Lady "A" - Satisfyin' Reviews

Lady A – Satisfyin'

BluesnRoots Corner - The Netherlands

Posted on October 21, 2021 ~

by Jan van Eck in CD Reviews

Lady A, born on July 18, 1958, songwriter, entertainer, storyteller, artist, activist, radio DJ but above all passionate singer, who moves between blues, soul, funk and gospel started singing at the age of 5 within her musical family. In the early eighties she sings in a Motown cover band, but before long she forms her own band and under the name Lady A & the Baby Blues Funk Band makes a name for herself in the Seattle, Washington blues scene and receives a number of awards such as the Washington Blues Society's two 'Female Blues Performer of the Year' awards. Her drive has since earned her the title 'The Hardest Workin' Woman in Blues, Soul, Funk & Gospel'.

Anita White, like Lady A, when she is not on stage, has released an album with her new release 'Satisfyin' that radiates a very positive feeling, she does not dwell on the negative feelings that the pandemic brings has brought, no Lady A urges to grasp life and take every opportunity to move forward in life with the message to enjoy it above all. All this she carries out with all love because of her deep faith. In the release sheet of 'Satisfyin' Lady A lets us know that she wanted to capture the authentic sound of the Seattle Blues and Soul on this album. I'm not completely familiar with what that means exactly, but it's clear that Soul is fully present. Lady A has a warm, sultry and soulful singing voice.

She kicks off with the smooth shuffle 'Whatever You Do' where her beautiful voice immediately stands out. She combines funky groovy pieces ( Satisfyin', Miss Buela Mae's and Blues Soul Catfish and Fried Wings ) with delicious gospel grooves ( For The People In The Back (All I Got) ) and South American tinged rhythms ( Enjoy Your Life ). In 'Big Momma' Lady A sings 'i'm Big and beautiful from my toes to my chest' with which she gives her listener the message to be satisfied with who you are and that again confirms her positive attitude. Lady A concludes with the gospel ballad 'Heaven Help Us All'in which we can once again enjoy her soulful and warm voice. With the lyrics 'No weapon formed against me shall prosper' she dedicates the album to John Oliver III, who has always supported her and believed in her and once again participated as a multi-instrumentalist on her ninth production, on which we have ten modern soulful tracks with a good dose of funk, gospel, soul and blues.

Lady A - Satisfyin'

Concert Monkey - Belgium

October 21, 2021

Reviewed by: Walter Vanheuckelom

Lady A is an American singer who was born Anita White on July 18, 1958 in Seattle, Washington. This singer started singing at the age of 5. She began her career as a backup singer in a Motown Revue band in the 1990s. Her love of music, her gospel background, her Louisiana roots and her musical family always led her back to blues and gospel music, mixed with flavors of soul. and funk like a perfect jambalaya. She is known as The Hardest Workin Woman in blues, soul, funk and gospel music. Lady A also performs as a solo act when she is on the road and she has fronted European bands such as Swedish Top Dogs Of Soul and Dutch band Blind B' & the Visionairs. Her new album 'Satisfyin' was released on October 21. There are ten songs on the album,

The opener 'Whatever You Do' is a very danceable uptempo shuffle. It's a mix of blues and jazz. The beautiful voice of Lady A immediately catches the eye. Paul Richardson carries the melody of 'Whatever You Do' with his organ cans and guitarist Herman Brown lavishly scatters the entire song with very fine guitar riffs. Producer John Oliver III is a busy bee, because on 'Whatever You Do' he plays bass guitar, drums, keyboards and also takes care of the backing vocals. It remains very danceable with the title track 'Satisfyin'', a funky song with excellent horns. With a handsome funky bass line, John Studamire provides the wonderfully danceable groove. Lady A is not limited to one particular genre. With 'Miss Buela Mae's' she goes into the soul. The blazers are also present here.

