2024 the best of mary j blige review
Price: $12.94 - Amazon Music Unlimited
(as of Dec 12, 2024 12:47:09 UTC - Details)
Geffen Records superstar and hit-making songwriter Mary J. Blige, is set to follow-up the most successful album of her career, the triple platinum The Breakthrough, with her eighth (8th) studio CD Growing Pains. Growing Pains includes the single "Just Fine" which has become an instant favorite on radio and on MTV, BET and VH-1. The second single from Growing Pains, "Work That," is currently featured in an Apple I-Pod commercial.
After selling over 40 million CDs and garnering six Grammy Awards during her phenomenal 15-year career, Mary is confident that her fans will not be disappointed with Growing Pains. "They're going to get a sense of what my state of mind is and how I view the world," she says. "And hopefully, most of all, they're going to hear just the sincere honesty and love that I have for them." She adds, "Growing Pains represents accepting that there's pain that goes along with growing and change. No pain, no gain."
Growing Pains, with Mary co-writing most of the songs on the album, features guest appearances by Ludacris and Usher and production by The Neptunes, Jazze Pha, Johnta Austin, Neyo, Stargate, Bryan-Michael Cox, Dre and Vidal, Tricky, Dream, and Sean Garrett.
Mary makes her message loud, clear and seriously funky on the first release "Just Fine" produced by Jazze Pha and Tricky and co-written by Mary and Dream. A celebration of life, "Just Fine" gives you Mary fierce, and as the video shows, glamorous. The song's vibe? "Sometimes it feels like you're having this miserable time, like all 365 days of the year are tough. But then, you get one of those days; maybe when your hair is great, or you're not stuck in traffic; where it's a `just fine' day. At some point," Mary laughs, "You've got have one or two of those."
The party and positivity keeps on keeping on with the rump shaking second single "Work That." Mary comments, "When I meet a woman who doesn't know what to do about her weight or her hair I always say - `whatever it is that you have, make that work for you, Work what you got.'"
After releasing her bestselling anthology Reflections last year, Growing Pains is Mary's first CD of new material since The Breakthrough debuted at #1 in 2005, selling over 700,000 copies its first week -- the best opening week for a solo R&B female artist in SoundScan history. The album's first single, "Be Without You," also made chart history by holding down the #1 spot on the Billboard R&B charts for a record breaking 16 straight weeks; making it the longest-running No. 1 song on the R&B chart in over 40 years. Mary led all artists with eight 2007 Grammy nominations for the landmark album, and she took home honors for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Song (both for "Be Without You"), and Best R&B Album. After earning three Grammy Awards, she continued her award show domination by winning nine Billboard Music Awards, two American Music Awards, two BET Awards, two NAACP Image Awards, and a Soul Train Award. The Breakthrough lived up to its name selling over seven million copies worldwide. More from Mary J. Blige
ReflectionsA Retrospective
The Breakthrough
My Life
What's the 411?
No More Drama
Share My World
Mary
Love & Life
The Tour
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
Language : English
Product Dimensions : 4.88 x 5.55 x 0.51 inches; 3.39 ounces
Manufacturer : Geffen
Original Release Date : 2007
Date First Available : October 16, 2007
Label : Geffen
ASIN : B000X3VN5U
Number of discs : 1
Reviewer: D. Kelly
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: MJB "Reign Totally Supreme"...Haters are NULL and VOID!
Review: Simply put, Mary is at her best with this album. It shows growth, maturity, and the ability to state that she is able to be consistent with making music for a good period of time. Since her first album in 1992 titled "What's The 411?", she has truly handled her business with making great music. It's so hard to still be able to "sell music" after your 20s in the entertainment business. You have to keep up with the times. Mary has done that, along with the help of fans who admire her professionally with still making music and personally with overcoming the bitter, harsh, and real things that any person can go through in their life. People have so many negative opinions about her from "She can't sing... She is a crackhead....She is no female vocalist..". However, these people fail to see that she can sing. No, she doesn't have Mariah Carey or Beyonce-like range and vocals. However, she sings totally from the soul and from the girl-around-the-way approach that anyone, especially women can relate. On top of that, she has overcome the use of marijuana and alcohol, along with past bad relationships along the way. She's finally self-confident to herself, her music and her life and is content with being the best Mary J. Blige she can be in her lifetime.As for the album, I truly am impressed with "Smoke", "Fade Away", "Stay Down", "Hurt Again" and "Roses". All of these songs truly set the album at its best. Ne-Yo did an excellent job with writing and co-producing 4 songs off the album, "Smoke" being one of those songs he wrote. He did showcase and exemplify that Mary can sing songs beyond the "crying", "hurting" and the "pain", which Mary is truly signatured for with singing R&B/Hip-Hop/Soul songs (i.e. "My Life"). As for songs "Talk to Me" and "If You Love Me", Mary keeps us with what she is always been known for regarding songs coming from the soul grasping her straightforwardness when she sings about love-being in it, getting out of it and having gone through it. She sets her own standards with song expression like no other. From the rough, raw, soulful but realness in her voice, she has truly stood out and will forever do so.Now, with reading this, "Should you buy the album?"...YES! If you are a true Mary J. Blige fan, you must do so. If you don't, that's fine. However, please respect the true fact that she is the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul. Hate it or Love it!
Reviewer: Unique Bandelé James
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: I Love It... Received It 10 Days Earlier Than Expected!!!
