Being broke is childish and I'm quite grown
Sometimes you've got to just take time to doff your cap to an artist who deserves respect, whether for perseverance, longevity or simply consistency of their output. And it would take a hard heart indeed to begrudge Mary J Blige anything but absolute serenity and good wishes. Call her the queen of R'n'B, the high priestess of hip-hop, the godmother of neo-soul, or just plain Mary, you have got to hand it to the girl. She has been through the mill, borne her heart on record after record, while also producing some of the finest soul music of our generation. I was listening to her latest long player "Growing Pains" recently and it prompted me to pause to consider the career of a singer who, I think, can still far too easily be taken for granted. The album is yet another incredibly strong collection. And even though we are used to Mary's heartfelt tales of struggle and gritty realism, her candid soul-searching and messages of positivity and strength, she still manages to evolve her musical style, her lyrical maturity, her vocal prowess on each release. And in a world of over-production and over-hype this should never be ignored.
One of the keys to the singer's appeal is of course her openness and her honesty in dealing with her own flaws and various struggles on record, from her well-publicised battle with drugs, to relationship issues, and simply dealing with being a human being in the world today. And also the fact that she can often-time turn these struggles into important lessons for others, and beyond that into life-affirming emotions, but never in a way that patronises or turns to saccharine. She can dip into cheese every now and then, but hey, she's already said that she isn't perfect, and show me a soul artist who doesn't! Standouts on this latest collection include "Roses" and "Work That", but it is precisely as a collection that is why the album works so well, with themes running like threads throughout. This is an important consideration in the i-tune world of singles and shuffle, and again Mary should be applauded for providing a long-player that works as a cohesive whole.
I remember, towards the beginning of her career, evidently when her demons were consuming her and she was railing against the world and everyone in it, she came to London to do a show and simply bombed. This was meant to be an introduction to the UK and she just missed completely, her voice was shocking, her attitude equally so, and I remember thinking at that stage that she was an over-hyped product who would soon sink like a stone. Debut "What's The 411?" was great, but who the hell was this off-key ball of anger? Well, now we know, and just like life itself, Mary has worked hard for her second chance. She has made her own fairytale through determination and hard work, and in doing so cemented a place in the highest echelons of the soul hierarchy, both male and female. What's the 411? Well' it's right there on vinyl. Every last bit of it.
One of the keys to the singer's appeal is of course her openness and her honesty in dealing with her own flaws and various struggles on record, from her well-publicised battle with drugs, to relationship issues, and simply dealing with being a human being in the world today. And also the fact that she can often-time turn these struggles into important lessons for others, and beyond that into life-affirming emotions, but never in a way that patronises or turns to saccharine. She can dip into cheese every now and then, but hey, she's already said that she isn't perfect, and show me a soul artist who doesn't! Standouts on this latest collection include "Roses" and "Work That", but it is precisely as a collection that is why the album works so well, with themes running like threads throughout. This is an important consideration in the i-tune world of singles and shuffle, and again Mary should be applauded for providing a long-player that works as a cohesive whole.
I remember, towards the beginning of her career, evidently when her demons were consuming her and she was railing against the world and everyone in it, she came to London to do a show and simply bombed. This was meant to be an introduction to the UK and she just missed completely, her voice was shocking, her attitude equally so, and I remember thinking at that stage that she was an over-hyped product who would soon sink like a stone. Debut "What's The 411?" was great, but who the hell was this off-key ball of anger? Well, now we know, and just like life itself, Mary has worked hard for her second chance. She has made her own fairytale through determination and hard work, and in doing so cemented a place in the highest echelons of the soul hierarchy, both male and female. What's the 411? Well' it's right there on vinyl. Every last bit of it.
posted by Twelve Bar at 8:04 AM
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