Marva Wright Albums (9)
What The Critics Say
There were so many blues and country songs written after the 1927 Mississippi River floods that there have been entire collections compiled of them. Nearly two years after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, stretching from Biloxi to western Louisiana and all but obliterating New Orleans through a combination of bad luck, poor design, and bureaucratic idiocy, the Crescent City was still only barely on its feet when local legend Marva Wright released After the Levees Broke. Likely the first album by a New Orleans artist to fully address the storm's aftermath, After the Levees Broke keeps the finger-pointing down to a minimum, preferring to make its case in more subtle fashion by including suddenly pertinent covers of classics like Willie Nelson's "Crazy" (transformed into a love affair with a tempestuous city) and a complete recasting of Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come." In this context, Wright transforms Bruce Hornsby's "The Way It Is" from a well-meaning but somewhat facile take on racism from a middle-class white guy's perspective into a fiery, soulful refrain. More pointed original tunes, most written by producer and bassist Benny Turner, include the powerful "The Levee Is Breaking Down" and "Katrina Blues," so far the closest this disaster has come to the sort of first-person blues spawned by the 1927 floods. Far from the bon temps roulez vibe of Wright's earlier work, After the Levees Broke is both timely and deeply traditional. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide
'Do Right Woman: The Soul of New Orleans'
Release Date 10/30/2006
Tracks 13
Label Shout
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What The Critics Say
These 12 tracks, recorded in 1993, were originally released that year in France as Born with the Blues, and issued by Virgin in the U.S. under the same title in 1996. This 2006 U.K. reissue on the Shout! label contains the same dozen songs, but retitles the album Do Right Woman, resequencing the tracks and adding historical liner notes. Marva Wright's albums might be filed more often under the blues section than any other, but in truth, she's a versatile singer of all forms of New Orleans R&B, venturing into gospel and soul as well. There's no faulting her vocal performances on Do Right Woman; their powerful gutsiness marks her as one of the best blues/R&B singers to have emerged in the final decades of the 20th century. It's the material that makes this an uneven record, though a worthwhile one on the whole. Some of the songs are quite good, "Born with the Blues" being a particular highlight for both its minor-keyed melody and vocals with a lived-in intensity that was a rare commodity indeed in '90s blues records. "Pray" is another peak, both for its moody gospel melody and stellar backup by Sonny Landreth on slithering slide guitar. Some of the other songs, however, are only average, so-so blues/R&B efforts, even if the manner in which Wright throws herself into them is never less than wholehearted. The covers of familiar R&B and soul tunes are also variable; it's real hard to do anything new with "Hound Dog," though "Can't Nobody Love You" (a '60s chart single for Solomon Burke) works well, in part because it strips down to just Wright's voice and Freddy Koella's slide guitar. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
'Heartbreakin Woman'
Release Date 4/7/1998
Tracks 13
Label Mardis Gras
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What The Critics Say
Marva Wright's albums might be filed more often under the blues section than any other, but in truth she's a versatile singer of all forms of New Orleans R&B, venturing into gospel and soul as well. There's no faulting her vocal performances on Born with the Blues; their powerful gutsiness marks her as one of the best blues/R&B singers to emerge in the final decades of the 20th century. It's the material that makes this an uneven record, though a worthwhile one on the whole. Some of the songs are quite good, the title track being a particular highlight for both its minor-keyed melody and vocals with a lived-in intensity that was a rare commodity indeed in '90s blues records. "Pray" is another peak, both for its moody gospel melody and stellar backup by Sonny Landreth on slithering slide guitar. Some of the other songs, however, are only average, so-so blues/R&B efforts, even if the manner in which Wright throws herself into them is never less than wholehearted. The covers of familiar R&B and soul tunes are also variable; it's real hard to do anything new with "Hound Dog," though "Can't Nobody Love You" (a '60s chart single for Solomon Burke) works well, in part because it strips down to just Wright's voice and Freddy Koella's slide guitar. Recorded in 1993 and originally released that year in France, Born with the Blues was issued in the U.S. on Virgin in 1996, and reissued in the U.K. by Shout! in 2006 under the title Do Right Woman, with historical liner notes and a resequenced track order. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For'
Release Date 9/13/1995
Tracks 12
Label Aim Records
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'Heartbreakin' Woman'
Release Date 1/1/1991
Tracks 13
Label Tipitina's
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What The Critics Say
New Orleans-born Wright navigates through a handful of modern blues originals and a number of covers, inlcuding "St. James Infirmary" and "You Don't Miss Your Water," on this 1991 effort, which, while warmly sung, lacks distinction. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
