Recording
Hiring Leon Ware, with whom she had worked with in the past, and her then-second husband bassist Curtis Robertson Jr, to help collaborate on her next album, Wright decided to take production duties herself for the first time in her career. Most of the material was recorded at Motown's recording studios in Los Angeles, California and was inspired by a 1975 trip to Ethiopia where Wright served three months as a "transcedental meditation" teacher. Upon her return, Wright began to wear braids and was emotionally inspired by her three-week stay. Wright and Robertson wrote most of the songs with Ware arranging the music and production. Wright also sung her own background vocals with the only other vocal assistances being longtime Motown background vocalist Jim Gilstrap and Ware himself.
Ware, who was then known for his work with Quincy Jones and his composition, "I Wanna Be Where You Are", which became one of the first solo hits for Michael Jackson, had also been noted for his work with Marvin Gaye on his album, I Want You, as well as songs with Minnie Riperton on her album, Adventures in Paradise. Ware's productions were noted for its sensuality and he touched on some of the songs with Wright, including songs where the singer used her whistle register notes. The only song Wright didn't compose was the African-inspired "Tiki Tiki Donga", which was written by Robertson and Ware, with Wright reaching high notes in her vibrato. Other songs, such as the title track, "Rest Yourself", and "Don't Cry" were compositions solely by Wright and Robertson. Ware co-wrote music for the sexy ballad "I Too Am Waiting" and Ware and Wright co-wrote the funky "I Don't Know". The sole Wonder production, "Harmour Love", was included in the last minute. A planned photo shoot for the album cover was delayed due to Wright's work on her braids so to compensate, Motown hired a graphic artist to paint an image of the braided singer with her braids flying around her face. Wright was reassigned before the album's release to Tamla Records, which overlook many of her former husband's music.
Read more about this topic: One To One (Syreeta Album)
Famous quotes containing the word recording:
“I didn’t have to think up so much as a comma or a semicolon; it was all given, straight from the celestial recording room. Weary, I would beg for a break, an intermission, time enough, let’s say, to go to the toilet or take a breath of fresh air on the balcony. Nothing doing!”
—Henry Miller (1891–1980)
“Write while the heat is in you.... The writer who postpones the recording of his thoughts uses an iron which has cooled to burn a hole with. He cannot inflame the minds of his audience.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Too many photographers try too hard. They try to lift photography into the realm of Art, because they have an inferiority complex about their Craft. You and I would see more interesting photography if they would stop worrying, and instead, apply horse-sense to the problem of recording the look and feel of their own era.”
—Jessie Tarbox Beals (1870–1942)