The clever “Happy Holidays” describes a love affair, with Blige listing every holiday that she and her married lover have never spent together. She then channels the anger from “Your Child” into lambasting a womanizer in “Not Looking,” a duet with K. Ci that recalls the old school Womack & Womack track “Baby I'm Scared of You.” A “battle of the sexes” song, K. Ci hits on Blige, stating that he's not looking for a serious “love affair,” while Blige responds that she's not looking for “player s**t.” The song interestingly complements “Don't Waste Your Time,” a furious duet with the aforementioned Aretha Franklin. Franklin plays the wiser figure advising Blige to not “waste her time” on a doomed relationship, to “just walk away.” Blige answers that it “gets so hard to know,” but she she knows that she's “gotta let go.” Hearing the two soul divas trade vocal improvisations toward the end of the track is a thrill, a sort of passing of the R&B torch.
Recent albums have seen Blige venturing more into rock territory, and the track “The Love I Never Had” demonstrates her versatility in this genre. The band behind her sounds like it was recorded live without overdubs. Her voice duets with the electric guitars, escalating into a full funk-rock workout. The end of the song features Blige improvising over the band, showing other would-be soul divas how to build emotional intensity into a song.
As a bonus, Blige covers the First Choice classic “Let No Man Put Asunder,” remaining very faithful to the original recording. By doing this (as well as duetting with Franklin), she pays homage to her R&B forbears, but establishes her place in the soul genre as a great talent. With Mary, Blige proves worthy of her “Queen of Hip Hop Soul” title, and foreshadows the versatility demonstrated on later albums. Although Mary has received little attention compared to her more recent releases, this almost decade-old gem deserves another listen and greater appreciation.
For her full discography and more information, check out Blige's home page.
Article comments
1 - Tanni
Kit O Toole .. I thankyou for recognizing that MASTERPIECE Mary J Blige did with that album .. I love every song. And her vocals on the song "All That I Can Say" just make me melt..
2 - Kit O'Toole
Thanks for your comment! I agree that her vocals were fantastic on that album--why even Blige herself underplays this album is beyond me.
3 - Ronnie
OOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH Mary is the ultimate sexgoddess of the universe. OOOOHHHH just think about those lips they are soo sexy that i hardly can watch them ooooohhhhh Mary I want to be your slave, kissing the ground you walk on. Just fall on my my knees and worship your divine sexiness and I know that millions and i know that countless of millions of men do the same.
i want to see a video whit Mary including thousand of men standing on thei kness before worshipping her sexiness and beauty. And i say it again Mary lips is the sexist thing created in history