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Mary
J. Blige - Work In Progress
by
a. Scott galloway
It's hard
to believe that we the republic of raw soul lovers
have been crying, singing, dancing, cheering and
straight-up loving some Mary J. Blige for 15 years
now – the lady and her cathartic Roman candles
of song. What started as an extended tour through
the dark side of life and love has slowly morphed
into a healthier acceptance that nothing is perfect,
but we should always fight to make it better and
really celebrate all that is good as often as possible.
Thus, the title of her most recent release on the
Matriarch/Geffen label, Growing Pains.
Mary's eighth
and latest album was released last December - at
the end of yet another year that the music industry
was taking another heavy toll at the hands of changing
listener/buyer trends. Several other major artists
with records expected that month pushed theirs back
into the new year, rethinking strategies, searching
for that just right first single and, in general,
laying in the cut to see what was really going on.
Not Mary. She came out swingin' with a furiously
upbeat first single "Just Fine" that
caught everybody off guard (much like Alicia Keys'
"No One," incidentally- note to other
artists afraid of making sweeping changes in their
sound). Dancing up a storm on the American Music
Awards, Mary looked radiant, confident and defiant
all at once. It was a thrilling and beautiful moment
to behold.
Then on December
18, Growing Pains dropped, revealing itself
as Mary's most successfully diverse project to date.
A spiritually rejuvenating marriage to a very supportive
man in Kendu Isaacs has opened
her to personal and romantic fulfillment like she's
never known before which is reflected in several
of the songs. Repeat duets with "The Queen
of Soul" Aretha Franklin and
recent collaborations with Elton John and
Bono of U2 have
opened her to edgier sonic textures. She's balancing
joy and despair in healthier proportions. And she's
getting ever-stronger in wielding that singular
vocal instrument of hers.
Highlights of the
16 new tracks include the teardrop vulnerability
of "Hurt Again" (which she co-wrote the
Philly team of Andre Harris and
Vidal Davis), the bumpin' "Till
the Morning" (produced and penned by Pharrell
of the Neptunes using
the groove of the club classic "Heartbeat"),
the deeply, darkly and dynamically introspective
"Smoke" (lovingly delivered via Ne-Yo)
and the techno-rocker "Come to Me (Peace)"
(a perfect album closer laced by Mary with old collaborator
Christopher "Tricky" Stewart
and new millennium hit maker The Dream).
Perhaps most definitive
of the new album is "What Love Is," another
contribution from Ne-Yo (this time with Mary) in
collaboration with Stargate. As
the title suggests, it's an honest examination of
love as best as we can peg it set to a tight beat
garnished with synth strings and a rousing chorus.
"Beautiful, horrible, magical, terrible / Reason
to laugh and smile / Reason to cry yourself to sleep
at night / start a fight / Make up, break up wrong
or right / Heaven for all it's worth / Can equally
be held right here on Earth / And no one really
knows anything about it / But everybody needs it
we can't live without it / And that's the way it
goes - darkest day, brightest night…"
Bill Cosby, notoriously critical and skeptical of
so much that's been happening in the generations
after his, personally called Mary to tell her that
his wife Camille was a huge fan and that she had
a personal challenge to hurl her – to write
a song about love. That Mary not only came through
but nailed it with such beautiful precision says
all that needs to be said about the pain Mary has
withstood and overcome to achieve the growth revealed
in her amazing new record.
Growing Pains is
a glowing testament for all the real people with
real struggles who have stood by Mary - through
their storms and hers.
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