Additional information
Personnel: Etta James, Steve Winwood (vocals); Lucky Peterson (guitar, organ); Steve Cropper, Will McFarlane, Jimmy Johnson, Jay Johnson (guitar); Kirk "Jelly Roll" Johnson (harmonica); Hank Crawford (alto saxophone); Harvey Thompson (tenor saxophone); Jim Horn (baritone saxophone); Mike Haynes, Gary Armstrong (trumpet); Clayton Ivey (piano); Frankie Crawford (synthesizer); David Hood, Willie Weeks (bass); Roger Hawkins, Steve Ferrone (drums); Tom Roady (percussion); Cindy Walker, Marie Lewey, George Soule, George Jackson (background vocals). Recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, Sheffield, Alabama from March 15 to May 31, 1992. Includes liner notes by David Ritz. When Etta James reunited with famed Atlantic R&B producer Jerry Wexler in 1993, it marked the first time the legendary pair had worked together on an album since 1976. Soul mecca Muscle Shoals was the chosen recording site this time around and Wexler pulled out the stops by getting such famous names as Steve Cropper, Hank Crawford, and Lucky Peterson to back the great James. The material chosen also played to James' strengths and included material originally recorded by Wilson Pickett ("Ninety Nine and a Half [Won't Do]"), Mable John ("You're Taking up Another Man's Place"), Al Green ("Love and Happiness"), and Ray Charles ("Nighttime is the Right Time"). All these tracks are given their due thanks to Etta James' powerful vocals and soulful phrasing. Other highlights include a particularly vivid duet with original blue-eyed soul prodigy Steve Winwood on Allen Toussaint's "Give It Up," and the delightfully ribald "Wet Match," in which a sassy Miss Peaches chastises a boastful lover who doesn't quite measure up. Although THE RIGHT TIME deliberately returned to the southern soul of TELL MAMA, Etta James also showed off her blues chops with such steady scorchers as "I Sing the Blues" and "Down Home Blues."
Reviews
Rolling Stone (11/26/92, p.75) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...a spectacular update of R&B...overpowering in its stylistic force...she stamps herself as the undisputable queen of modern-day as well as traditional blues..." Entertainment Weekly (11/27/92, p.82) - "...on this consistent collection of R&B boilers and soul smokers, the remarkable Etta James sounds as hungry as ever..." - Rating: B+ JazzTimes (3/93, p.70) - "...Etta's in peak form, stronger than ever..." Musician (12/92, p.94) - "...a consistently satisfying and unpretentious set...certainly worth hearing..." Living Blues (Jan/Feb 93, pp.56-58) - "...James' volcanic holler of a voice is as volatile and passionate as it ever was...." Vox (12/92, p.94) - 7 - Very Good - "...unlike most recent attempts at classic soul, this is the real stuff...At 54, this lady still has one of the best blues voices around...A contender for soul album of the year..."
