•
Rating:
As it has always been customary to define her, Mary J Blige is undeniably the queen of hip-hop soul. Born in 1971 in the Bronx, she carries its physical and mental scars. If you think Blige is the typical chart-topping mainstream artist with a polished production, you are mistaken. This singer-songwriter has managed to sell around 40 million copies worldwide, thus proving to be one of the longest-lasting artists commercially, but she has also been able to demonstrate to both the public and critics a certain artistic quotient as well as a remarkable voice. This album is a greatest hits that comes almost twenty years into the singer's career and essentially gathers some of Mary Jane's most famous tracks.
Let's start right away with a criticism. The concept of the greatest hits was surely mishandled, some of the most significant past tracks of the singer are missing, the songs taken from her early works are few, some of which are even remastered with new arrangements. And this left me a bit perplexed. Instead of trying with this work to make younger fans appreciate her artistic past, this album clearly tends only to increase sales and thus accumulate cash. Which is a shame for several reasons. The tracklist lacks more intimate tracks that were appreciated by the critics; there isn’t even a track from "Mary," the 1999 album considered unanimously as the best of her career, a true masterpiece. Instead, there is space for more recent tracks. Many songs are taken from "No More Drama" of 2002, her most famous work even here in Europe, and from "The Breakthrough," a splendid album and the most appreciated by fans.
A few famous hits like "As," the cover of Stevie Wonder in duet with George Michael, a few unreleased tracks (of which only one is noteworthy, "We Ride") and the album concludes. Why, I ask myself... but why?? Almost twenty years of career is a lot... but why make an album that favors EXCLUSIVELY the most commercial and most "billboard style" songs? The repertoire of this singer is vast... with "What the 411?" she managed to perfectly blend soul and hip hop (a genre that can have a minimum of artistic value only if "contaminated"), with "My Life" (considered by Rolling Stones magazine to be among the 500 best albums in music history), the singer shed her armor to talk about her fears, in "Mary" she showed us her more introspective and intense side, in "Love & Life" the more cheerfully carefree side. And of all these essences that she has covered us with over the years, what's in this best of? What is left for the less "aged" listeners? And how much desire to delve deeper arises? I believe none.
Mary J Blige is an artist I love, my favorite in the genre. A husky voice, soulful, a strong and tormented character. But in this album, we didn’t like her... naaaa... we didn’t like her.
Loading comments slowly
