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Lizz Wright
- Salt (Verve)
If it's all the soundtrack of your life, then some music leads you cruising down the Pacific Coast Highway on a Sunday afternoon - in a convertible, with the top down. The helicopter with the Steadicam is right behind, catching the sunset with a little lens flare. This isn't that kind of music. And if this is the place to look for girl singers, Lizz Wright is only 24. But she's no girl. This one is downtown, and it's not sundown, it's midnight. This is slow dancing music, or that scene where you're looking out the window at the skyline - and wondering how you ended up where you are. It's also sunrise music, with a little hope thrown in, too. Lizz Wright spent lots of time in a church as a kid - her father handled music there. On tracks such as, "Walk With Me, Lord," Wright's church roots are on full display, and the authority in her voice seems to say that she's spent time on both sides of the law there. If there's a problem, it's that several of the tracks sound alike - "Blue Rose," and "Goodbye," and "Silence" seem to run together. But Wright's turn on Flora Purim's "Open Your Eyes, You Can Fly" soars. The title cut, "Salt," is outstanding, too. Three outstanding cuts, then - that are more than worth the price of admission. And two or three others - "Afro Blue," and "Soon As I Get Home," that grow on you pretty quickly. I'm glad I'm not just buying discs for just the hits anymore. This one takes more than one listen. But it's well worth the time. Lizz Wright's "Salt." It's a keeper.
- Doug Boynton |
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