Review: I am a huge Mary J. Blige fan and I own all her studio albums (purchased either on a CD, iTunes, or Amazon mp3) and I really love the fact that singers/musicians/artists release their albums to other countries with bonus tracks. I don't like that these bonus tracks aren't made available to people in the United States, and I assume it may be because countries other than the U.S. show a true appreciation for artists (especially those in R&B). With that being said, I love the price point for this album. I remember looking at this exact product possibly 2 to 3 years ago (maybe even longer than that) and I recall the product being more expensive than the ~$5 (before taxes and shipping) I paid for it. I ordered this item on Oct. 22, 2016 and I just looked in the mail today (Nov. 14, 2016) and was excited to see it. It was estimated that I would receive this purchase around Nov. 23rd, so for me to receive it 10 days earlier is impressive. Although 23 days elapsed for me to receive my order and that might seem long to some, for a priceless gem like this, it was worth the wait. To the distributor and Amazon, thank you for allowing international business and bridging the gap for some of us who love music and would like access to certain musical masterpieces!
Reviewer: Willie E. Robinson
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Mary
Review: I'm not typically a Mary J. Blige fan but I heard the song "just fine" at a dance and it blew me away. I asked my people seated around me who was singing that song and no one knew, so I asked the DJ. He said it was the Mary J remix with Chubb Rock. I wasn't able to find the remix so I bought this Mary J cd for that one particular song but let me tell you, this cd is the best I've ever heard by Mary J. I'm very happy I bought it. The first cd I ordered was flawed, after I reported it to the seller, I immediately received a brand new copy. Five (5) stars.
Reviewer: ThatGirlT
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Great work and LP
Review: This album is hot. I didn't realize I didn't have this one in my CD collection but I was too excited when I found it in vinyl format! The album cover is great and the album themselves plays beautifully! I was tempted to purchase the Amazon offering but I've learn from previous purchases, the Amazon offering comes in a generic black jacket with a sticker of the original artwork, so buyers beware if you are serious about your album's artwork. This jacket is awesome!
Reviewer: D.B.
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: LOVE MY QUEEN OF R&B
Review: This CD is awesome! I'm actually mad at myself for not getting it sooner! I actually thought I had it, and discovered that I did not. In my most honest opinion, it's a great CD that offers a variety of music. You have everything from danceable tracks, to some funky almost takes me back a bit, to MJB connecting us to her soul, and some easy listening! I'm very happy with my CD and love that MJB can still bring it "Full Throttle!"
Reviewer: Debra Donlan
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Mary J
Review: I give Mary J 5 stars I bought her cd when it first came out but had problems with computer to down load on my phone , so I bought her on my kindle and that went on my I phone. Mary J sings songs about real life happenings that you can relate to, love her music
Reviewer: 10gamma
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Another GREAT CD By M.J. Blige!!!
Review: I played her last CD ("Breakthrough") so much that it is still hot from being in my CD player,...and, I really did not think that she could top that CD with this latest venture, but BOY was I wrong!!! This CD is just as GREAT as the last one, and there are some sure-nuff funky stuff on this one as well....especially cut #2!! Start engraving her name on another GRAMMY!!!!
Reviewer: Amazon Customer
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Pretty Good CD
Review: I really do like this CD. The messages in her song, I hear loud and clear. People want her to still be stuck in a drama filled life, but this woman has grown. I struggled in my life as well and listened to her music. I enjoy her music very much, especially the Breakthrough and My Life (my favorite CD). As her life changes for the better, her music changes and sends such a different message. I listen to the words and say that's where I am in my life, happy and glad to be where I am and I believe that's the messages she is sending.
Reviewer: Annalivia Tambone
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Mary J Blige è sempre impeccabile nell'elaborazione dei testi e del sound musicale, ma in questo disco tranne per qualche traccia commerciale, il resto delle canzoni vanno riascoltate più volte per essere apprezzate.Il disco Growing Pains si apre con il singolo Work That che riesce a rappresentare al meglio l'artista nel suo tipico vivace R&B.Spicca la collaborazione con Ludacris in Grown Woman in stile hip hop/ rap considerandola tra le canzoni più radiofoniche del disco. Mary J Blige si supera duettando anche con Usher in Shake Down , canzone in genere Hip hop soul, decisamente più raffinato. Ci sono diverse ballate tra cui: What love is e If you love me.L'unica cosa che mi è dispiaciuta è che è arrivato il disco un pò graffiato.
Reviewer: mr m.
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Arrived in time and in excellent quality, thank you so much
Reviewer: La Chris
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: C'est le premier album de Mary J.Blige que j'achète et je peux dire que je n'ai pas été déçue. Il y a deux choses qui m'ont décidé à l'acheter: tout d'abord la chanson "What Love is" que je n'ai écouté qu'une seule fois sur une station de radio mais qui m'a énormément touché : elle est magnifique; et les 2 avis déjà publiés sur ce site.Cet album m'a réconcilié avec le r'n'b made in US qui pour ma part devenait lassant. Il y a vraiment de magnifique morceaux qui auraient mérités d'avoir une diffusion sur les radios ou chaînes musicales. Je pense notamment à son duo avec Usher:"Shake down", "Stay Down", "Hurt Again" ou encore "Come to me". Mary J.Blige a vraiment une voix qui se démarque de beaucoup de jeunes chanteuses d'aujourd'hui car quand on l'écoute on sent qu'il y a du vécu et personnellement je ne peux pas rester insensible à cela. En résumé, c'est un album que j'invite à écouter et à acheter.
Reviewer: BIG COL
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Good tracks even though I only bought it for one track
Reviewer: Stefano
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: A true R&B, Soul and Hip-Hop fan cannot miss what can be considered a masterpiece, in my opinion. The album is so polished, refined, enjoyable starting from the opening, positive track Work That through to the beautiful closing ballad, Peace (Come To Me).