In Brief

* * 1/2 Martha Wash, “Martha Wash,” RCA. Wash’s dance-music credentials always precede her. Artists ranging from the late Sylvester to Black Box and C+C Music Factory have profited greatly from her rock-the-house, classically trained voice. Wash is worthy of much better material than she’s given here, though the gospel-driven “Carry On” ranks among the best tracks she has recorded.

New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).