Customer Reviews

Very Best of Betty Wright

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Betty Wright, born in 1954, was only 14 when "Girls Can't Do What the Guys Do" became a #15 R&B hit in 1968. She would go on to release 7 studio albums and a live album on Alton/Atlantic.

THE VERY BEST OF BETTY WRIGHT consists of 16 songs from 1968-1978, including one live recording; songs are in non-chronological order. Disc packaged in clear jewel case; total running time: 49:49. Booklet includes an essay by David Nathan, a few small b&w photographs, and track information (including release dates, albums of origin, chart positions, and a discography). Sound quality is good.

The songs in this collection come from her albums on the Alston/Atlantic label, so her 1988 hit "No Pain, No Gain" is not included here. The majority of the songs are from 1972-1975 (three are from 1968-1970; two are from 1977-78); there are no songs from her final Alton album, 1979's "Betty Traveling in the Wright Circle". There are 6 non-album single sides included.

There are two very disappointing aspects of this compilation. The first is the length; it includes only 16 songs, totaling less than 50 minutes' worth of music. [Collections by other `60s & `70s artists such as Esther Phillips, Baby Washington, Millie Jackson, Mable John, Irma Thomas, Honey Cone, Pointer Sisters, and Lyn Collins include an hour or more of music (often comprised of more than 20 songs).] The second is the version of "Tonight Is the Night" included here. The track is listed as "Tonight Is the Night Pt. 1 (rap)". It consists of the spoken word (dialog) intro that precedes Betty Wright's concert performance of "Tonight Is the Night" (which she calls on of her "biggest songs") from her live album; after about three minutes of speaking, Betty starts to sing the song. Then halfway into the first verse, the track fades out. And that is how this album ends.

The title "The Very Best of" seems quite the exaggeration. Rhino did good jobs on compilations for everyone from Ruth Brown to Millie Jackson to MC Lyte, but this is not one of those amazing or comprehensive compilations.

"The Very Best of Betty Wright" 2000 Rhino Records
music: 2 & half stars
packaging: 3 stars
value/deal/quality: one star
comprehensiveness: one & half stars

Why Betty Wright isn't more well known I will never understand. She has such a great voice and her recorded work on this CD speaks for itself. Her biggest hit was 1971's "Clean Up Woman", but there are some other songs on this disc that I hadn't heard of which should have been #1 hits. In particular, "It's Hard To Stop (Doing Something When It's Good To You)" and "Let Me Be Your Lovemaker" are incredibly funky and Betty's vocals and attitude are awesome. The ballad "You Can't See For Lookin'" is also a standout, displaying Betty's vocal abilities on a slower song. I agree with other reviewers that Rhino Records made a mistake in including only the introduction to Betty's live version of her classic song "Tonight Is The Night" before cutting out before we hear the actual song, but otherwise this collection is top notch. Betty Wright seems to have gone largely unnoticed despite a following in the southern U.S. and Europe. She should get the credit she deserves for being the talented singer she is. If you like soul music or R&B, there should be some Betty Wright in your collection.

I first saw Betty Wright on the TV show "Making the Band," on which she served as the vocal coach for P. Diddy's girl group, Danity Kane. Here was this little old woman with PIPES, lettin' these "young things" know how to sing a line like they MEAN IT! I was amazed and HAD to hear more!

This album is a collection of Wright's hits, and it doesn't disappoint. With a sassy, no-nonsense delivery and catchy tunes, Ms. Wright sets an early example for her pupils to follow decades later.

(Note: I recently noticed that Beyonce samples Betty in her latest cd.)

The CD is just about ruined with "Tonight is the Night" Part 1 (rap) - it is the spoken-word intro to a live performance... and it fades out as she starts to sing the song. It is just stupid.

And there is not even an hours' worth of music on this disc!

This CD started off well but quickly went into tracks of lesser notariety and ended in disaster when they short cut her most popular recording to just the opening live rap track with no song to follow. This is a total rip off CD and I was highly disappointed that neither the original recording or the live recording of "Tonight Is The Night" nor "No Pain, No Gain" is represented in the so-called The Very Best of Betty Wright!! You want money for this, Shame on you Rhino!!! You have made many various compilations, with high quality, of rare and hard to find tracks of many other artists. What happened here? I guess it's back to searching for a quality CD of this material I'm sure its out there somewhere but just not at Rhino Records. Very Best of Betty Wright

Rhino, pull this compilation until you can add the tracks necessary to make this item a treasure or continue to dupe the buyer and ruin your reputation. Truthfully, if you were an auto manufacturer this would definitely be a recall action...Man Up on this one; ya blew it!!

I got this cd for one song, (clean up women) and i am happy the cd works not scratched all is good.

I'm a big Betty Wright fan I have few other albums of her. I really bought this cd for one song on it.

I thought I was purchasing the CD that had versions one and two of "Tonight is the Night". It is not. This CD only has version one, which is not long enough.

Thanks to one response to my review of Betty Wright's CD, I must admit, Ricardo is right. The "Tonight Is The Night" track is a rap and not the great song we all love so much. "No Pain, No Gain" is also missing. There are some great tracks on this CD, and they are enjoyable. BUT...with that said, this CD is somewhat of a short-change. All-in-all, the tracks are a joy to listen to because it's Betty. Not a bad buy if you like Betty's other songs, and I do, so I'm not totally disappointed.

This cd surprised me on how great the songs are and there is not a better Betty Wright cd out there in my humble opinion. I think Rhino records gave her a quality cd release with this one. She looks so cute on the cover too. Great choice for the cover.