Wendy Moten | Tis The Season

Wendy Moten | Tis The Season
By Peggy Oliver

Wendy Moten’s beautifully timed and gorgeously tuned voice has graced the music industry for almost two decades, even if her solo recording exposure was somewhat unappreciated. No matter what the genre, her instrument was well utilized with international superstars, both in the studio and in concert. From Michael Bolton, to Faith Hill & Tim McGraw and Julio Iglesias, Moten was a much in-demand backing and featured vocalist. The Memphis native’s career seemed headed in a positive direction working alongside Bolten, and Capitol Records opening their doors for her first recording contract. “Come in Out of the Rain,” an emotionally charged R&B love ballad from 1992, demonstrated Moten’s chameleon vocals which could paint elegant lyrical pictures with subtle soulful touches and shout to the mountaintops. Though her talent was never in doubt, the fruits of her labor were unfortunately lost in the shuffle amongst other urban songstresses who already established their place as mainstream stars during the nineties; i.e. Whitney and Mariah. In the blink of an eye, record sales for Moten plummeted starting with her sophomore effort, Life’s What You Make It, despite her boldness to stretch beyond R&B power ballads and emphasizing more rock and pop into the mix; case in point “People Got To Be Free” by The Rascals and Talk Talk’s “Life’s What You Make It.” Two more projects were released in Japan including Time for Change with a cast of rock solid music producers and players including David Foster and James Ingram. Yet Moten always kept busy, whether featured in guest spots with Kirk Whalum & Isaac Hayes on “I Loved You In Memphis” (on Whalum’s 2006 disc, Into My Soul) or her long tenure with Iglesias.

Long removed from the major labels, Wendy Moten now joins the independent ranks by self-releasing her second Christmas 0ffering, Tis The Season (first issued in 2009) with able assistance by musician/producer David Santos and pianist Clay Perry. If anyone is expecting Moten soulful balladry from the nineties, this is conspicuously absent. All the tracks are traditional Christmas fare, but the arrangements reshape these hymns and carols in a variety of laid-back moods. Several lean towards a Celtic ambience with angelic harmonies, airy piano and strings (“Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” “The Little Drummer Boy,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”). There are several absolute jewels on the crown; the classical music nuances of “We Three King”, “Angels We Have Heard On High” – with only minimal acoustic piano accompaniment that frees the listener to grasp the depth and breadth of Moten’s range, and the jubilant, African-seasoned “Deck The Halls.”

Moten’s unique concept in breathing new life into old Christmas chestnuts on Tis The Season translates fairly well with two exceptions. The last minute and a half of piano loops and backing vocals could have been trimmed on “Away in a Manger.” And the major liberties executed on “Silent Night,” especially the complete melodic makeover, are risks never worth taking. Otherwise, Tis The Season provides more than amble opportunity to experience Moten’s spacious voice in a different setting from her earlier R&B efforts.

Peggy Oliver
The Urban Music Scene