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Rating: In music, there's room for everyone. For a Joss Stone who delights in reviving (well, mind you, very well) the '70s soul, for an Alicia Keys who prefers it in a mixture of pop and R'n'B, for a Cassandra Wilson who flirts with jazz and blues, for an Erykah Badu with her eccentric contaminations, Jill Scott; just to name a few powerful living women in their genre.
And where do we place Natalie Renee McIntyre, known as Macy Gray? The American singer has nothing to envy in her colleagues mentioned above (well, maybe compared to some of them, she's as ugly as sin, but that's meant professionally). From a young age, Macy had a special relationship with black music and a hatred for her strange voice. Putting aside the latter, she moved to Los Angeles and began to dedicate herself to jazz with diligence. She was noticed by some record producers who signed her, resulting in her acclaimed debut album "On How Life Is" followed by "The Id" produced by Rick Rubin, someone with a knack for good music, already seen handling the Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers of "Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magik", AC/DC, etc. "The Trouble with Being Myself" was sunk by critics; it's a commercial album, with a good sheen of glamour glaze (considering the cover was done by David LaChapelle) and the single "When I See You" even made it to Festivalbar. At this point, Macy engages in a comprehensive review of her career and released in 2004 a "Best of".
In reality, there's nothing that differentiates this greatest hits from many others circulating: there are all the hits, the unreleased track which in this case is "Love Is Gonna Get You", an intriguing and danceable piece but not on par with the rest of the production, the obligatory cover, namely "Walk This" by Aerosmith which turns out to be better than the unreleased track itself and then there are the remixes that have the great ability to disfigure a beautiful track in the worst way. However, what prevents the album from being removed from the stereo is the presence of excellent songs.
The sultry tones of "I Try", the melancholic sweetness of "Still", the fun "Sexual Revolution" are clear examples of the album's beauty. "I've Committed a Murder" tells us about how Macy bumped off her boyfriend's employer because she fired him, took the earnings, and flew away with him to a "Jamaican paradise". A series of songs that don't bore and shine with originality. And then there's that quirky voice that manages to embellish everything. Even the collaborations play along, from Erykah Badu in "Sweet Baby" to Pharoahe Monch with "It Ain't the Money", from Fatboy Slim dealing with "Demons" to Norman Cook. In this album, you can find a series of soul songs shaken by slight hip-hop influences and lightened by a pop touch.
"The Very Best of Macy Gray" is a good starting point for those who want to get to know the artist better but don't want to listen to her entire discography. Besides, always better than the horrid "Big", which is completely devoid of the compositional freshness that had completely permeated, with its ups and downs, Gray's career, as foreshadowed by the single "Finally Make Me Happy."
Not to be discarded...
Tracklist and Lyrics
01 I Try (00:00)
Games, changes and fears
When will they go from here
When will they stop
I believe that faith
Has brought us here
And we should be together babe
But we're not
I play it off but I'm dreaming of you
I keep my cool but I'm feigning
(Chorus)
I try to say good-bye and I choke
I try to walk away and I stumble
Though I try to hide it, it's clear
My world crumbles when you are not near
Good-bye and I choke
I try to walk away and I stumble
Though I try to hide it, it's clear
My world crumbles when you are not near
I may appear to be free
But I'm just a prisoner of your love
I may seem alright and smile when you leave
But my smiles are just a front, just a front
I play it off but I'm dreaming of you
I keep my cool but I'm feigning
(Chorus)
I try to say good-bye and I choke
I try to walk away and I stumble
Though I try to hide it, it's clear
My world crumbles when you are not near
Good-bye and I choke
I try to walk away and I stumble
Though I try to hide it, it's clear
My world crumbles when you are not near
Here is my confession
May I be your possession
Boy I need your touch
Your love, kisses, and such
With all my might I try
But this I can't deny, deny
Hey
