The queen of soul and drama
Mary J. Blige
Growing Pains
(Geffen Records)
By Menreet Kaur
Choice Cut : ''Just Fine,'' ''Feel Like a Woman,'' ''Shake Down,'' ''Roses,'' ''Come To Me''
Little Miss Tragedy, that's Mary J. Blige. Her eighth album, Growing Pains, is nothing short of a prescription for any lady who needs some reassurance and heartfelt sympathy when they are going through a tough phase. From rape to drugs to deception, MJB has been through it all. In the track "Come to Me (Peace)," she pledges to everyone that she'll "restore freedom" and "carve away the worries in your heart." Evidently, there can never be too many lovelorn souls who do relate to those sentiments and inevitably helped Growing Pains soar right to the top of the Billboard R&B Album charts.
On her previous album, The Breakthrough, MJB dealt with issues and faced her addictions and fears candidly. The progressive thought would be for MJB to capture the essence of monumental change in her life with a mellower and more introspective approach. Instead, Growing Pains is still flying high on emotions in extreme directions, especially on the tracks "Just Fine" and "If You Love Me?" For MJB, it's still the same old, same old -- too much drama.
Musically, MJB's collaborations with Ludacris ("Grown Woman") and Usher ("Shake Down") do give the album a much needed edge, adding volume and depth with outstanding strings arrangement and beats orchestration. Despite the sparks, MJB needs to know that we're living in a century where pain is completely overrated. Let's pray that her next album would exude "growing pleasure" instead.
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