James' sons, Donto and Sametto, are credited as engineers, mixers, and producers, among other contributions; the album features Mike Finnigan on the Hammond organ, guitarist Leo Nocentelli, and performances on multiple instruments by Jimmy Zavala.

[4][5] Rolling Stone grouped Matriarch in a "trifecta" with James' previous two studio albums, Life, Love & the Blues (1998) and Heart of a Woman (1999).

[10] "Don't Let My Baby Ride", originally by Deadric Malone and O. V. Wright, adds a bit of sensuality to the album with the line: "If his jeans are too tight... you might see what you like".

[11] Other covers include Al Green's "Rhymes", "Try a Little Tenderness" (Jimmy Campbell and Reg Connelly, Harry M. Woods), and Otis Redding's "Hawg for Ya".

[10] Following "Hawg" are Malone's "You're Gonna Make Me Cry", which features vocals by Finnigan,[12] Sandy Jones' "Walking the Back Streets",[13] and Benny Latimore's "Let's Straighten It Out".

Closing the album are John Fogerty's "Born on the Bayou", "Come Back Baby" (Ray Charles, Lightnin' Hopkins), and Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller's "Hound Dog".

However, he felt the "draggier pace and intermittent woofs" in "Miss You" added sex appeal and complimented the "funkification" of "Born on the Bayou" and "Hound Dog".

[1] Associated Press contributor Gene Bright wrote a positive review of the album but was disappointed with James' cover of "Miss You", writing "the song just can't be slowed and manipulated with any success".

[11] The Morning Call's Larry Printz published a negative review, concluding that James' performance was mediocre and that the "nuances in [her] once-formidable voice are long gone".

[4] Rolling Stone's Marie Elsie St. Léger wrote that James provided a "healthy dose of rootsy feminism and mettle" with her "passionately seasoned and gravel-edged voice".