Customer Reviews

The Sellout

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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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!

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"

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.

I couldn't get that song "You Kissed It" out of my head. Every time I heard it on Bravo it stuck with me and I made it my mission to find out who sang it and to buy it. Fortunately, it's not the only toe-tapping song on the CD. Macy at her funky best!

Macy Gray says her new CD "The sellout" is a very personal one and represents what she wanted to do. It's every bit as good as her brilliant but sadly overlooked "Big".

Filled with beautiful retro soulful ballads, the titletrack, "Still hurts" (featuring Romika), and the questioning "The comeback" recall songs like "I try" or "Still". "Lately" is sunny Disco that will get you grooving, while "Kissed it" is stomping Glam Rock featuring Slash's Velvet Revolver.

Lead-off single "Beauty in the world" is an optimistic acoustic tambourine-peppered song, "Help me" is an atmospheric groove similar to Gnarls Barkley, "Let you win" is Folky Soul, while that man is quivery Retro Soul/Blues.

"Stalker" is funk Prince style, "Real love" is a beautiful lush duet with Bobby Brown, and "On & on" a sweeping midtempo groove with ticking effects. Sadly, there isn't any comic murder song like "I've committed murder" or "My favourite childhood memories" this time around. A solid effort that she can be proud of.

This super fun album, with it's tugs and pulls to different genres, is simply a great listen. Being inclined to listen to more soul albums, i found certain tracks that were fused with rock, open me back up to rock music. Macy is clear that a lot of the album has a disco feel.

Macy's new artist, Romika compliments Macy's voice perfectly in "Still Hurts." This song was put out on the net a year ago shopping for takers with Marsha Ambrosius of Floetry, although i think Marsha and Macy sounded great together, I think the decision to use Romika was the right thing to do. Although Beauty in the World is the first single off the album, it is actually my least favorite. "That Man," is super catchy and keeps me moving. "Kissed It," featuring Velvet Revolver is another fusion hit. "Lately," is another super-catchy jam that even my grunge, hardcore metal loving son fell in love with on a recent road trip.

Somehow this didn't make Amazon's top 50 of 2010; i beg to differ.

You can't keep a good woman down. From `The Sellout' to `The Comeback' and the ten tracks in between Macy Gray is back on form. Not that she ever left, really - Gray has never made a dud record. While it's true some of her post debut albums contained a few flat spots, all had at least a few five-star tracks, and she was always pushing her sound further, trying new arrangements and production. At the core of all of them though has been her killer songwriting, something that is rarely acknowledged. All that is history now, coz Macy has released her most commercial album yet.

Highlights include the beautiful opening track `The Sellout', the stomping crazysexy `Kissed It', and `Help Me', the best piece of urban gospel this side of Gnarles Barkley. `Beauty In The World' - while probably not the ideal choice for the first single - is a sweet little gem. Meanwhile, `Let You Win' is sure to win Macy some new fans and revive some of the old `I Try' folk. And `Real Love' with Bobby Brown could have escaped from the tight sing-in-unison constraints to let each performer shine a little, but is still infectious and sweet. `The Sellout' is anything but, and deserves to be the sound of summer (hey, I'm in Australia, we're just coming out of winter). Great to hear Macy still killing it.

There's no irony lost that the last two Macy Gray albums have had very dramatic and eye catching titles that both had a lot to do with stardom. This is an enigma Macy has faced since they moment she came out she's actually stood by her guns and never lost her original flavors. Now just out of her first decade of existance there was a pretty big journey to her previous album Big which,for my interest was the most vital musical statement up until this point. This album forges ahead by taking the next logical step. Musically the album's name could easily refer to the opening title song and "Still Hurts" with Romika. Both of these songs finds Macy Gray connected with a certain type of hip-hop/R&B that's held on a very long time and now is beginning to evolve yet again. And the rest of the album has Macy,who has never been any different on this front leading the pack towards....being less like a pack and unlike before this time everyone else seems to be going for the ride. In Macy's case she offers up twelve great songs that just keep you listening from song to song without desiring to skip to the next one."Kissed It" with Velvet Revolver and "That Man" are two highlites showcasing Macy's thorough exploration of the same connecting thread from jump blues to rock n roll through Outkast style Southern funk. Songs such as "The Comeback" and "Beauty In The World" both focus on a her well oiled combination of folk-soul and uptempo pop/R&B. As for the guest appearances she mades a very strong connection with the thought long musically AWOL Bobby Brown on the Philly-like soul send up of "Real Love" in which Bobby and Macy's voice share a mixture of passion,elegance and world wariness that is almost hard to describe. Songs such as "Let You Win" and "Stalker" find Macy dealing with interesting romantic issues to the effect that she is seeing herself as a smothering,overly affectionate lover who also tends to like to have the last word. Whether it really does describe her nature she is also having an obvious laugh at the situation of many women who choose to victimize themselves through the love of another man who may be wrong for them. Songs such as "Help Me" and "On And On" explore the longing that comes from such intense feelings. So all and all this is a fine extention of the previous album and as with every Macy Gray album finds her evolving musically in small,comfortable increments so that her many ideas don't come off as too much of a shock but are creatively fullfilling at the same time. And as always it's just a plain wonderful event when she makes an album.

You don't know what you're missing till it's gone, case in point is Macy Gray being under the radar of late, but her new recording, The Sellout heralds the welcome return of a truly unique recording artist. Shedding her demons and forces that held her back, Gray did some serious wood shedding and has bounched back with a no holds barred personal statement that her fans have been waiting for.

"Lately", a subtle nod to The Four Tops, "Shake Me, Wake Me" (When It's Over), firmly plants Miss Macy back into the pop world, swaying as gently a palm tree. Lighting up a fire, Macy changes gears with "Kissed It" featuring Velvet Revolver.

The lyrics of "Beauty in The World" affirm Gray's positive outlook on life and speaks well of her uplifted frame of mind. "Help Me" reaffirms her need to be herself, "at least I ain't someone else. "You Win" speaks to those times lovers need to let go having control and give in. "Real Love" is a sensuous, smoking tour de force featuring Bobby Brown that is pure double dip choclolate delight.

"The Comeback" explores Macy's fears about not knowing where she is going, and not being pretty enough. Believe me, she knows full where she is heading and Miss Macy is more than beautiful in visage, spirit and mind. Welcome back. We missed you BIG!

In this album, Macy is talking about having to "sell out" to make any money, being confused about what's right and wrong, and not knowing what to do, and I really feel her pain on that. In today's industry dominated by "pop princesses," singers like Macy Gray don't stand a chance, and it's a real shame.

Anyway, now that I've got that little rant out of the way, this is classic Macy Gray. It's like they took 'On How Life Is' and brought it to 2010. It sounds a little bit more "modern," but it's still classic Macy all the way. A very rich and soulful album. Macy Gray may have a "love-it-or-hate-it" voice, but she has more soul than 10 Rihannas.