I play it off but I'm dreaming of you (dreaming of you, babe)
I'll keep my cool but I'm feigning
(Chorus)
I try to say good-bye and I choke
I try to walk away and I stumble
Though I try to hide it, it's clear
My world crumbles when you are not near
Good-bye and I choke
I try to walk away and I stumble
Though I try to hide it, it's clear
My world crumbles when you are not near
[Music till End]
06 Demons (00:00)
They say she had a heart attack
I think the preacher's coming back
And I'm frying 'cos all my love's electrifying
And I'm comfy like a cess-pool
Wanna be with you
And it's my premonition
I better give my heart a listen
And my preacher say
All of your demons will wither away
Ecstacy comes and they cannot stay
You'll understand when you come my way
'Cos all of my demons have withered away
They said he shook himself to death
I wanna dance 'til my last breath
But mister disco only parties hard in Frisco
And I'm comfy like a cess-pool
Wanna be with you
And it's my premonition
I better give my heart a listen
And my preacher say
All of your demons will wither away
Ecstacy comes and they cannot stay
You'll understand when you come my way
'Cos all of my demons have withered away
07 When I See You (Bugz In The Attic Remix) (00:00)
It's been three days since I screamed and hung up on you
And all I wanted was to hold you tight
I'm sorry baby never meant to be mean to you
And I hope you call me back tonight
You're hesitating 'cause you don't want another fight
I promise baby it'll be all right
Truth is all I'm doing is missing you
Thinking about when I'm gonna see you
Hey baby when I see you
I'm gonna love you all over the place
Hey baby when I see you
I'm gonna kiss you all over your face
It's been three days since you screamed and hung up on me
And all you wanted was to hold me tight
Now you're calling to say hey and make up with me
But I think I need a little more time
I'm hesitating 'cause I don't want another fight
And I want our love to be all right
Truth is all I'm doing is missing you
Thinking about when I'm gonna see you
Hey baby when I see you
I'm gonna love you all over the place
Hey baby when I see you
I'm gonna kiss you all over your face
10 Do Something (00:00)
Like Cleopatra got the masses at my feet
Got a living dwell down on easy street
And I'm the latest craze
And if you stay awhile
Inevitably you're gonna bite my style in your later days
Now let me tell you what is fact and what is true
I get high a lot ain't got much to do
I'm always in a daze
That was just a dream I had last night in my bubble bath
Next to my wishing well
Get up get out and do somethin
Don't let the days of your life pass you by
Get up get out and do somethin
How will you make it if you never even try?
Get up get out and do somethin
Can't spend your whole life tryin to get high
You got to get up get out and do somethin
Cuz you and I gotta do for you and I
What's been happenin? how you doin? where you been?
I'm further behind now than I was back then
Lost in some ole maze
Some years have passed me by
All I want is to go get high
I'll get it together some other day
In my dreams I dwell cuz all my dreams are swell
And you would too, if you could see them
That's when I know
I gotta go get up get out
Get up get out and do somethin
Don't let the days of your life pass you by
Get up get out and do somethin
How will you make it if you never even try?
Get up get out and do somethin
Can't spend your whole life tryin to get high
You got to get up get out and do somethin
Cuz you and I gotta do for you and I
In my dreams I dwell cuz all my dreams are swell
And you would too
12 Why Didn't You Call Me (00:00)
We went out one night
Everything went right
We got something started
It was outta sight
We had such a good time
Hey! Why didn't you call me?
I thought I'd see you again
By the phone I wait
Staring into space
Thinking about our first kiss
Out on our first date
We had such a good time
Hey! Why didn't you call me?
I thought I'd see you again
Why don't you call me again?
And I'm gonna ask
When I see you again
Thought you would be my man, my lover, my friend
I never thought it would end so quickly
It would end.
I've resorted to
Hanging up on you
I know you know it's me but,
How else will I talk to you
We had such a good time
Hey! Why didn't you call me?
I thought I'd see you again
Why don't you call me again?
And I'm gonna ask
When I see you again
Thought you would be my man, my lover, my friend
I never thought
It would end so quickly
It would end.
We had such a good time
Hey! Why didn't you call me?
