Mary 411 Album
Jennifer Downey
Mary is the fourth studio album by American singer Mary J. Blige, released August 17, 1999, on MCA Records. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 239,000 copies in its first week. It spent 57 weeks on the chart and produced five charting singles. Upon its release, Mary received acclaim from music critics. It has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of two million units in the United States.
According to critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine, the album showcases a creative move by Blige from urban contemporary to adult contemporary,[1] eschewing her previous work's overt hip hop elements and raunchy persona for classicist soul music and more mature songwriting.[2] Highlighted by sleek and polished production reminiscent of 1970s soul, Mary came as a surprise to many of her fans and critics. Similar to Blige's previous release Share My World, the singer served as executive producer. Blige worked with various artists on the album including Aretha Franklin, Lauryn Hill, Jadakiss, Eric Clapton, Elton John, K-Ci, and George Michael. "I'm in Love", "As" and "Let No Man Put Asunder" are cover versions of songs originally performed by The Gap Band, Stevie Wonder, and First Choice respectively.
Despite viewing its strength as "more in how Blige sings the songs than the songs themselves", Los Angeles Times writer Soren Baker commented that "the lively, supple instrumentation only adds to the force of her already dominating delivery" and noted "a more soul-stirring, straightforward R&B attitude than the hip-hop/R&B hybrid of her earlier collections".[9] Rolling Stone writer Tour said "Blige seems to have moved away from the Terry McMillan once-again-he's-breaking-my-heart mantra to, perhaps, an Oprah love-your-spirit ethos".[12] Christopher John Farley of Time wrote that "Mary is somewhat inconsistent in song quality, but Blige's soul-singed vocals save the weaker material".[18] Ann Powers of The New York Times viewed that the album exemplifies a "new conscience" of feminine themes in contemporary R&B at the time, adding that "if Mary gestures toward an older, non-hip-hop audience, it also makes the claim for Ms. Blige's canonization within the rhythm-and-blues hall of fame".[19] In his consumer guide for The Village Voice, critic Robert Christgau wrote, "Rather than hating playas, she's bored with them [...] all that she can say is that she's ready to love someone serious and walk away from anyone who isn't".[15]
In a retrospective review for The Rolling Stone Album Guide, Tom Moon deemed Mary an improvement over Blige's previous album, commenting that it "more fully realizes Blige's vision for Share My World".[20] AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine praised its "sheer classiness", writing that "There's still grit in the music, but it's been glossed over with a polished production".[2] Erlewine described it as "a rewarding, engaging way to mature" and wrote that "Blige's voice is richer and her skills have deepened, and her new songs, while not as streetwise, are worthy of her talents".[2]
In the United Kingdom, Mary marked Blige's highest-charting album yet, debuting at number five on the UK Albums Chart.[29] As steady seller, it was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on April 24, 2000 and reached Gold status on July 22, 13, indicating shipments of 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom.[30] In Canada, the album peaked at number nine on both RPM's Canada Top Albums/CDs and the Canadian R&B Albums chart.[31][32] On August 23, 1999, it was certified Gold by Music Canada for shipments of 40,000 copies.[33] Elsewhere, Mary became Blige's first top ten album in Sweden and first top 20 entry in Japan, Norway, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.[34]
Bringing an energy and attitude to old style string music and allowing it to burst forth with a freshness and vibrancy is at the heart of what makes Shane Smith and the Saints sound downright magical when they take the stage. Capturing that energy in the studio, and conceptualizing it to a point where the experience is even more hypnotic is what they accomplish on Hail Mary. Seas will remain stormy, as they are for every outfit that takes the independent approach to music. But this conceptualized and inspired work by Shane Smith and the Saints feels like it should mark the moment when obscurity falls to wide acceptance, and this band finds a sustainable home in music all their own.
Spot on review. The only negative for me is, like you say, the electric guitar can at times seem out of place. Having seen them live 5 times in the past year and a half, their albums, good as they are, do not compare to the in person experience.
The album is available in every way music enthusiasts and fans like to listen. Order here to purchase as an Audio CD, or for a truly immersive experience, purchase the Deluxe Edition 2-Disc set and listen in 5.1 Surround on High Fidelity Pure Audio Blu-ray (featuring two bonus tracks) and a copy of the audio CD.
EXCLUSIVELY HERE ONLY from her official website, get your physical copy signed and personalized by Mary for just a few dollars more. Any way you choose to listen, your ears will be happy. Order your preferred way below.
Hellooo! I've recorded 8 songs written from January 2020-July 2021 that will be my debut album, titled "Mary". My birth name is Mary, but I've only ever been called Molly. I was born with this dichotomy of self, which is reflected in each of these songs written over a period of time filled with many mixed messages. I'm not very good at asking for help and yet I truly believe in this thing I've created with the help of Collin Pastore and Jake Finch. It's my best work yet, and I want to do it right. I've saved all my pennies from this past year nannying and saved enough to pay for the recording process, but not enough to get these tracks mastered, music videos made, and merchandise created.
The duchess also played an important role in the establishment and development of friendship between Queen Charlotte and Delany, often facilitating or bearing witness to their material exchanges. Delany first exhibited her work to the queen during a royal visit to Bulstrode in 1776, where, as she later wrote, the informality of the gathering allowed for the transcendence of social rank and the establishment of a reciprocal friendship:
The King desired me to show the Queen one of my books of plants: she seated herself in the gallery; a table and the book laid before her. I kept my distance till she called me to ask some questions about the mosaic paper-work.[6]
Mrs Delany attempted to write to you to express her gratefull [sic] acknowledgements to the Queen, for the magnificent present Her Majesty did her the Honour to bestow on her; but is miserable to find her Eyes fail her too much to gratifye [sic] her sensibility on this occasion; indeed I think nothing can exceed her gratitude, she was delighted! with the Elegance & taste of the pocket-book & its contents; but when I read the Letter to her (her Eyes being too weak to read it herself) she was quite overcome, to receive such a mark of high Honour & great Condescension of her Majesty; which she shall ever esteem as a Treasure of the greatest value.[19]
It is generally agreed that Delany rarely, if ever, used graphite to sketch her patterns prior to cutting the paper. Rather, it was done by eye. If she cut from life in front of her, then the album gifted to Charlotte can be viewed as an intimate record of interactions between the two. A silhouette of George III at the start of the album points to an intimate acquaintance with and regular proximity to the king. Appearing as a sort of pasted-in frontispiece, it sets the tone of the work and, possibly, serves as a visual dedication to the monarch. This would also suggest, then, that the album was created as a gift and that Charlotte was, most likely, the intended recipient from its earliest inception.
[6] Delany, Letters from Mrs. Delany to Mrs. Frances Hamilton, from the year 1779, to the year 1788: comprising many unpublished and interesting anecdotes of their late majesties and the Royal Family (London: Longman & Co., 1820).
[18] The pocketbook has become an object of increasing interest to scholars of material culture and the royal court see the exhibition catalogue by Joanna Marschner, David Bindman and Lisa L. Ford eds., Enlightened Princesses: Caroline, Augusta, Charlotte, and the Shaping of the Modern World (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2017).
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