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Elly Roberts reviews
Geffen/Island Records
- Cat.no: 9889349
- Released: December 2005
- Rating: 8/10
All kinds of people pop – up to throw their musical weight behind Mary J. Blige’s latest album.
This mammoth 18-tracker includes U2, (a surprising inclusion) Brook,William, Jay-Z, Raphael Saadiq, Dave Young and Nina Simone.
Three-time Grammy award winner and undisputed queen of Hip-Hop Soulshowcases her finely honed vocals. Not only impressive in the singingdepartment, Blige has a big hand in the writing too, mostly in acollaborative capacity.
This music isn’t usually my bag, but this is very tasty stuff.
Since 1992’s single Real Love, she’s charted every year. Tagged the beginningof ‘Nu Soul’, album What’s The 411 from 1993, set a gradual rise to fameand fortune, though it wasn’t without a struggle.
With its heavy urban feel, adding new textures and flavours previouslyunheard in the soul world, she was street-tough with image to match.Evolving from combat boots to sleek designer clothes, she exorcised herdemons and softened her look, along with abandoning her bad-girl attitudewhich held her down.
Now darling of the contemporary music scene, particularly the US, TheBreakthrough, her eighth, will no doubt bring further success, and possiblycritical acclaim for the 34-year-old Bronx songstress. It’s not newterritory bringing additional luminaries. In the past she’s worked withstars like Eric Clapton, Lauryn Hill, Aretha Franklin, Elton John and WyclefJean. Adding these luminaries to her CV has only served to add to hercredibility.
For those in the know, Hip-Hop Soul is a genre all of its own, with agreater emphasis on the Soul, but the irregular R’n’B beats get plenty ofexposure.
Silky smooth with great production, and those famous raw and emotive vocals,Blige has no competition from her peers.
Not all the songs work for me. There are a few average moments, About You,countered by the excellent – The Father In You. Behind each song there’sstill a strong formative emotional thread, racked with self-doubt anduncertainty. Check The Baggage to see what I mean. Blige is never afraid ofopening her heart and soul: its powerful stuff when she’s in full flight.
Best tracks – MJB Da MVP, Can’t Get Enough, I Found Everything.
One, sung with Bono is outstanding and should be the next single aftercurrent release Be Without You.
Weblinks: MJBlige UK.com /MJBlige.com
The full list of tracks on the CD are :
1. No One Will Do
2. Enough Crying
3. About You
4. Be Without You
5. Gonna Breakthrough
6. Good Woman Down
7. Take me As I Am
8. Baggage
9. Can’t Hide From Luv
10. MJB Da MVP
11. Can’t Get Enough
12. Ain’t Really Love
13. I Found My Love
14. Father In You
15. Alone
16. One Mary J. Blige
Bonus tracks:
17. So Lady
18. Show Love
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.