BETTY WRIGHT AND THE ROOTS-BETTY WRIGHT THE MOVIE.
BETTY WRIGHT AND THE ROOTS-BETTY WRIGHT THE MOVIE.
Ten years after the release of her previous album, 2001s Fit For A King, Betty Wright released her sixteenth studio album Betty Wright The Movie in 2011, which was a collaboration with The Roots. On Betty Wright The Movie, Betty collaborates with Joss Stone, Snoop Dogg and Lenny Williams. Released in November 2011, on the S-Curve label, Betty Wright The Movie features twelve tracks, written or co-written by Betty herself. Betty is no stranger to songwriting, having spent the previous ten years writing, arranging and producing tracks for a variety of artists, as well as singing backing vocals for various artists. All this, proves just how multitalented Betty is. Back in 1985, Betty even founded her own label, Miss B Records, which made history, when Betty’s 1987 album, Mother Wit was certified gold, becoming the first female black artists to have a gold album on her own label. This is typical of Betty Wright, a woman who throughout her career, has been a pioneer and innovator. Best known for her 1971 million selling, gold certified single Clean Up Woman, which Betty recorded when she was just seventeen. However, there’s so much more to Betty Wright’s career than just one song, as you’ll discover when I briefly tell you about Betty’s career, after which I’ll tell you about Betty Wright The Movie.
Betty Wright was born in 1953 in Miami, Florida, starting her career aged two, as a member of gospel group Echoes of Joy. They released their first album in 1956, performing until the mid-sixties. After the group split-up in 1965, Betty and her four octave voice turned to R&B, signing a record contract aged twelve. By 1968, and signed to the Henry Stone’s TK label Betty released her debut album First Time Around, having her first hit single with Girls Can’t Do What Boys Do. Three years later, Betty would release her trademark song, Clean Up Woman.
Clean Up Woman was co-written by Clarence Reid and Willie Clarke, reaching number six in the US Billboard 100 and number two in the US R&B Charts. This resulted in the single selling over a million copies, resulting in it being certified gold. After the success of Clean Up Woman, future singles wouldn’t match its success, although 1972s Babysitter and 1973s Let Me Be Your Lovemaker both gave Betty some chart success. However, it would two years later in 1975, when Betty released three important singles.
1975 was an important year for Betty. Where Is the Love, an early disco track was released in 1975 as a single. It proved popular in the US R&B and US Disco Charts, resulting in Betty winning a Grammy for writing the Best R&B Song. Later that year, another early disco track Shoorah, Shoorah, was released from Betty’s Danger! High Voltage album, which is considered one of Betty’s best albums. The other single was Tonight Is the Night, about Betty’s first sexual experience, which like Shoorah, Shoorah, reached number twenty-eight in the US R&B Charts. However, when a live version of Tonight Is the Night was released in 1978, it would do much better, reaching number eleven in the US R&B Charts. That year, 1978 Betty would discover Peter Brown, and would sing backing vocals on his singles. Around that time, Betty sang a duet with Alice Cooper and was the opening act on a Bob Marley tour. Sadly, by the late seventies and early eighties, Betty’s music was no longer as popular, and her label TK was experiencing problems. She moved to Epic and released Betty Wright in 1981. Four years later, Betty would found her own record label.
In 1985, Betty founded her own label, Miss B Records. Two years later, Betty made history, when her 1987 album, Mother Wit was certified gold. She became the first female black artists to have a gold album on her own label. This was followed up by 4u2enjoy in 1989. After the release of her next album Passion and Compassion in 1990, Betty took a break from the music industry, returning in 1994 with B-Attitudes. While Betty may not have been releasing albums, her music became popular among hip hop artists, who sampled her music. It would be seven more years before Betty released another album, Fit For A King in 2001. While Betty may not have been releasing albums, her music became popular among hip hop artists, who often, sampled her music. During the next ten years, Betty spent time writing, arranging and producing music, while singing backing vocals on various albums. Among the artists she worked with are Lil Wayne, Joss Stone, P Diddy, Kelly Clarkson and Keyshia Cole. Then in 2011, Betty would make her comeback.
In 2011, Betty collaborated with legendary hip hop artist The Roots, recording twelve tracks in New York and Miama, that would become Betty Wright The Movie. On the album, Betty collaborates with Joss Stone, Snoop Dogg and Lenny Williams on the twelve tracks she either wrote or cowrote. Betty also co-produced Betty Wright The Movie, along with Ahmir Questlove Thomson and Angelo Morris. Then in November 2011, fans of Betty Wright were delighted to see that after ten long years, a new Betty Wright album had been released. Many wondered what Betty Wright The Movie would sound like, after an absence from music of ten years. That’s what I’ll now tell you.
