On How Life Is

Macy Gray

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 27, 1999)
• Original Release Date: July 27, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00000JQFG
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (475 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,495 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com's Best of 1999

Gray starts from a solid foundation of retro funk and soul and builds on it by adding hip-hop signifiers and modern studio techniques. The result is one of the better debuts of the year, thanks to Gray's blunt proclamations ("I've committed murder... and I don't feel bad about it") and inimitable vocal phrasing. On How Life Is offers the sass of a '20s blueswoman plus the don't-mess-with-me strength of a 21st-century R&B icon-in-the-making. --Keith Moerer

Product Description

Vinyl Classics reissue of her platinum selling debut album comes as a vinyl look-a-like CD that's packaged in a die-cut see-through slipcase. Features the same tracks as the standard US pressing. Sony. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

161 of 171 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars That voice!, February 28, 2000

By	Caz (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews

I had heard "Do Something" on MTV when this CD first came out... I enjoyed it, but wasn't bowled over. I'm usually not a big fan of R&B, soul music. A couple friends of mine played this CD in their car constantly at the end of last summer. I ended up purchasing the disc because I couldn't get "I Try" out of my head. This disc may not hit you immediately, but let me assure you IT WILL GROW ON YOU and you will love it! It's my favorite disc of 1999. I purchased it back in August and continue listening to it today. For a guy with a 700+ cd collection that says a lot. Most cd's find their way onto a shelf and rarely come back down. I saw Macy in concert here in Pittsburgh recently. She is an incredible talent and deserves much success. I consider my self an 'adult alternative' fan with tastes that range from Everything but the Girl to Dead Can Dance to Pet Shop Boys... love a real voice (Sarah, Sting), love drama (Erasure, Depeche Mode)... hate polish (Whitney, Mariah)... love Macy Gray. Check her out. You won't be disappointed!

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very intoxicating sound..., February 20, 2000

By	brent hill (Seattle) - See all my reviews

My partner purchased this CD several months ago, after it was first released. Neither one of us had heard anything about her--it was just set up at a listening station at a record store and he thought I would like it (he knows that I enjoy women who sing with lots of emotion.) The CD sat in the music rack for months before I listened to it for the first time last week. I did not see her on SNL; hear her on Rosie; nor have I ever watched any of her videos. I can honestly say that I wish I had not waited so long, because this woman is GREAT!

The beautiful thing about 'On How Life Is' is that it is truly just that--stories about life, sung by a woman with the most refreshing voice I have heard in years (and I am not one of these twenty-somethings that some reviewers here think are the only people who would find her sound refreshing...) The more I listen to her sing, the more I feel intoxicated by the sound. Unfortunately I discovered this woman after her show here in Seattle sold out, but I can only hope that she will have much future success and somehow live up to the pedestal I am placing her on.

42 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Macy Gray Wows This Crowd, January 30, 2000

By	Miss P "Reviews for the People" (Dirty Jerz) - See all my reviews

My friend has been telling me for months to buy this cd. When I finally got tired of listening to him talk about it, I broke down and bought it and all I can say is WOW! This cd is great for roadtrips. It's great for getting ready in the morning. It's great when you're in a terrible mood and nothing else seems to get you out of it. It's great when you're getting ready to go out and get your groove on. IT's just great!

Macy Gray's voice does not belong in this century, although I'm glad it's here. Her sound is reminiscent of the great ones like Ella, Billie and Sarah--those voices that they just don't make anymore. She's sassy, funky and fun, all the things I love in an artist.

The cd itself is PACKED with good tunes that make you want to get up and dance around your living room, or drive up next to someone on the highway and groove out in the window. If I had to pick my favorites (which is close to impossible) I would say "Why Didn't You Call Me" and "The Letter," but there isn't one song on this disc that I skip over.

Keep them coming Miss Gray and I'll keep buying.