label Lost Highway. She's come full circle since she debuted as an Epic Nashville recording artist. But she's no longer playing the Top-40 country game.

"That just happens to be where they are," she says of Lost Highway. "But Lost Highway is not a country label and doesn't have anything to do with the mainstream country thing. This is where I need to be."

Powerful words when you consider all of Ms. Lynne's creative stops since debuting in 1989. Three CDs of adult-contemporary-styled country led to swing and torchy honky-tonk country on 1993's Temptation and 1995's Restless. She re-emerged in 1999 with I Am Shelby Lynne , a soul-pop manifesto that earned her a head-scratching Grammy Award as best new artist. Another trio of studio discs followed, including 2003's cleverly titled Identity Crisis, before Just a Little Lovin' .

Ms. Lynne feels she's "wasted no time" in her winding artistic journey. "I believe the reason I'm still here after 20 years is because I do what I want."

And she's thankful for that Grammy, no matter how seasoned she was when she got it, because it gave her a much-needed shot of pop-culture exposure.

"It's very important for me to have that Grammy. It means that my peers appreciate my work. The Grammy kept me afloat, let's put it that way."