Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
¤¤¤ There's Something About Mary ¤¤¤¤, November 19, 1999
By A Customer
If this album was a painting, it would be filled with radiant colors, gorgeous textures and encased in an exquisite, meticulously designed frame. In other words: A work of art. Much has been said about the clarity and the overall sound of Mary's voice. But I'm telling you, NO ONE can channel their pain and feelings through their voice like Ms. Blige. You have no choice but to feel what she's feeling. "...don't judge me or think I'm bitter, for the evil God's allowed me to see......I'm just Mary." Classic! Mary reinvents herself yet again. She come at you with this old-school, 70's vibe and mixes it with the soul and flava that made her what she is. She has an impressive list of guests on this one: Aretha Franklin, Eric Clapton, Lauryn Hill, Elton John, etc. "All That I Can Say" gives you an old Stevie Wonder (Songs in the Key of Life) type feel. On "Deep Inside", she pleads with you to see the 'real Mary'. She even updates the Gap Band classic "I'm In Love". She also represents for the club-heads with her cover of "Let No Man Put Asunder", which is hittin' in the clubs worldwide. The true highlight of this set is "The Love I Never Had". Complete with a live band, Mary gives it up on this one, all the way up to when she 'breaks it down'. Once there, she flows with some freestyle scatting and riffs that would make Ella proud. Overall, this album proves why Mary is the trend-setting, innovative, soul-stirring Queen of Hip-Hop Soul.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Yep, It's Mature, It's Pure, It's Mary, March 19, 2005
I've been listening to Mary J Blige's music ever since her debut album, "What's The 411?" was released back in 1992. The album was so innovative and groundbreaking becuase few artists were doing what Blige was doing at the time, mixing hip-hop and R&B together. But, ever since that album and her 1994 classic, "My Life", Mary has been excessively using hip-hop elements to keep reinventing her sound. One her fourth album, simply titled, "Mary", Blige truly sounds like a mature artist. On this album, she throws away her raw and gritty hip-hop production, in favor of a more polished and glossy soulful sound. The opening, "All That I Can Say", which is written and produced by Lauryn Hill, is a lushy and moody ballad that has Mary echoing Stevie Wonder's sound. "Sexy" is probably the only song on here that has a true hip-hop sound, with Mary looping the melody and lyrics of the Michael Jackson tune, "I Can't Help It", which was written by Stevie Wonder. JadaKiss also does some brilliant rapping here. "Deep Inside" is all about stardom and its ups and downs. This track has Elton John replaying a piano loop from his 1973 hit, "Bennie And The Jets". "Beautiful Ones" is a mid-tempo ballad that has some beautiful and soft acoustic guitar being played throughout the song. It's a very elegant tune. "I'm In Love" is a personal favorite of mine. On this tune, Mary does a refreshing cover of The Gap Band's memorable ballad. "Time", a song that is brilliantly co-written by Stevie Wonder, is a haunting, yet introspective tune with Mary basically talking about the world's problems. She even loops the orchestral bridge off of Stevie's 1976 hit, "Pastime Paradise". "Memories" is a mid-tempo, sophisticated ballad with Blige covering her aspect on relationships. "Don't Waste Your Time" has Mary doing an amazing duet with the Queen Of Soul: Aretha Franklin. On this track, Aretha gives Blige some advice, telling her to just leave the man alone. This amazing ballad is produced by Babyface. "Not Lookin'" has Blige doing a harsh duet with her ex-boyfriend, K.C. Hailey of K.C. and Jo-Jo and also the group, Jodeci. In this song, they share some disturbing confessions of their relationship with the listeners, they also realize that they both made some mistakes. The song also has some explicit language. Both "Your Child" and "No Happy Holidays" are the most important songs on here. The first one, "Your Child" is a low-key ballad with Blige talking about finding out her boyfriend has a child with another woman, but he denies that it's his child. The other track, "No Happy Holidays" is about her boyfriend not spending time with her on special romantic occasions, especially different holidays. "The Love I Never Had" has Mary recalling a stong influence in 70's soul. The song has a lot of live-sounding instruments being played throughout the song. "Give Me You" is a nice ballad that shows Mary's maturity clearly. The song was written by Diane Warren. "Let No Man Put Asunder" has Mary showing a strong influence in disco and dance music.
Although I consider her 1994 classic, "My Life" as her finest album, "Mary" is her most unified and acclaimed record. It shows how mature and consistent she really is. From an artistic standpoint, "Mary" is a better collection of songs than an overall statement like "My Life" was. "Mary" is very coherent and this is her most collaborative album. She works with everybody from Aretha Franklin to Elton John. This album should be in every R&B collection because the consistency and talent Blige puts in this album is special in every way. A-
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
THE UNDISPUTED QUEEN OF HIPHOP, February 26, 2000
ONCE AGAIN MARY PROVES WHY SHE IS THE QUEEN. SHE GIVES IT TO YA RAW, UNFORTUNATELY SOME PEOPLE MISTAKE THAT RAWNESS FOR ANGER AND BITTERNESS. MARY IS ON A WHOLE NOTHER LEVEL AND SOME PEOPLE JUST CAN'T UNDERSTAND. MARY MAKES SONGS THAT ARE ABOUT REALITY, AND THINGS THAT SHE HAS GONE THROUGH. WHICH SO HAPPENS TO BE WHAT ALOT OF YOUNG WOMEN HAVE EITHER GONE THROUGH OR ARE CURRENTLY GOING THROUGH. HER MUSIC IS FROM THE SOUL WHICH IS WHY SHE WILL CONTINUE TO SHINE. MY PERSONAL FAVORITES ARE 'DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME' FEATURING THE QUEEN OF SOUL ARETHA FRANKLIN, 'NO HAPPY HOLIDAY', 'GIVE ME YOU' W/ERIC CLAPTON, 'DEEP INSIDE' W/ELTON JOHN AND THE 'LOVE I NEVER HAD'. IN THE SONG 'YOUR CHILD' I REALLY LIKE THE FACT THAT THEY ACTED LIKE REAL WOMEN AND NOT GUEST ON JERRY SPRINGER. THE BEST SONG ON THE ALBUM IS 'NOT LOOKIN' FEATURING K-CI, IS IT JUST ME OR DOES EVERY TIME THIS TWO GET TOGETHER THE SONG IS OFF THE CHAIN. I STILL LOVE 'IF YOU LOVING YOU IS WRONG' FROM 'WHAT'S THE 411'.LIKE DMX SAID TO LIVE IS TO SUFFER BUT TO SURVIVE IS TO FIND MEANING WITHIN THE SUFFERING AND MARY J BLIGE IS A SURVIVER! ONE LOVE **LILSPECIAL**
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