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Album Review: Mary J. Blige, "The Breakthrough" (Geffen)
"The Breakthrough" is the latest release from Mary J. Blige , and it's a flava-ful release that reveals a more confident, happier "hip-hop soul queen."
Blige fuses a potent mix of her soul/hip-hop hybrid throughout. Yeah, the occasional break-up song still finds its way onto "The Breakthrough," but mostly this disc sees the now-married diva at a clearly happier point in life, evidenced by tracks like the classic soul of "I Found My Everything," where MJB channels her inner Aretha, and the devotional "Be Without You."
Touching torch songs aside, the album also includes dance floor dynamos "About You" and "Gonna Breakthrough," songs that recall Blige's fiercest radio hits.
Still, all is not flawless. The biographical "MJB the MVP," while impressively honest, is essentially a clumsy retread of 50 Cent and The Game's "Hate It or Love It." And by the final few tracks of the disc, the slow-jams, like "Father in You" and "Alone," just seem like throwaways buried deep on this 16-track disc.
But fans willing to go long will be rewarded with a compelling remake of U2's "One," performed with the help of U2--not to mention the hidden barnburner that closes the album.
While it doesn't quite live up to its name, "The Breakthrough" is an album readymade for the bedroom and the dancefloor--if only a few cuts remained on the studio floor.
