The Trouble with Being Myself

Macy Gray

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 15, 2003)
• Original Release Date: July 15, 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B000089H9V
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #105,431 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The BEST "New School" R&B Singer Of Our Day!, July 15, 2003

By	Karl Miller "kemspeaks" (Phoenixville, PA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Is she Chaka Khan with a helium balloon? Al Green on hormone replacement therapy? No, Macy Gray is one of the few truly original singer/songwriters of our day, and that is the true glory of her music.
"The Trouble With Being Myself" is radical, fresh, exciting - and, at the same time, classic soul music. Just like on her first two releases, Macy stakes her own ground with ballads, hip hop and sunny pop music that sounds like nothing else on the radio.
From the opening song, "When I See You", Macy makes it clear that soul music is alive and well in this era of samples and studio-engineered voices. "When I See You" is Memphis horns, Rufus scratch-styled guitar and Sly-ish keyboards. It's a great lead off track, but only hints at the promise of this disc.
"My Fondest Childhood Memory" dips into Jamician ska shadings, and tells a hilarious story of taking revenge on your parent's lovers. It's somewhat derivative of "I Committed Murder" from "On How Life It", but it hits you with an incredible beat, and those awesome Macy vocals.
"It Ain't The Money" teams Macy with Beck, which can only be described as a meeting of musical geniuses. It's a hard hip hop flavored track, but has such an experimental, play in the studio feel that you can't call it rap.
"She Ain't Right For You" is beautiful, lush and Macy's best ballad yet (which says a lot, considering what a great song "I Try" is). The track creates more heat than a bonfire - and is perfect for Macy's slightly off-kilter vocals. You can't help but fall in love with a song as beautiful as this.
By the time I got to "Speechless" which is the 10th track, I was amazed how deep this disc is - on most retro-nuevo soul albums, themes and music styles begin repeating themselves after 4-5 songs - but "Speechless" again makes Macy's originality, and talent, shine bright - it is a sun-drenched love song that plays down strong instrumentation in favor of letting Macy put her voice to work - and truly gives her an opportunity to shine.
An artist like Macy - a little left-of-center, a true original, someone who demands that her music take center stage, rather than serve as beckground material - has it tough in today's marketplace. I hope this project finds its audience, so that the "business" end of the music business is encouraged to experiment with different sounds and artists. Macy cannot be pigeonholed, and clearly is a tough sell. But she is brilliant - and deserving of attention, and praise.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Kind of "Trouble", January 31, 2004

By	Michael S. Waren "schoeder" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

One of the most underrated and underplayed albums of 2003 and that is a real shame! Macy Gray is a truly gifted artist. Fans (and those that are not) of Macy Gray would be hard pressed not to like this funky blend of musical sex and love. Song highlights from the album include:

Track #1 "When I See You": Macy starts the funky party right with an all too identifiable song about the complexities of relationships.

Track #2: "It Ain't The Money" (featuring Pharoahe Monch): Yes, Macy there is more to life than materialism and corporate greed. We all need to be reminded of this more.

Track # 3: "She Ain't Right For You": How many times I have said the same thing?

Track #5: "Come Together": Macy sings about falling in love and coming together again. The relationship histories we share with a person(s).

Track #6: "She Doesn't Write Songs About You": A perfect companion piece to Track #3.

Track #7: "Jesus For A Day": Macy sings about the being the ultimate "miracle worker" yet I feels she understand (or is beginning to understand) the endless possibilities we all pocess.

Track #8: "My Fondest Childhood Memories": Fun song. It tells the story of how a daughter keeps her adulterous parents together my killing off any potential lovers for them.

Track #9: "Happiness": (Personal happiness without drugs?) Macy reminds us that there are many types of junkies in this world.

Track #10 "Speechless": M-O-R-E L-O-V-E says it all.

Track #11: "Screamin'": (Again this line says it all) "All of my troubles go away when you're on top of me, loving me down, making sounds and it is so good I an screaming."

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This!!!, June 30, 2004

By	Danie Dean (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

Macy is in a class of her own. This cd is almost perfect. I love her unique voice. She is funky and soulful. Nobody matches the soulfulness of her voice. The songs are unique, strange, and wonderful. She is so quirky and real.