No More Drama [EXTRA TRACKS]

Mary J. Blige

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 29, 2002)
• Original Release Date: January 29, 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks
• Label: Mca
• ASIN: B00005V9DW
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #12,815 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com's Best of 2001

Anyone who's purchased one of Mary J. Blige's albums understands that the "queen of hip-hop soul" would much rather push artistic envelopes than lick 'em. With No More Drama, her enlisting of hip-hop's finest beat-makers to create lush musical soundscapes is nothing short of genius. On the Dr. Dre-produced "Family Affair," Blige implores the club set to "get crunk 'cause Mary's back" as she introduces some new slang to the hip-hop vernacular ("holleration"). "Steal Away" is a classic Neptunes-induced head-nodder in the "Love Is All We Need" vein, as Pharrell Williams chimes in a Curtis Mayfield-like falsetto. Those who like their R&B straight might be offended by the acoustic guitar solo by Lenny Kravitz on "PMS," or the album's title track, which samples the theme from The Young and the Restless soap opera. But listen to "Where I've Been" (a redemptive tale of Blige's not-so-rapid ascent from the 'hood, featuring guest raps from Eve) and the Missy Elliott-assisted "Never Been," and misgivings vanish. Whereas past Mary J. efforts were limited to tales of relationships gone awry, her outlook is more diverse and upbeat, while her scratchy, bluesy vocals have become more expansive, too. She raps on "Love," scats on "Beautiful Day," chats on the a cappella "Forever No More," and caps No More Drama with a string of uplifting ballads ("2 U," "In the Meantime"), neatly polishing off a release that will stand as one of the best of 2001. --Dalton Higgins

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mary J is my favorite but MCA is getting too greedy...., February 5, 2002

By	J. Highsmith (Mitchellville, Maryland United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

OK, before I review this re release of "No More Drama", I would like to make a few points relating to this CD. 1) When you re release a CD, I thought you were supposed to keep all the songs from the initial release and then add bonus tracks. On the re release [...], they list the original 17 songs and then [...it] has the 4 new tracks as track numbers 18-21. This could be true but in music stores and retail outlets, Track #4 from the initial release, "Krazy Games" is replaced by the new track, "He Think I Don't Know". Track #7, the Rocwilder produced, "Keep It Movin'" is replaced by "Rainy Dayz" w/Ja Rule. Track #8, "Destiny" is left off of the re release and "Where I've Been" w/Eve is bumped up from #9 to be #8. "Beautiful Day" is bumped up from #10 to be #9 on the re release. "Dance For Me" which was #11 moves up to #10 and the P Diddy remix of "No More Drama" is now #11. The two negatives about this are 1) You are already asking the consumer to pay for the price of the CD again by re releasing "No More Drama" and 2) You are also penalizing the consumer by not allowing them to have all of the songs, including the newly added tracks, all on one CD. If you didn't buy the initial "No More Drama" and you buy the re release you won't have 3 songs that are on the original release but you will have the two new tracks and the two new remixes. This may not be important to everyone, but if you are a fan of music like I am then you will understand where I am coming from. "No More Drama" is a refreshing new sound from Mary J. Those of you that have listened to all of her CDs know the road that Mary J can take you down. Whether it was from the "My Life" CD or whether it was from songs like "The Love I Never Had", "Your Child" or "Not Lookin'" w/K- Ci, we all know Mary J can show us a depressing side of herself. With "No More Drama", she shows us a sense of positivity that we haven't seen from her in awhile, although she did show signs with "Share My World". This is completely evident by the Dr. Dre produced first single, "Family Affair". Although, Mary J does invent a new vocabulary laced with words like "hateration", "hollaratin'" and "perculatin'", her message still gets the point across. Leave all your drama and worries behind and have a good time. On the Neptunes produced, "Steal Away", Mary is joined by a falsetto styled, Pharrell Williams, for a nice collaboration. It sounds like an old school song from years ago. The 2nd single, "No More Drama" is one of the CD's better tracks. The Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis produced track uses a sample from the soap opera "The Young & The Restless" to create a good song for MJB. The new track "Rainy Dayz" featuring Ja Rule sounds as if it was a theme for 9/11 and all the tragic events that happened in NY and at the Pentagon. Ja Rule provides a rap and some harmonies to the song as well. Irv Gotti also did a good job with the production. The new slow song "He Think I Don't Know" falls in the same lines of a "Your Child" or a "Don't Waste Your Time" on the "Mary" CD. It's not groundbreaking material but fans of Mary J Blige will enjoy this song, especially if they like Mary J Blige slow songs as much as I do. P Diddy's remix to "No More Drama" is a nice track, in my opinion. The lyrics and beat are totally different from the original version and it's nice to hear Mary and P Diddy together again. Other standout tracks include, "Love", the Missy Elliott produced "Never Been", the inspirational "Where I've Been" w/Eve, "In The Meantime", and "Testimony". If you are a Mary J fan then you have heard this all before, but it is nice to see that Mary J can put her troubles behind and move on with her life. You can actually sense that just by listening to this CD.

26 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars LISTEN TO MARY...SHE IS THE TRUTH, February 6, 2002

By A Customer

Hey yall!!! I must tell you that this revised album is excellent in every way possible. Mary continues to give us her heartfelt soul on this collection of great songs. Also, she teams up with Ja Rule for a blazin new song (I predict another #1 hit for Mary). Also, the smooth as butta No More Drama remix featuring P. Diddy is a get up and be happy type jam. And I can't forget the powerful ballad: "He Think I Don't Know", which is classic Mary (yall know what I mean). OOOooooh yeah, also another future #1 hit is Dance For Me featuring Common. Just listen and you will know why.

One thing I love about this album is the excellent PRODUCTION and SOUND QUALITY. Mary gives us her best on this album. And it shows. Go out and pick up this album and see what I am talking about.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars More Drama Included...I LIKE THAT!!!, February 1, 2002

By	D. Connally (Aurora, Colorado United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

For me, Mary's initial release of 'No More Drama' was lacking something. And with this release, Mary took steps towards correcting what was wrong with the initial presssing of the album. Mary brought soul back into this release with the additions of a few songs, and also brought back the excitement which was otherwise missing on the first disc.

The standout (of the new tracks, and perhaps of the album as a whole) is the new track "He Think I Don't Know". THIS is the Mary that I love! The Mary who feels deep and bears a part of her soul to you. It's bluesy and soulful...we needed that! The addition of the ever popular Ja Rule on new track "Rainy Days" also proved to be another of the set's highlights. But as far as the uptempo numbers go, when you need a remix call on P Diddy! For the first time in seven years Mary and Diddy are working together, and it's hot!!! The "No More Drama" remix is nothing like the original, but it's a perfect collaboration for the artists.

In all, I'm still not that pleased with "No More Drama" but at least Mary gave us more to savor with the addition of these added tracks until her next studio release.