AMG Review of Orchard

Anthony Tognazzini
All Music Guide

The Orchard is an intimate, intensely personal album that ranks among the most compelling of the artist’s career. With help from singer/songwriter Toshi Reagon, Marc Anthony Thompson (who records under the name Chocolate Genius), and members of Ollabelle, Calexico, and Bob Dylan’s band, Wright has created a beautiful, organic feel on The Orchard -- one that is the perfect vehicle for her expressive voice and original songwriting vision. Yet it is Wright herself who shines through most powerfully here, whether on stunning originals such as “When I Fall” or her treatments of Ike & Tina’s “I Idolize You” and Led Zeppelin’s “Thank You.”