7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Step, December 27, 2005
This review is from: An Intimate Evening with Mary J. Blige - Live from the House of Blues (DVD)
If you love Mary you will love anything that she does. I enjoy the artist and I feel like she lives her music. This DVD lacked the quality of the "Mary J. Blige - Live in Los Angeles ", but it is a stepping stone for her growth as a performer. Don't get me wrong she still blows most artists out of the water but the DVD has a few mistakes that where notable.
Still a must have for Mary J's fans but novel listeners would enjoy the "Mary J. Blige - Live in Los Angeles" DVD more
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mary J. Blige for Beginners, March 25, 2006
This review is from: An Intimate Evening with Mary J. Blige - Live from the House of Blues (DVD)
Whoever said here that if you love Mary, you'll love anything she does is 100% right. More than any artist in pop culture today, Mary has a rabidly devoted fan base, but even if you aren't a Mary fan, this DVD is worth a look.
AN INTIMATE EVENING WITH MARY J. BLIGE is the standard concert film. But Mary is not just a regular old artist. She's practically a deity, a way of life for her fans, which makes some of her other concert films hard for non-Mary fanatics to understand the hype.
But because this DVD includes performances by better-known performers like Elton John and Sting, it makes Mary J. Blige more accessible to those who have yet to be converted to Cult of Mary.
Another thing that makes this DVD different from some of her others is that the crowd isn't really made up of Mary fans. Yes, there is a pack of them that the camera points toward at certain parts, but overwhelmingly this is a white audience of Hollywood types. And it begins with testimonials from people like Kelly Osborne, Jessica Simpson, Lil' Kim and model Rachel Hunter who profess their love for Mary and her emotionally charged performances.
And though the crowd is somewhat enthusiastic, you can easily identify the real Mary fans who apparently won tickets to the event because they are concentrated to the side of the stage and many appear to be crying straight through the concert as they lip synch every song, completely mesmerized by Mary as she performs her biggest hits, including, My Life, You Gotta Believe, Not Gon' Cry and No More Drama to name just a few.
Particular highlights of this concert, filmed at Los Angeles's House of Blues during Grammy Week, include the banging song "It's a Wrap" that Blige wrote with producer and ex-choreographer Sean "P Diddy" Combs who can be seen in the crowd dancing to it.
Another great performance you'll see here is during the gorgeous song "Whenever I Say Your Name," Mary's duet with Sting. Though Sting, who wrote the song specifically with Mary in mind, is masterful here, Mary is the real star and the look on Sting's face reveals that he knows he is in the presence of the kind of greatness that transcends his own pop stardom.
For an accurate look at the Mary that so many of her fans have come to love and cherish as a form of therapy (as one of her fans announces at the beginning of the film), tune into two songs: "Children of the Ghetto" (a remake of a Philip Bailey song) and "No Child."
"Children of the Ghetto" is a gut-wrenching ballad that reveals an emotionally vulnerable Mary, literally begging young children to rise above the temptations and depressions of life on the wrong side of the tracks. It begins with Mary trying to reconcile her own life growing up in the ghettos of Yonkers New York. "I ain't afraid to go back. Sometimes we gotta go back to get through," she says as she begins her emotional plea for ghetto kids to "keep your head to the sky."
Similarly, "No Child" reveals a very vulnerable Mary, seeming to accidentally reveal and then apologize for revealing the sexual abuse she received as a child. 'Daddy where were you when they were touching my body?" she cries out to the audience, before saying "I truly feel like butt naked up here and I don't care."
Mary's final track is a duet with ELTON JOHN. Though it begins with Elton banging out the beginning of "Bennie and the Jets" on the keyboard, Mary cuts him off and they actually perform "I Guess That's Why They call it the Blues." This is probably Mary's weakest performance on this DVD, but Elton John is so protective and so supportive of her that he makes it a spectacular tribute to the greatness of Mary. He's clearly in love with her and sounds like the overly protective big brother of a musical prodigy who even at her worst can sing circles around him.
The BONUS track on AN INTIMATE EVENING WITH MARY J. BLIGE is really of interest to only the most hard core Mary fans, who will worship the chance to see "The Day with Mary" as she coaches her spectacular backup singers and musicians and prepares for this very special concert.
- Regina McMenamin
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mary at her best - Awesome dvd!, December 9, 2004
This review is from: An Intimate Evening with Mary J. Blige - Live from the House of Blues (DVD)
What can I say? Mary J. Blige is the ultimate Queen of Hip-Hop and R&B. I'm 26 years old, and I've grown up with Mary during her 10+ years in the business. This is a must have dvd for all Mary J. Blige fans and it is well over due. I have been waiting for this for a long long time! Mary is the Aretha of our generation and she more than proves herself in this performance. Definately check it out. Also, don't forget to catch the Live from LA dvd. I saw the Love & Life Tour twice in NYC and the dvd is awesome as well. Much love to you Mary...always. I hope there are more dvd's to come from you. All the real Mary fans need now is a dvd with all the videos on it...that would be great.
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