The Sellout [Import]

Macy Gray | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 21, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2010
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Concord Records
• ASIN: B0039TD79U
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,355 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

The Sellout is the Grammy Award winning singer / songwriter Macy Gray's first album in more than 3 years and will be released by Concord Records in the U.S., Island Records in the U.K. and Universal Music Group, internationally.

The Sellout, featuring 12 new songs, was co-written and executive produced by Gray in Los Angeles throughout 2009. The album was mixed by four-time Grammy Award winning mixer Manny Marroquin whose credits include top 10 singles for Lady Gaga, Jay Z, Rihanna, Alicia Keyes, Kanye West and John Mayer. Collaborators on the album include Bobby Brown, The Bodyrockers' Kaz James and Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum formerly of Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver.

It's clear from opening moments of the record's first single, the irresistibly anthemic "Beauty In The World", that The Sellout is the work of an artist who has reconnected with the essence of her creative gifts after a long, soul-numbing journey through the music biz's star-making machinery. "The Sellout tells the story of how I found my salvation in just being myself instead of who other people thought I should be," said the striking singer. "I had got to a place in my career where I tried everything that was asked of me and in doing so I lost sight of who Macy Gray really is. I spent over a year making this album without any pressure or opinions and being able to choose the co-writers, producers and artists that felt good to me. As a result, it really reflects my true identity. I feel like I have finally made the album I was capable of and that my fans wanted. These are some of my favorite songs that I've written."

Sparkling melodies and personal lyrical insights dazzle throughout The Sellout, an authentic and confidently delivered statement from one of contemporary music's most skillful and creative forces. The highlights are rich and plentiful including the alluring, soul-pop groove of "Lately", "That Man" a mouth-watering slice of Ting Ting's inflected 80's new-wave, the Joan Jett meets T- Rex thump and screaming Slash guitar of "Kissed It", and the beguiling, "Still Hurts", a vulnerable, emotion filled keep-sake ballad, just to name a few.

Macy Gray first burst onto the music scene with her debut album On How Life Is and the massive hit single "I Try" both of which went number 1 all over the world. The album went on to sell 7 million copies worldwide with Gray winning a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and an MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist. Macy Gray has gone on to sell more than 15,000,000 albums worldwide and has been nominated for 5 Grammy Awards and 6 MTV Video Music Awards. She has collaborated on stage and in the recording studio with some of music's greatest artists including Justin Timberlake, Common, Outkast, Rick Rubin, Carlos Santana, Erykah Badu, Fergie, will.i.am, John Frusciante (of Red Hot Chili Peppers), Nas, Mos Def and Natalie Cole, among many others. She has also appeared in numerous films including Training Day, Spider Man, Idlewild and the award winning HBO Film Lackawanna Blues.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Go Macy Go!, June 22, 2010

By 

Ricky Cash (Chatham, LA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sellout (Audio CD)

So far 2010 has been pretty slim pickins' as far as music is concerned. But the best fruit has been sweet indeed. Macy Gray fed my soul with The Sellout. Track after track of head bobbing. finger popping. face smiling sounds, pop like fresh picked summer fruit from the funky tree.

I for one am glad that Macy Gray has gotten to make the album she wanted to make. She has good instincts to go along with great song writing ability and well, that voice. Plus she went and dug up Bobby Brown for what may turn out to be my favorite song on the album.

Go Macy Go!

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 'The Sellout' [REVIEW], June 24, 2010

By 

Antoine D. Reid "80sforever" (Durham, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sellout (Audio CD)

With a title like 'The Sellout', I think most listeners would expect just that from Macy Gray - an album that surrenders her originality in favor of churning out hits produced by well-known producers and tracks that feature some of the biggest stars in music today. Even the album cover, featuring something of a glam-version of the usual eclectic Macy Gray, gives you the impression that she's in some ways prepared to 'sellout' for the sake of fame. I peeked at other reviews online for this album and the first thing most mentioned was that Gray has never really achieved a hit like her first single "I Try". Now five albums into her music career, many critics have called "The Sellout" her attempt at recapturing her former glory and charm. That's not the case. If you actually listen to the album, "The Sellout" does not at all seem concerned with notoriety or with earning any awards - it's a big step down the originality route. Her last album, 2007's Big, was definitely more of a "sellout" and attempt at breaking into the mainstream. It was a good album, mostly underrated, but it was very anti-Macy Gray.

