Marva King | The One (EP)

Marva King – The One EP

Marva King is every woman, one of the definitive soul sisters that lets loose with her feelings in every note she sings.  With a life built on lots of faith and determination during her childhood years, the Michigan native has had plenty to sing about.  Her chameleon voice has always charmed the urban music fans since the early eighties, including her more recent efforts through King’s Marvalous Works Entertainment.  Her Soul Sistah disc (originally released on the U.K.’s Expansion Records) explored several moods and several genres outside the R&B/soul box.  From the romantic ecstasy of “Baby This Love” (originally recorded by Minnie Ripperton) with George Duke and Stanley Clarke to the empowering anthem “Sistah,” Soul Sistah is just one of many delectable discs from the singer/songwriter since she honed her professional skills as a teenager.  Besides Soul Sistah, her other Marvalous projects – Light of Day (2004) and Grown & Sexy (2008) – drew raves from European soul loyalists.   But King is not just another independent soul music standout who rests strictly on her laurels. 

From an artist who craved music’s magical spell since she first took the stage at age seven, she soaked up a world of wisdom performing with cream of the crop musicians – Stevie, The Isleys and Chaka to name a few, which reflects her musical legacy to a tee.  And King has logged plenty of time in the studio for almost thirty years beginning with her first solo project on a label that once recorded The Pointer Sisters.

Feels Right was King’s debut on Planet Records, who waxed some of The Pointers biggest hits including “Neutron Dance” and “I’m So Excited.”   For those who absolutely dig obscure eighties R&B,  King was a member of the group Madagascar, a collective of top-notch players including Gerald Albright and John Barnes, whose big R&B/funk hit was “Rainbow.”  She also was one half of the duo Answered Questions with Morris Renties in the early nineties.  Because of King’s appreciation of several genres and experience in the music business, she occasionally crossed over from her usual soul/funk environment into Brazilian (the Soul of Brazil compilation), hip-hop (Tupac), dance (Jessie Saunders) and jazz formats (George Howard).   But no matter what the musical backdrops are, her sturdy voice is captivating beyond measure.

It really comes as no shock that King is an excellent student of the Prince and Stevie school of urban music excellence.  The comparisons to Minnie Ripperton are also many because of the command of her four octave range.   The spirit of Prince, Stevie and Minnie are all embodied on King’s latest release – The One – which in reality are tracks mostly from Grown & Sexy and an encore track from Soul Sistah. 

From the seven song EP, three pieces perked my ears upon first listen.  Even though I’m not the biggest fan of mid-tempo R&B club cuts, the percussive raindrops and sweet keyboard layering behind “Holla” is magnetizing.  “Every Night” reveals a crisp horn arrangement by Ms. King.  “If You Say So” tosses a bit of the blues with sophisticated funk.  Finally, I thoroughly endorse “Sistah” (also on Soul Sistah) where King convincingly preaches about the benefits of womanhood.  Guest violinist Karen Briggs’ solo adds some musical meat that produces shivers up and down the listener’s spine.

In essence, King’s undeniable voice transforms The One into an urban music thing of beauty for both the sisters and brothers.   This is also one urban music disciple who is simply Marvalous for any other words.

Peggy Oliver

The Urban Music Scene