Customer Reviews

D.N.A.

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I actually pre-ordered this c.d. because...
When I heard his first release on the radio, I was like who is...is this Mario? And when the radio D.J. confirmed, I was Ecstatic because the song was great. The song was speaking about breakup but in a totally, totally different way. And thats what real music is, telling all lifes stories over and over again but in a new way...an enlightening way.

So, I received my c.d. and my Ecstasy turned to full blow SHOCK; the c.d. was amazing and phenomenal. I have had this c.d. since it came out and I am still listening to it over and over and over again...I take it out of my car and take it into work and listen to it all day; then I make sure that I take it back to my car to listen to on my way home. This c.d. was worth every penny spent. MARIO KEEP IT UP!!

btw: my ultimate favs that stay on repeat is #1 (of course), #2, #4, #8, #9, #11. Of course I love the entire c.d.; I tend to get stuck on these because these songs tug at my emotions. The tracks are awesome; Babyface wrote some songs and even Jermaine Jackson. Phenomenal...I really do not not have the words to justify...you need to BUY THIS C.D. and then you will understand.

I picked up this album on Tuesday and have enjoyed it so far. While I wish these so called R&B artists would slow their beats down and not include too much Hip- Hop in their music. While I don't expect to hear 90's R&B. I would like to hear more pure R&B rather than a mixure of Hip-Hop and R&B in which my opinion is not all that bad, but when an R&B artist has virtually every track as being a mixture, then it is bad. In this album, Mario has some up-tempo beats in which they sound good, but his voice is what really helps here. I don't think we will ever here 90's type of R&B, but hearing something close would be a big step foward.

Mario's my favorite R&B singer but don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to overrate this album. I love the main single, Break Up, great collabo with Gucci Mane and Sean Garret (+ the video for it is great, Mario's girlfriend from the video is HOT) I'm still listening to it and can't get bored of it, great club banger. Other great songs that I like from this CD are Thinkin' bout you, Stranded and Ooh Baby. What more can I say.. I'm waiting for the next album and hot singles like Break up. Hope that Mario will drop something soon!

A few good songs, but too many slow ones with boring beats.... im a true mario fan but this is no where near as good as 'go' or any of his other albums

Ive always loved Mario and still do. This album was pretty good. There are a couple of tracks that Im not to fond of, but maybe they'll grow on me eventually. Still to this day, "Turning Point" is my favorite cd of Mario's

i love this cd!! i really liked his last release,and this one is just a good in a slightly different way.this one feels more "grown up",it has more depth to it.it's also easy to relate to the lyrics,even though they're not written by him...
so,all in all if you're a fan of mario,you'll wanna buy this cd

this album shows the growth of his music. I love this cd. break up, thinking about you,get out, stranded, ooh baby, I miss my friend, shows that Mario is all grown up. Oooh Baby has became my favorite song on the cd. Mario fans this is a must have. I RATE THIS CD A TEN STARS.

Great album overall. Some of my favorite tracks (5/5 rating).

Soundtrack To My Broken Heart
Starlight
I Choose You
Thinkin' About you
Don't Walk Away

Not my favorite but still good (4/5 rating)

Break Up
Get Out
Ooh Baby


I think he could have gotten more sales if this was not a Mature rated album.

Mario has always been underrated - overshadowed in fame and respect by 'bigger' R&B stars. His crowing achievement was "Let Me Love You" from his Grammy-nominated Turning Point, also his sole platinum certified album. That album silently entered onto the charts during the saturated holiday season, eventually going platinum thanks to a 9-week reign of that ubiquitous hit. 2007's grown-up Go failed to even capture an 'iota' of the success of 'Turning Point'. The album sold more than 50% of 'Turning Point's' initial weeks sales and hasn't been certified. Commercial bombing aside, the album showcased a quality that has never seemed to properly merge commercially to make Mario a genuine star. In layman's terms, the talent has always been there (Mario has a fine voice), but he has never received his just do. On D.N.A., similarly, Mario has crafted a fine, if somewhat bland-at-times, R&B set that will most likely fall commercially on deaf ears. Despite this there are enough high points to make 'D.N.A.' a critical success, beyond being underrated commercially.

Opening with the top 15 hit "Break Up" featuring unlikely collaborations with Gucci Mane and Sean Garrett, Mario gets the show started right off the bat. The main problem is, that "Break Up" proves to be the 'very best' of D.N.A., hence making the rest of the album feel a little weaker in comparison. Sure follow-up single and second track "Thinkin' About You" is great and a standout, it takes a while for it to truly 'stick'. As great as "Break Up" is as the debut-track of the album, maybe it should have been shifted slightly later in the track list to strengthen the album.

Following the great, if somewhat understated "Thinkin' About You", the aggressive, hard-drum antics of "Get Out" are much appreciated by the listener. The song isn't necessarily stronger than "Thinkin' About You", but it has slightly more personality for sure. "Soundtrack to My Broken Heart" is middle-of-the-road adult contemporary styled R&B - don't get me wrong, it is a solid song, but a bit 'flat' in comparison to what 'it could've been'. Sure Mario sounds fine, but the song is boring and kind of follows the general sentiment of some of this album - 'middle of the road.'

"Starlight" proves to be much more fun than "Soundtrack to My Broken Heart" and finds Mario in excellent voice. However, it isn't Christopher "Tricky" Stewart's/The-Dream's best; still a strong presence on this album. "Stranded" is a good touch showing off Mario's beautiful pipes. "Ooh Baby" isn't bad, but it isn't incredibly memorable either - but then is there much memorable on this album as a whole?

"Before She Said Hi" re-energizes the album with it's old-school busy drum beat. It isn't quite another "Break Up" or "Thinkin' About You", but it certainly breaks up a slowly building monotony about 'D.N.A.' "I Choose You" proves beautiful and easily stronger than "Ooh Baby"; it proves to showcase the lovely timbre of Mario's soothing vocals. Similarly, "Don't Walk Away" is enjoyable, if not incredibly 'distinctive.' Both "I Miss My Friend" and the concluding "Hardest Part" are strong moments on D.N.A.

Essentially, D.N.A. is a good album, though it suffers from some uninspiring moments. Mostly, the album is kind of bland, especially compared to better R&B albums from 2009, namely the fine Ready by Trey Songz, who similarly banks on some adult-contemporary helmed R&B. Not perfect, but solid and enjoyable overall. 3.5 stars.

Initial let down of the lead single notwithstanding, this album solid. don't let 'break up' give you the wrong impression.