Title: "Front Porch Swing"
Description: Wright Family
Chadley - July 31, 2007 03:51 PM (GMT)
Group Name: Wright Family
Website: www.wrightfamilyministries.com
Album Title: “Front Porch Swing”
Song Titles:
1. God’s Gonna Do It Again
2. Bridges
3. Catching Glimpses
4. He Won’t Have To Do It Again
5. Grace Is Never Far
6. If I’m Not There
7. Oh I Want To See Him
8. Just Like You
9. Front Porch Swing
10. Until Then
11. Cross He Left Behind
12. He Was The Way
The Wright Family has been singing together for a number of years now. They are based out of Villa Rica, GA. The group consists of James Wright, his wife Edna Wright, and their daughter Glenda Wright.
“Front Porch Swing” is the fifth album recorded by the group, and it is dedicated to the mothers of James and Edna. Their style seems to be straightforward Southern Gospel. The cover art is very simple: a large picture of the group members with the group name above it and the album name below it. Inside, you’ll find the album dedication and the production credits. Alas, however, there are no song lyrics included.
Now, let’s take a look at each of the songs on the album.
The album starts off on an up-tempo note with “God’s Gonna Do It Again”. Glenda is featured on this song, and she really has a nice voice. Her lead vocals are an excellent foundation for the group’s sound. However, it seems like, at times, the mix of vocals is a bit off, causing you to hear Edna’s alto more prominently that the other two parts. Song #2 is a slower ballad entitled “Bridges”. James is featured here, and his voice has a bit of a bluegrass flavor to it. He seems to have a little bit of a problem with sliding off of notes, but he is otherwise on pitch and solid on the lead part.
The third song keeps the tempo the same. Edna takes the lead vocals on “Catching Glimpses”, and she shows herself to have a rich, high-range alto voice. However, once again, she is overpowering the other two parts at times. Song #4 is a medium-tempo number called “He Won’t Have To Do It Again”. James takes the lead on the first verse, but Glenda has a few solo phrases in the chorus before taking the lead on the second verse. There’s one time on the second verse that Glenda’s voice sounds like it cracks a bit, but it’s otherwise very smooth.
Song #5 is another ballad entitled “Grace Is Never Far”. This song, featuring Glenda, is the group’s current radio release. It’s a very powerful song that was an excellent choice for a single. The sixth song, “If I’m Not There”, is a medium-tempo that features James once again. I think that this is James’ strongest performance on the entire album. The tempo then speeds up again for the seventh song, “Oh I Want To See Him”. This is a very familiar song that features James everywhere except the second verse. Glenda steps in there with a powerful solo that really spices up the song. In my opinion, she should have kept the lead part into the following chorus so that the power and energy from her solo verse carried through. However, James takes the lead back on the chorus, causing a noticeable drop in energy from verse to chorus. Also, the group had a little bit of trouble pronouncing their words together at certain points throughout the song. With a little bit of work, however, this could be one of the family’s strongest numbers.
Song #8 is a medium-tempo number called “Just Like You”. Glenda is once again featured here, and it has fast become apparent that she has the strongest vocals of anyone in the group. This is another familiar old song, and it stands as one of my personal favorites from this album. Song #9 is the album’s title track. It’s a slower ballad entitled “Front Porch Swing” that once again finds James taking the lead. The tenth song keeps the tempo slow. “Until Then” gives James another opportunity to take the solo and lead vocals.
The tempo remains slow for Song #11, “Cross He Left Behind”. This is Edna’s second feature on the album. Finally, the album ends with another slower song, “He Was The Way”. Glenda takes the final feature of the album and really does a good job with it.
Overall, this is not a bad album. There are just some things that could be improved upon. A little bit of work on saying words together, coming in together, less sliding of notes, etc. would take this album up a notch or two. Also, I would have liked to see a bit more variety in song tempos- there were too many slow songs, in my opinion. On the flip side, the more they utilize Glenda’s voice the better. It’s the strongest of the group, and their blend is the best when she has the lead. I would encourage her not to be afraid to “kick it into high gear” because she has the ability and talent to do so. I would give this album deserves a rating of 6 ½ out of a possible 10 microphones!
Personal Favorites: “Grace Is Never Far”, “If I’m Not There”, and “Just Like You”