Golden Classics: Clean Up Woman

Performer: Betty Wright
Producer: Mark Pinkus (Compilation)
Distributor: WEA Strategic Marketing

Notes: This compilation, part of Rhino's budget-priced Flashback sublabel, covers over a decade of Betty Wright's career in the space of ten cuts. There is some rhyme and reason to the selections, since the inclusions tended to fall within the Top 30 of the R&B chart, though the number ten 1973 hit "Let Me Be Your Lovemaker" and 1978 number five hit "Dance with Me" are not included. Natural choices like "Clean Up Woman," "Baby Sitter," "Secretary," and "Slip and Do It" -- all excellent -- are included, but you'd be much better served with Rhino's 16-track The Very Best of Betty Wright or even 2002's The Essentials. ~ Andy Kellman Even though it only contains half of the selections found on Betty Wright's more democratic Rhino retrospective, Golden Classics: Clean Up Woman is nevertheless a worthwhile collection. This is especially true if you are more interested in Wright's soul-driven '70s material than her glossier, more subdued '80s output. Along with fellow Southern soul chanteuses Denise LaSalle and Millie Jackson, Wright favored a Stax-inspired, horn/guitar-heavy sound on her early sides, sidestepping the slicker and more popular Philadelphia sound of the Stylistics and O'Jays. Above the gritty mix, Wright shows off her vocal flexibility using a smooth, Dionne Warwick-inspired delivery on the decidedly non-feminist hit "Girls Can't Do What the Guys Do" and a more raspy tone on "Outside Woman." If you want a thorough overview of Wright's work, get the Rhino collection, but if you are just curious, this is a great introduction. ~ Stephen Cook

A 1960s gospel prodigy who went secular at an early age, Wright had her first hit ("Girls Can't Do What the Guys Do") at age 15, and four years later followed it up with "Clean Up Woman," a proto-feminist smash with one of the all-time killer guitar riffs. A popular artist of the 1970s, her influence could be strongly felt on the empowered-female, hip-hop infused R&B of the '90s.

Click Here for Shipping Options and Policies

Shipping or Dimension weight in pounds: 0.25