"My Life II ... the Journey Continues (Act 1)," by Mary J. Blige
“My Life II ... The Journey Continues (Act 1),” Mary J. Blige (Geffen)
Sequels never seem to come from the same place as the original, so they’re typically inferior.
The clunky, pretentious title alone of Mary J. Blige’s “My Life II ... The Journey Continues (Act 1)” indicates she’s made a terrible miscalculation on her new project.
But here’s the 40-year-old singer following up on her 1994 breakthrough “My Life,” and so much has changed since she was a 23-year-old aspiring singer struggling with a hard-knock life. Now she’s one of the most revered R&B vocalist around, lifetimes away from the affecting “My Life.”
The dread shifts into reality as “My Life II” unfolds. Top shelf guests march through like so much window dressing, the glossy production upstages the songs, and Blige gamely belts away unconvincing, shallow lyrics, putting an exclamation point at the end of most every line.
Credit her amazing pipes for keeping it together early on, salvaging cornball lines like, “You’re the only one I need, baby come to me!” (on “Don’t Mind”). Meanwhile, an animated Busta Rhymes helps the grainy electro of “Next Level” deliver primal reward, and an innovative beat treatment and tasty bass work to the benefit of “Midnight Drive.”
Still, a pounding club cover of Rufus & Chaka Khan’s “Ain’t Nobody” is simply gratuitous, and a militaristic arrangement makes the overwrought — and hokey — “25/8” feel like an assault. Then there’s an awkward, slow-jam duet with Drake, “Mr. Wrong,” that merely drags by.
Fortunately Blige finishes big, really big, on “My Life II.” She and Beyonce team up for the grandstanding “Love a Woman,” dispensing advice to men that will be quoted for years to come. Blige subsequently touches a nerve as a weary lover conveying chilling soul on “Empty Prayer,” she devastates with the loneliness of “Need Someone” (“It doesn’t have to be me ... but you, you need someone to love you”) and she musters an ideal showpiece finale with “The Living Proof.”
Her sendoff shows we don’t need any more sequels. We just need more Mary J. Blige, gimmick-free.
Rating (five possible): 3-1/2
- |
Comments » 0
Be the first to post a comment!
Share your thoughts
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.