Opening Betty Wright The Movie is Old Songs, a mid-tempo track, with a real retro sound when the track opens. It’s a combination of rhythm section, chiming guitars and Betty’s voice which sounds distant. Quickly, her vocal moves to the front, and straight away, you realise what you’ve been missing for the past ten years. Betty’s vocal although strong, has a joyous sound, with backing vocalists accompanying her. They augment her vocal, while the arrangement has the same catchy, uplifting sound throughout the track. Later, Betty briefly, almost raps the lyrics, before her voice drops out, returning with her backing vocalists as she continues to roll back the years, both with the quality of her vocal and the classy, retro sounding arrangement.
Real Woman is one of the slowest tracks on Betty Wright The Movie, with a quite different production style. The arrangement is much louder, brasher, with a more moderne R&B sound. Sometimes, however, the arrangement seems to loud. Here, the beats are crunchy, while guitars and synths are responsible for this quite different, more contemporary sound. Betty’s voice is powerful and impassioned, before later, Snoop Dogg makes his presence felt, rapping his way through the track, laying down some slick rhymes. His vocal is perfect for the arrangement, a real contrast with the soulful strains of Betty. Here, two genres collide, with soul and hip hop combining to create a track that’s slick and soulful.
On In The Middle Of The Game (Don’t Change The Play) Betty ups the tempo, with the style returning to a more traditional soulful sound. Here, Betty gets the opportunity to demonstrate her four octave range. Her voice is full of emotion, with her delivery powerful as The Roots and his accomplished band create an arrangement that’s fuses soul, R&B and even elements of hip hop. Key to the sound are the rhythm section, guitars, keyboards and a Hammond organ that adds an old school sound. Add to this testifying, soulful, soaring backing vocalists, and one of Betty’s best vocals on the album ensures that this is a real return to form for Betty, on one of the highlights of Opening Betty Wright The Movie.
As Surrender opens, you briefly hear a Prince influence in the arrangement. It fuses soul with a little funk, as Betty delivers a really heartfelt, impassioned vocal tinged with sadness and regret. Meanwhile, the arrangement meanders along, with Ahmir Questlove Thomson drums prominent in the mix, while bass and guitars both play important rolls. However, Betty’s vocal is quite rightly allowed to take centre-stage, given its quality, and the emotion and passion Betty reveals. Although, backing vocalists accompany her, they like the band, are playing second fiddle to a true legend of soul, Ms. Betty Wright on this heartfelt, beautiful track.
Although Grapes On A Vine sees the style change, there’s one constant, the quality of Betty’s vocal. Here, the track has a contemporary R&B sound, with the rhythm section and guitars accompanying Betty’s emotive, powerful vocal. Synths signal a change, with the track heading in a rocky direction. Guitars scream, soaring high, while a wash of synths and pounding drums combine. Lil Wayne lays down some slick, angry sounding rhymes while Betty kicks loose, proving that she’s quite comfortable with the rockier style. When Betty’s vocal drops out, Lil Wayne takes over, his vocal suiting the rocky backdrop. Punchy backing vocals and then Betty’s raw, screaming vocal combines with Lil Wayne before the track reaches its dramatic, powerful crescendo after five frantic, and quite fantastic minutes.
After a hesitant start, Look Around (Be A Man) starts to reveal its secrets. It’s another mid-tempo track, with Betty’s frustrated, angry vocal accompanied by backing vocalists. Their soulful strains are accompanied by a wash of synths, rhythm section, percussion and guitars. As the song progresses, Betty decides to unleash her powerful vocal, displaying a mixture of anger and frustration that’s perfect for the lyrics about infidelity and the breakup of a marriage. The arrangement has a polished, contemporary sound thanks to the production skills of Betty, Ahmir Questlove Thomson and Angelo Morris. Together, they provide the perfect backdrop for Betty’s feisty, frustrated vocal.
With a half-spoken introduction, Tonight Again begins. Crunchy drums and a slow tempo help create an atmospheric backdrop for Betty’s vocal. It’s just a backdrop of synths, rhythm section, backing vocalists and handclaps that accompany Betty’s sassy vocal. The really slow tempo is perfect for a track that’s hugely catchy, with more than its fair share of hooks. Truly, it’s an irresistible sounding slice of Nu-Soul from Betty.
