Customer Reviews

Mary Jane Girls

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

 

 

Before En Vogue, Jade, or TLC or even Destiny's Child there was The Mary Jane Girls. A Rick James' all girl group production. Turns out these gorgeous ladies had plenty of talent and substance to prove they were artists and not just sexy album cover models. Each lady came complete with their on onstage personas; the classy dame, the tomboy, the preppy, and the dominatrix/leather queen. ...Listen to track You Are My Heaven and the harmonizing these ladies could do gets no better than this ! The classic jam All Night Long with it's light jazz influence and seductive vocals can complete any hot summer night.The uptempo dance tunes may sound a bit dated but still carry some weight after all these years with the thumping funk sound provided by James and his Stone City Band. Maybe a couple of tracks are just a bit candy coated or quirky but after all for 1983 it was something very hip. This is good stuff that deserves quite a few listens !...

The Mary Jane Girls handle their own on this set.despite The fact the Funk Genius of Rick James is stamped all over here He wrote,arranged,Produced&Played on their albums they still have their own Idenity.this debut was the bomb back in the day and still sounds tight.who&there Mother hasn't sampled All Night Long? the grooves are Slammin.Rick James is very Underrated.a true Genius.

Fantastic, happy, sweet funky music! The girls are pretty too. Where are they? Must have some more of this stuff! Thanks

The Mary Jane Girls made their recorded debut in 1983,produced and written by Rick James when he was enjoying success with his 'Coldblooded' album and these ladies really took full advantage of Rick just as he hit his absolute peak.Nothing against Prince but 'Mary Jane Girls' couldn't be any more different then Prince's Vanity 6 project of around the same time.To start with Rick James provides the quartet with the same (sometimes better) funk that he himself specialized in,filled with bubbly bass,howling horns and great drumming from the Stone City Band.And the MJG's are also great,powerful singers who pull no punches vocally or lyrically.The have a lot of fun singing together or lead and they have a major asset in the sassy and powerful JoJo,who styled her hair like Rick James and could've easily made even duetted with him here on the hardcore funk of "Prove It",where she also contributes a confidant rap in the bridge.One thing these gals can do that too many girl groups of the early 80's had trouble with was REALLY WORK the ballads with "You Are My Heaven" and the passionate closer "Musical Love" both being in that vein AND the some of the best songs here!If course if lean,mean "naked funk" is the name of your game your probably going to go right to the catchy "Candy Man","Boys" or the classic "All Night Long". While the Mary Jane Girls only recorded two albums (the second Only Four You out of print despite containing their biggest hit "In My House") you will have to get either this or their Greatest Hit's package.I recommend this because it's an extremely consistant and well done album,especially considering the singles oriented "girl group funk" genre it's supposed to be a part of so it's doubly more then worth listening to.

If you like Rick James, you'll love this one. It's the female version of Rick James, literally. Some great party tracks, including the classic, Candy Man. A really tight debut album. Raw, funky, and fun. Not everything on here is a single, but it all has its place. Mary Jane Girls had some good stuff after this, like In My House, but this is their best album as a whole. If you're a casual fan, you might want to get the greatest hits record, which has some cool 12" versions. If you're into Rick James though, this is a good album to get.

Rick James' "Mary Jane Girls" made a solid debut with this album. It still sound as good today as it did in the 80's! Man, where did the time go?? Five stars for the ladies!

I bought this album on vinyl when I was 20 years old, and for years after CDs came out, I wondered if I would ever be able to replace it. God, I love Amazon.com! Having started out listening to Rick James, I was really pleased to find he'd put himself into a all-girl project as efficiently and generously as this album. Not only is this a fantastic debut, but it is better than their follow-up, All Four You, and even better than most of James's own material. He really went above and beyond on this project, writing, arranging, playing, all backed up by the Stone City Band.

We have four individual personalities in these ladies: JoJo McDuffie the tomboy, Candy the sophisticate, Cherie the preppie, and Maxi the dominatrix. One thing is clear, though: together they are one powerfully vocal force to be reckoned with, regardless of who is singing lead vocals here. Gorgeous, ethereal, flawless harmonies drive this baby from beginning to end, especially shining on the ballads. There is nothing bad on here, and that's saying a lot when you consider some bad filler used to permeate 80s records.

Back in the old vinyl days when bird beaks were our stereo needles, we had the Party Side, which showcased great funk songs like the cute, quirky "Candy Man" (Which I'm dying to hear in a retro movie soundtrack!), the fun girly sass of "Boys," "Jealousy," which is more 60s edge poppy, and the best of these tracks, "Prove it." I LOVE that sassy little rap Jojo delivers as her man Rick James swears he'll prove he loves her. Is he lying? LOL, who knows?

Then we had the Chill Out Side, which is full of lush vocal harmonies, and the Stone City Band showing just how multifaceted their talents are behind the girls. Though JoJo is a fine singer, Candy has a wonderful smokey voice, and I wish she'd been given more lead slots. "You Are My Heaven" is breath takingly beautiful. JoJo's performance on the soulful "Hurting on the Inside" is no sloucher either, though. But "All Night Long?" Oh, yeah, baby, this is where it's at. Some of Rick James' most sampled bass lines and killer smooth jazz to boot. The album closes out with beautiful "Musical Love," and the girls convice you that's what you're in by the time the disc is over. I am talking one of the best albums of the 80s in ANY genre. If this would have been their only album, I would say it was one hell of a great show. I only wish they had upped the quality on its successor. Well, at least we have this one, and for that, yours truly is most thankful.