Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
If ever they find out what the result is when you combine elegance, sophistication, touchingly beautiful lyric writing with more than a hint of sensuality and the double edge of barbarism that can be so sadly missing from some female performers, the clever money will be betting that somewhere along the line the name Rachael Wright will be plastered throughout its D.N.A.
An early evening performance at Zanzibar without her fellow band musicians and on a day where the hot weather had seemingly gone past the oppressive and was now at the point where the U.N. should be sending in troops to overthrow the despotic weather, may have unsettled even the hardiest of souls. However for the second night on the trot at Zanzibar, there was the personification of cool, the female version of Steve McQueen but with a guitar attached and a voice to die for rather than a baseball glove and a stolen German motorbike.
With Rachael Wright and The Good Suns’ album, Dig, still enjoying sharp attention, the appearance of Ms Wright on stage was not only heartening but absolutely powerful and by the end of her excellent set, it could be noted that if she can perform songs from the album in this type of fashion when she is on her own, then just how gripping will it sound live when the whole band brings the sublime sound to the audience.
Opening her part of the evening’s musical entertainment at Zanzibar with a rousing version of the album title track, Rachael Wright stood on the stage alone and completely dominated the area in a way that so few people are able to do when they are part of a group. Elegant, cool and oozing class, that strand of D.N.A. surely belongs with some pride to Ms. Wright.
The songs that appear on the album, whilst undeniably superb, take on a new feel when heard live. The intensity of Rachael Wright’s passion for her music is not just thrilling but it has the ability to dominate your thought if you drink in what Rachael is getting across, tracks such as Black Heart, Exodus, the excellent 40 Holy Minutes, the magnificence that embeds itself into Rifle Child and Where Are You? are enough to tear at your soul and demand offerings in its honour.
The heat may have started to make people wilt and reach for the coolness of liquid refreshment, however the coolest person in the building was without doubt Rachael Wright and it was a joy to see her perform.
Ian D. Hall