Flourishes of piano and dark moody, broody synths open Hollywould the slowest track on Betty Wright-The Movie. This dark sound and Betty’s dramatic delivery suits the gritty lyrics about drug addiction and prostitution. Throughout the track, this moody sound provides a backdrop for Betty’s strong, dramatic vocal. Adding an equally dark, gritty vocal is Robert “the Messenger” Bozeman. Together with Betty, they provide the darkest tale on the album.
Whisper In The Wind sees a return to a more traditional, soulful sound. Betty’s vocal starts off tender and gentle, accompanied by lush strings, rhythm section and keyboards. Backing vocalists join the rasping horns that join the mix, as Betty’s vocal grows in strength. Still she hasn’t unleashed the power she’s displayed on previous tracks. When she does, it’s only briefly, but mostly, it’s a more restrained Betty that we hear. To close the track, Betty begins a vamp, feeding off her backing vocalists, with the interplay between them laden with emotion. While Betty may be more restrained on this track, her vocal is just beautiful and soulful as previous tracks, especially when augmented by backing vocalists and one of the slickest, most polished arrangements on Betty Wright-The Movie.
Pounding drums open Baby Come Back, before what sounds like a choir of backing vocalists accompany Lenny Williams, before Betty’s vocal enters. His vocal is full of pain and longing, while Betty’s vocal is full of sadness and regret. They’re accompanied by the backing vocalists, rhythm section, guitars and keyboards, with the backing vocalists key to the song’s success. When Lenny and Betty’s vocals are added the result is a track laden with sadness and sorrow, where the emotion is almost tangible.
So Long, So Wrong opens with crunchy drums, subtle backing vocalists, percussion and keyboards combining, before Betty’s questioning, emotional vocal enters. While her voice lacks the power of previous tracks, the quality is still present. The backing vocalists that accompany Betty, are perfect for her vocal, and the Nu-Soul sound arrangement. This Nu-Soul sound is especially prevalent later in the song, with punchy backing vocalists and a rap that drifts in and out of the track. What Betty does so well here, and on other tracks, is make you believe in the story behind the lyrics. She sounds as if she’s lived and breathed them, yet survived to tell the tale. That to me, is the mark of a great vocalist, which Betty truly is.
Closing Betty Wright-The Movie is You And Me, Leroy, another track where Betty gives a half-spoken introduction. From there, it’s all change, with the track quickly opening up, the arrangement growing. It’s the rhythm section, guitars and some of the most soulful backing vocalists that accompany Betty. Her, vocal is feisty and confident, as she delivers her vocal powerfully. Guitars, a pounding bass and crisp drums combine with flourishes of piano as Betty’s vocal soars and roars, before returning to her normal style. With lyrics about financial hardship and struggling to pay the bills, Betty signs of her sixteenth studio album with a track full of social comment delivered with hope and confidence.
Having spent some time listening to Betty Wright-The Movie, I’m left thinking that, given the quality of music on the album, it wasn’t released on a bigger label. It’s an album that deserves a much wider audience, given how good Betty’s vocals are and how accomplished and polished the arrangements and productions are. On Betty Wright-The Movie, it’s a real return to form for Betty, with the album a reminder of what music has been missing for a decade. When Betty Wright-The Movie was released, it wasn’t with the hype many lesser albums have. Instead, it was an almost low-key release, with many people not realizing the album had been released. Thankfully, now that Betty is touring, the album has received some welcome publicity. After all, this hidden gem of an album deserves to be a commercial success. Betty’s collaboration with The Roots worked well, with The Roots mixing Betty’s soulful sound with a much more contemporary sound. However, The Roots knows what Betty does best, sing soul, and allows her to do just that on many tracks. Truly, she doesn’t disappoint, and this collaboration between the veteran soul singer Betty Wright and one of the most talented artists and producers The Roots, is a musical gem, one that anyone who loves soul, R&B or even hip hop should investigate. There’s some great music awaiting discovery on Betty Wright-The Movie, and let’s just hope it isn’t another ten years before Betty releases her next album, after all, singers this soulful are a rarity nowadays. Standout Tracks: Old Songs, In The Middle Of The Game (Don’t Change The Play, Look Around (Be A Man and Baby Come Back.
BETTY WRIGHT AND THE ROOTS-BETTY WRIGHT THE MOVIE.
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