A promising debut from a 23 year old singer/songwriter (and a fellow PK). Not really jazz, not really R&B or soul. Lizz Wright is the space between. Very low-key and laid back. Wright has an exceptional contralto voice that is more concerned with conveying emotion than trying to impress the listener with superfluous melisma. My only complaint is that most of the songs sound pretty much the same as far as tempos and arrangements. I don't know why I've never purchased any of her subsequent releases, I just haven't. Shrug. If she could ever find the perfect material and producer, she'd be as well known as Anita Baker, Oleta Adams, or Sade.
Album chart peaks:
- US Billboard 200: Did not chart
- Billboard Contemporary Jazz: #2
- Billboard Jazz: #4
Tracks: The title track is a great 3/4 bluesy ballad followed by one of my favorite versions of Afro Blue. Also good are Eternity, Vocalise/End Of The Line, and Lead The Way. The critics love her version of Soon As I Get Home from the musical The Wiz, but while Wright's take is better than the Stephanie Mills version, I just don't think it's that great of a song. Other weak tracks are Goodbye and Silence.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I don't remember how I heard of Wright. I must have purchased this CD during my last year to teach in the public schools because I remember listening to it in my office during that year.
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