'The Sellout' is an album that will please longtime Macy Gray fans and probably not click with the casual music fan. As stated before, this isn't an attempt to keep up with the big acts in music today. The album is something of a concept: it's not so much about her celebrity status or fame but instead it's about love and relationships. This is one album where listening to the tracks in their intended order is crucial in understanding the story being told. The album starts off with the title track "The Sellout", which is probably one of the best tracks on the album. It's all about "selling out" and giving in to someone you love in order to keep them in your life. The tracks that follow all deal with some aspect of love and relationships: "Lately" is something of a tease, with Gray singing of how people have been admiring and complementing her looks; "Kissed It" is about how she was ready to walk away from her relationship after being mistreated until her man made up after he "kissed it" and 'lit a fire in her'; "Stalker" has her confessing some of her eccentric tendencies that may make her undesirable but how those same qualities make her a great lover for her boyfriend. The album ends with "The Comeback" with a sense of completion with her returning to what she lost in "The Sellout". If you don't listen to the lyrics, you'll miss the story arc going through the tracks and you'll no doubt feel the album is weak and lacking.

Let's face it: is the album perfect? No, there are some weak, skippable tracks. Also, Gray's voice really isn't at its best on all of the tracks but then again, it's her rather raspy, amateurish voice that gives her an unique appeal and edge. 'The Sellout' is definitely a concept album and requires you to actually sit back and listen to the lyrics in order to get what she's talking and singing about. Without listening, the album is boring and isn't as good. That being said, I felt the album was average: there was something about 'Big' that made it stand out as one of her best to date and that edge and appeal she suddenly seemed to acquire with that album feels absent on 'The Sellout'.

Listen to These: "The Comeback", "The Sellout", "Still Hurts", "Real Love", "On and On"

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An In-depth Assessment of an Awesome Album, June 25, 2010

By 

E. French "Blacksheep" (Baltimore!) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sellout (Audio CD)

I have all five of Macy's studio albums, and I think they're all incredible. I find that each subsequent album takes the prior album's template and refines it. There was a pattern of a couple of catchy singles, a couple of really deep ballads, a couple of club-appropriate tunes, a couple of songs to get carried away with in live performance, and of course at least one song about sex and murder (e.g. I've Committed Murder, Give Me Your Love or I Will Kill You, My Fondest Childhood Memories, and Strange Behavior, respectively from the first four albums). In some way, each album tops the first one, in the sense that she's gained experience, maturity, and musical wisdom. But what distinguishes The Sellout from its predecessors is that it does not follow the prior template. And in that regard, The Sellout stands out from its contemporaries.

I've waited very vigilantly for The Sellout, and it was worth the wait. Actually, I find Beauty in the World to be a bit wholesome, and it's certainly much lighter than the other tracks on the album. So I hope that people who aren't grabbed by the first US single don't miss the rest of The Sellout for the wrong reasons. Sonically, I think the album is well-made, and it's impressive to consider that Macy produced the lot independently. The savvy listener might detect the difference in major label production values on Big versus Macy's having set up shop in a rented studio to record The Sellout. But the independence of The Sellout is a huge triumph in itself, and the meaningfulness of it resonates in the music.

Lyrically, this album is masterful. I really appreciate Macy's honesty. I think her assessment of the music industry's "fair-weather friends" is socially relevant, and it's a breath of fresh air at the same time. It gives us analytical and thoughtful substance, yet it relates to Macy on a personal level. She also talks about depression, addiction, and even suicide on the iTunes pre-order track Lost. These are not topics we discuss every day, so The Sellout covers considerable ground.

It would be hard to pick a favorite on The Sellout because all of its songs are both outstanding and diverse. Initially, I was surprised to see that Still Hurts was included on The Sellout. I downloaded Still Hurts nearly a year ago off of iTunes, and the song originally featured a different collaborating artist. But Still Hurts has since been cleverly refined, and I like it much better now. Romika is a terrific new singer, and her voice is perfect for that song. There are other, subtler brush strokes in the new version, such as the way Macy sings, "I can't believe I'm not your girl" or the way she cries "you AIN'T coming back" just before the song's closing. Macy's attention to detail is triumphant.

One critic scorned that The Sellout would not change the arc of Macy's career. I would argue that The Sellout is well-poised to follow a stable sales trajectory, and I also predict that its songs will continue to find their way into other forms of mainstream media, such as movies and television. Although the industry critics are writing frustratingly mixed reviews, they all seem to agree that Macy Gray has an irresistible voice, and she is a very talented songwriter. I think in a lot of ways, Macy Gray is just getting started.