Martha Reeves - Searching (Indie Exclusive Purple Vinyl)

Indie Exclusive Purple Vinyl

Deko Music pressed this edition of Searching on purple vinyl for independent record stores. Side A opens with a short "Intro" and the single "To Know You Is to Love You"; side B opens with "God Bless the Child" and "Summertime" and ends on a second, bonus take of the single.

The project took shape after Chris Roe, Reeves's manager, met trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis at a Dallas film festival in May 2023. The pairing was tried out at a performance in Baltimore that October, and studio work began about three weeks later. US Rocker reports that the record was first planned as a jazz album and widened to take in R&B, blues and gospel; the players, Americana Highways notes, came from Cuba, New York, Alabama, Georgia and beyond.

The title song, "Searching," came from Marsalis. "Thank You, Jesus!" is a gospel song Reeves wrote herself, recorded with a 40-member choir. "I was asked my opinion. I was asked to add lyrics or add songs I had written," she told Americana Highways of the sessions. "It's like I've graduated."

Before this record, Reeves's solo catalog ran from a self-titled 1973 album produced by Richard Perry through releases on MCA, Fantasy, Phonarama and Arista in the 1970s and 1980s. With the Vandellas she was nominated for a Grammy in 1964 for Best R&B Performance on "Heat Wave," and the group's Motown singles also included "Come and Get These Memories," "My Baby Loves Me" and "Bless You."

Tracklist

Side A

1. Intro
2. To Know You Is to Love You
3. Searching
4. Watch Your Back
5. Mood Indigo
6. I Got It Bad

Side B

7. God Bless the Child
8. Summertime
9. The Golden Hour
10. Thank You, Jesus!
11. To Know You Is to Love You (Bonus Version)