I thought I'd see you
I thought I'd see you
I thought I'd see you again
13 I've Committed Murder (00:00)
My baby works down at the boulevard cafe'
Just a fine young man with big dreams
Trying to make his own way
The owner is this mean ole bitch who degrades him everyday
Then she fires him for no reason
Don't wanna give him his last pay
I've committed murder and I think I've got away
I'm hiding at my mother's house come get me right away
right away
I have no intention of paying for my crimes don't fear
We're gonna get the next plane outta here and fly away
fly away
When he's down it breaks my heart to see him
So I figured I'd talk to her woman to woman
I walk in and she's countin her cash
Got so much cash her office looks like a green pasture
I said "give him the little bit of money you owe him"
She said "get back bitch I ain't givin you shit"
I said "you ole bag, maybe you ain't heard but them are fightin words"
I've committed murder and I think I got away
I'm hiding at my mothers house come get me right away
right away
I have no intention of paying for my crime don't fear
We're gonna get the next plane outta here and fly away.
And I don't feel bad about it
See baby there was this struggle
And I don't feel bad about it
As a result of our struggle
And I don't feel bad about it
But the good thing is
And I don't feel bad about it
We don't have to struggle no more
With a suitcase full of money
We flew to a Jamaican paradise
One thing I've learned through all of this is
Having money sure is nice
Me and my baby got married
He's working hard to make his dreams come true
As far as regrets I don't have any
Would you?
I've committed murder and i think I got away
I'm hiding at my mother's house come get me right away
right away
I have no intention of paying for my crimes don't fear
We're gonna get the next plane outta here and fly away
fly away
14 Sexual Revolution (00:00)
everybody shake it
time to be free amongst yourselves
your mama told you to be discreet
and keep your freak to yourself
but your mama lied to you all this time
she knows as well as you and i
youve got to express what is taboo in you
and share your freak with the rest of us
cause its a beautiful thing
this is my sexual revolution
everybody shake it
time to be free amongst yourselves
your mama told you to be discreet
and keep your freak to yourself
but your mama lied to you all this time
she knows as well as you and i
youve got to express what is taboo in you
and share your freak with the rest of us
cause its a beautiful thing
this is my sexual revolution
everybody break it
every rule, every constriction
my papa told me to be home by now
but my party has just begun
maybe he'll understand
that i got to be
to be the freak that god made me
so many thangz that i want to try
got to do them before i die
this is my sexual revolution
im so funkin beautiful
especially when i take my clothes off
im so funkin beautiful
especially when i take my clothes off
sexual revolution
got to do them before i die
got to do them before i die
16 Boo (00:00)
he tends to get carried away
like a talk show he's got drama everyday
lots of rage and mental abusing
the way he treats me it's obvious he's confusing
me for some dumb bitch
who will stick around
i tend to stick around
you
tell me that you love me if it's true
why am i runnin from you and who
are these bitches on my answering machine
yeah you, you tell me that you love me but boo
if this is love
it's a good thing you don't hate me
superfly
someone who'll at least try
who'll smoke me out from time to time
and love me all nite
tell me everything about him
and none of it turns out to be lies
easy
rainbows
these words come to mind
and he loves me all nite
you
tell me that you love me if it's true
why am i runnin from you and who
are these bitches on my answering machine
yeah you, you tell me that you love me but boo
if this is love
its a good thing you dont hate me
never settle for the things that you dont really want
cause all it gets you is a big ol piece of unhappiness
happiness could be mine but its so hard to talk to you
baby
one day i will
some day i will and
this is what ill say
hold me close
cause im the most and
make a toast to you and me
see thats the way loves supposed to be
not stressful...alright
you
tell me that you love me if its true
why am i runnin from you and who
are these bitches on my answering machine
yeah you, you tell me that you love me but boo
if this is love
its a good thing you dont hate me
never settle for the things that you dont really want
cause all it gets you is a big ol piece of unhappiness
its a good thing you dont hate me
if this is love how could this be
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