I'm fat and beautiful from my feet to my breasts, sings Lady A in 'Big Momma'. The message that the singer wants to give to everyone is that everyone is beautiful. Whether you are fat or thin you have to be happy with the body you have. John Studamire shines again with a great bass line and John Oliver does the same on the keys and the horns. The soulful backing vocals of Roz Royster McCommon complete the vocal part. The soulful 'Blues On My Mind' is a tribute to blues legend Nina Simone. It is an attractive song with a lot of rhythmic hand clapping. John Oliver puts himself in the spotlight with a beautiful bass solo and the same can be said of harmonica player Joe Seamons. 'Blues Soul Catfish & Fried Wings' is a mix of soul and funk. With his handsome, funky bass line John Studamie provides the funky groove. Here too the soulful voice of Roz Royster McCommon is the perfect complement to the full and beautiful voice of Lady A. The rhythm goes up for the energetic 'Brighter Days', in which John Oliver takes care of all the instruments.

Oliver does the same in the very danceable 'Enjoy Your Life'. Lady A continues to spread positive vibes through her lyrics here too. The gospel is never far away with Lady A and you can hear it in the lively 'For The People In The Back (All I Got)'. The rhythm is set by Trinity Oliver with his handclaps and stomps. Lady A is the preacher on duty in this catchy issue. The album closes with the beautiful, subdued gospel ballad 'Heaven Help Us All'. Lady A sings the song with great feeling and her beautiful voice comes into its own here. 'Satisfyin'' by Lady A is a very pleasant album. The soul, blues and gospel lovers will certainly get their money's worth with 'Satisfyin''. (7.5/10)

Walter Vanheuckelom

Lady A - Satisfyin Review

Black lives matter, but not mine

Zetaemme - Italia

OCTOBER 26, 2021

by EDOARDO FASSIO AKA CATFISH

Singer-songwriter, activist, entertainer, salacious radio DJ and long-standing voice of the Afro-American community in Seattle, Lady A - aka Anita White - found herself at the center of a strange paradox of "cancel culture"

A country trio from Nashville, Lady Antebellum, worried that the reference in the name would refer to the pre-Civil War slavering South, in 2020 chose to change it, shortening it to Lady A.
The decision matures following the racial tensions after the assassination of George Floyd, but generates the immediate opposition of White: stop everyone, you can't, Lady A is me. The Nashvillians sue her, claiming that their trademark is registered and it is up to Anita to abandon it. The Tennessee court has for now agreed with them; a counter-suit, filed by White in the Washington state court, has not been resolved and, in the absence of an out-of-court settlement, it will go to trial next year, with White intending to ask the counterpart for 10 million dollars of compensation. And so, in the name of "politically correct", a trio of whites adopts a new identity to break away from racist connotations and brings a black blueswoman (but surname White! ) that that identity has always used. White believes "an insult to me as a musician and as a black woman ”that they say“ black lives matter ”and then“ take my own name away from me ”.

Anita knows she is not the first to have to fight. “ I think of artists who came before me, like Denise LaSalle, one of my idols in the blues, Ella Fitzgerald, Rosetta Tharpe, Big Mama Thornton. They had a hard time, but they made it, ”he says in an interview with Rolling Stone . " I have been canceled, something that this country knows how to do very well: to cancel black people and those without rights ." In "For The People In The Back (All I Got)", an effective blues-with-rhythm contained in the latest work " Satisfyin ' ", he does not hesitate to denounce the crime. At the end he also quotes Bettye Lavette: “ you have taken our culture, our music, our artistic ability; at least leave us our name ".

The album is not just controversy, of course. Proud of her social role, singer of an environment she knows deeply, "The Real Lady A" - born in the Northwest but with roots in Louisiana - is an easy-going interpreter, with good intonation and prone to spoken engravings, to capture the attention and stimulate the complicity of the people of the blues. Good fork, wise listener and wise harangue, she combines groove with typical cuisine and aromas from the chitlin circuit. It happens in “ Miss Beula Mae ”, a tribute to the owner of a juke-joint that has “a house full of music and cabbage soup and all the chicken you want”. Or, even more explicitly, in “ Blues, Soul, Catfish and Fried Wings”, Where music meets catfish and fried wings. And it confirms itself as the dispenser of positive messages, from the proud “ Big Momma ” to the transcendent “ Heaven Help Us All ”. Confirming himself as a respectable character, not only in his genre. It is a pity if the former Antebellum think differently: " if they believe that I am irrelevant, they make a serious mistake ".

Lady A's “ Satisfyin ' ” album is available on Amazon ( here ), streaming on Amazon Music Unlimited