Mary J. Blige
"Growing Pains"
2007 Geffen Records
5/5
If "Love And Life" was supposed to be the reincarnation of "What's The 411" and "My Life" and "The Breakthrough", especially in terms of sequencing and mood I would say was most like an updated version of "Share My World" then "Growing Pains", her eighth album is most definitely the continuation of the "Mary" album, a more mature older sister of it, if you will. They are similar even down to their album covers, which both feature simple, avant-garde, side profile photographs of Mary in all of her "Queen Of Hip Hop Soul" glory.
Like "Mary" there is much more shine on the soul jewels than the hip hop jewels in her crown this time around. So if you are expecting The Breakthrough Part 2, you will be somewhat disappointed. Mary, having grown from the hood chick from the projects of Yonkers, New York that we first met in 1992 to the married, accomplished woman we see today, having collaborated and shared stages with some of the world's best loved performers has made an album that exhibits that growth. Mary's music has always been somewhat auto-biographical and "Growing Pains" fortunately, does nothing to break that mold. So there's really not much in the way of cheating lovers, game playing, and single girl craziness here. Mary is a "Grown Woman" now and is singing about love, relationships, self respect and communication in ways she's never quite done before. Hopefully her fans have grown with her.
The album starts off with "Work That". You may have heard this song featured on Mary's television endorsements for Apple computers iPod MP3 player. It's also the second single from the album. "Work..." is basically the apex of all that Mary had been singing and at times preaching about since her debut over fifteen years ago, confidence and self esteem in women. She even acknowledges her own struggles with it in the lyric: "I'm talkin' 'bout things that I know..."
On the next track, the crunk, club banger "Grown Woman" Mary teams up with Ludacris and starts the song boastfully with these lyrics:
"My Michael Kors gear on and Valentino,
Yves St. Laurent and Malandrino
Full length sable way down to the carpet
Look good on the mannequin
But wait until I rock it..."
Next is the first single from the album, the upbeat, feel good "Just Fine". The first time I heard the song I loved it and thought that it definitely showed growth in Mary, lyrically and subject matter-wise but I was shocked that it was chosen as a single, and the first single at that. Much like "All That I Can Say", the first single from the "Mary" album it was off the beaten path and lacked some of the gritty, urban, ghetto-girl sensibility that Mary J. Blige has become almost synonymous with over the years. The first time I heard it I was wondering when the urban remix featuring the rapper du jour was gonna drop? But I guess even ghetto girls have to grow up sometime. Thankfully Mary is taking her followers along for the ride.
On her debut album, Mary was looking for a "Real Love". Now that she's found it in Kendu Issacs, her husband of three years it is most certainly reflected in her music. One of my favorites on the album is the sizzling, midtempo, bass-booming, "Feel Like A Woman" in which the single girl from the hood who on "What's The 411?" spit the lyrics: "Yeah, nigga what makes you different from the next nigga? Seen you last week and you couldn't even speak..." has matured, found love and is singing a different tune in these new lyrics:
"I'm tired of screaming independent
I wanna start depending on you..."
and later on, on the old school, Aretha Franklin-esque (of course not as Aretha as "I Found My Everything" from "The Breakthrough" album) plea for communication "Talk To Me" Mary sings:
"I would never disrespect you, you are the head
But there are so many things left unsaid..."
The communication theme is continued on "Roses", a midtempo track that Mary states is about "the new definition of love" that:
"...It ain't all about roses
Flowers and posies
It ain't all candy
This love stuff is demanding..."
In between the choruses Mary chimes in with spoken word kernels of her wisdom, that at first listen could throw you off a bit as at face value they sound an awful lot like needless, frustrated rants but come together as a great song, something only Mary could pull off without sounding contrived. Keeping up that same let's stay together vibe on the midtempo ballad, "Stay Down", Mary extols the virtues of couples staying together and "staying down" for each other in lyrics such as:
"Ten years strong and we're looking like a plan
I'm lookin' like your woman and you're lookin' like my man..."
Another of my favorites, the first real ballad of the album, "Hurt Again" has a 70's soul vibe with in it's live instrumentation. The Neptunes continue that 70's vibe on the club banger "Till The Morning", a different kind of track for them. I love this song, I can see the retro video now with Mary dancing around a club in a big afro wig or a Farrah Fawcett-esque weave ala the "Your Child" video. Pharrell, should get fitted for his leisure suit now.
"Shake Down", a duet with Usher on which they trade verses about shaking each other down, "robbing you for your love" they say, think, idea-wise of Kelis' "Stick Up", sound-wise think of the verses of "Love Changes", Mary's duet with Jamie Foxx. In either case, idea-wise it isn't exactly the strongest metaphor but still pleasing to the ear nevertheless.
My absolute favorite song on the album though is the sad love song, "Fade Away", produced by Stargate, a definite third single contender. It is the quintessential Mary J. Blige, sad slow song. It's a midtempo ballad in which Mary emotes beautifully on the chorus:
"Sometimes I wish that I could stand here and fade away
So that no one could see the tears running down my face..."
With a funky, underlying bass line, "Fade..." works great as a ballad (think along the same emotional quotient as "No More Drama", except sad) but would also translate well into dance remixes, something which has garnered Mary a larger, more diverse, gay fan base and has been a staple of her career since her "Mary" album (my favorite Mary J. Blige record) in 1999.
Other standouts on the album include the title track "Work In Progress (Growing Pains)". It's another one of my favorites and one of the best songs on the album vocally, but nevertheless, your standard I-may-be-a-star-but-I'm-normal-just-like-you song. Think, the older, slower, more mature sister of Mary's 1999 single "Deep Inside" from the "Mary" album.
"What Love Is", also produced by Stargate is a sweet, piano-laden ballad which like "Fade Away" is reminiscent to "No More Drama" with it's choir-ish vocals at the end. And speaking of piano-laden midtempo ballads there's "If You Love Me?", produced by Bryan Michael Cox. An effort in which he fails yet again, or never bothered to try to re-invent his own wheel, infusing the song with the same beautiful, yet-repetitive piano tinkling as he did in Mary's 2005 hit "Be Without You" and Danity Kane's "Ride For You" and Mya's "Life Is Too Short" among others. Like great producers have in the past such as The Neptunes and Timbaland, B. Cox is becoming a one trick pony. Luckily it's a trick that everyone seems to like for the time being. As lovely as "...Love Me?" is, the fact that is sounds like a "Be Without You" remix can't be denied.
Like "One" from "The Breakthough" album, and "Ultimate Relationship (A.M.)" from "Love & Life", Mary takes a slight switch in genre on the last track. Instead of the respective rock and gospel of those tracks Mary ends the album with "Come To Me (Peace)", an adult contemporary pop song. I know, I know, Mary has been down the adult contemporary road before, namely with "Give Me You" from the "Mary" album, but the subdued, pop vocals of "...Peace", a ballad about forgiveness, take things a step further, in turn taking Mary a step further.
Simply put, this album is excellent. There isn't a bad track on it. Just as "Mary" cemented, and "The Breakthrough" re-cemented Mary's status as an A-list musical performer I can only imagine what heights "Growing Pains" will take her to.
If you must download, download: "Grown Woman", "Just Fine", "Till The Morning", "Fade Away", "Work In Progress (Growing Pains)"
ALBUM IN STORES TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18th, 2007
Buy the album from Amazon.com here.
Website: MJBlige.com
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Playing In The Background...
"Fade Away"
by Mary J. Blige
from the album "Growing Pains"
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