Tonight
A muted hip hop beat starts off proceedings, which will have you smacking your speakers to make sure that they are working properly before Mary starts Oh-ing over the introduction. Mary is in New York City and singing about what is going to happen Tonight. Her man and her find themselves in the same city for once and they are going to catch up. Mary can hardly wait, fighting with herself to be able to wait the few hours until he gets there, not to call him to see where he is. This is a great song with which to kick off thew album, it will have you nodding your head and looking forward to what comes next.
The One feat. Drake
A darker, Darkchild-produced, sound drops for Track Two. Hand claps, electronic beats and disjointed backing vocals feature over the verse to be sped up and joined by the snare drum for the chorus. Mary's voice is auto-tuned a little, as it was in 'Tonight', though Drake's rap receives this treatment in spades. Mary is singing that she is The One, how the other girls that the man she sings to has been with have nothing on her and how lucky this man is to be with her, since all other men want to be with her. She is telling the man she is with that he can stop looking now that they are together as; to quote Jay-Z, 'What's higher than Number One?' The track gets stronger the closer it gets to the end, where the autotune comes back in over a faster vocal which Mary speaks over to tell us that we're not ready for this. She acknowledges that finally she is standing up for herself and saying that she is The One. Another solid track.
Said And Done
This song has a hip hop vibe to it and the harpsichord accompanies the heavy beats of the introduction before everything strips back for the first verse. The backing vocals that join in just before the chorus soften the whole affair before Mary realises that when everything is Said And Done, she will still be loving her man and will do anything to see him smile. The song takes a darker turn when she asks her man to look back over everything that they have been through together, adding an extra strength to the track, exposing the strong foundation that they are built on. More of a grower rather than an immediate hit, this is still a good song.
Good Love feat. T.I.
A trumpet blast introduces us to 'Good Love', which is an upbeat party track. The brass features from start to finish, along with hand claps, drum beats and electronic melodies. The hand claps work to give this a gospel vibe that makes the song a celebration: A celebration of the Good Love that Mary is coming to get whether T.I. is ready or not. She asks whether she is coming on too strong but the question is rhetoric since she is going to get hers. T.I. encourages this behaviour with his rap; telling woman to be more aggressive in the game and how they need to stay away from little boys and go for real men like him, with enough Good Love for each and every woman out there... The track will have you smiling and get you up on out of your seat.
I Feel Good
The introduction to this song leads us down a Dance path, that switches to a more refined, soulful vibe when the piano leads into Mary's vocal about being the centre of attention, walking around as though she is someone important, getting jealous glances from haters but looks of approval from those who know her. Mary feels good and is unapologetic about this. She asks for others not to try to bring her down, less for fear of their success, more for them not to waste their efforts. The tone has a calm serenity, giving the lyric more credibility than if the song were a reproduction of 'Just Fine' from 'Growing Pains'.
I Am
The most beautiful strings drop back to minimal percussion and piano accompaniment to Mary's vocal about nobody being able to come close to satisfying her man the way that she does. The chorus and second verse have more in the way of musical support, not that Mary needs this as she is more than convincing on her own and sounds incredible. This is fast becoming a favourite from 'Stronger With Each Tear'.
Each Tear
'I Am' leads straight into 'Each Tear', which has been recorded with a veriety of guest artists for various releases all over the world. The Italian version with Tizianno Ferro acheived great success in Italy and I love the version with Jay Sean recorded for the upcoming UK release of this project. Mary sings how, with Each Tear, there is a lesson to be learned that will bring you closer to your dreams and make you stronger than before. There is no amount of crying, pain or heartbreak that can take you away from what you are meant to be and if you remember this, it will make each tear easier to shed. The song ends with the statement, 'We can't be held down', providing words of encouragement for anybody enduring when they should chance upon the song. Musically, there is a regimented beat to the song, bird-song strings and a sweet piano melody that all add to lift the mood of the song. Fantastic.
I Love You
There is electonic accompaniment, tribal beats and an auto-tuned, stuttered vocal from Mary that says how she feels that her man is holding back on her, whilst she is loving him one hundred per cent. She sings that this is not fair and that, whilst she does not want to live a lie, she needs this man in her life. Mary is sure of her emotions but doesn't know how her man feels and the fast pace and music convey this confusion perfectly.
Hood Love feat. Trey Songz
Strings give rise to a Spanish guitar that starts the track with a slow melody which is echoed by the percussion accompaniment. Mary is singing to her man and explaining that their love is so good that it is going to go down in the history books as one of the greatest love stories of all time. 'Hood Love' is what they have, which is a relationship with plenty of ups and downs. At times, Mary will be cussing and screaming as though the relationship is over and the next minute she will be craving her partner. Hood Love is Real Love, which is not always plain sailing. The music drops back when Trey Songs begins his section, which gives the listener the feeling that Mary is the more Hood out of the two and the one possibly wearing the trousers in the relationship. This one is a grower.
Kitchen
A heavy beat and low strings start off this song, which the piano makes a lighter affair with the bouncy notes that it brings to the party. This is a mid paced song about Mary calling a potential love rival before they have a problem with her trying to make a move on her man. Mary's confidence is there, acknowledging that she could get somebody else but she says that she considers what she has done for her man an investment, likens taking her man to taking her money and that just ain't happening. Mary is not professing to be worldy-wise, though she offers ladies the advice not to allow other women to cook in your kitchen. They'll first be in your fridge, next thing you know they'll be in your stove with their eyes on your man and their hands on your pot. The song ends, leaving you to mull over the pearl of wisdom you have been offered, for Mary to come back and hit the point home one last time before fading out again.
In The Morning
The piano and strings feature once more on the introduction, though this time the brass provides the accompaniment, adding weight to the track. This is a slow jam about a shadow of darkness hanging over a relationship. Mary knows that she loves her partner and, although he says that he loves her too, she does not quite believe him. The darkness is the arguments that they are having and Mary asks that once that have worked through these and the light dawns, will her man love her In The Morning? The pre-chorus, speeds the song to a climax just before the respite of the actual chorus, where the morning comes and there is calm after the storm. As the song progresses, the question becomes more of a request, with Mary explicitly asking her partner to stay with her and not give up. The emotion that Mary brings makes the song and you will be caught up in this, before the finger snaps start and the high strings bring a whisper of optimism to the situation. The song leads straight into:
I Can See In Color
Taken from the soundtrack to the movie 'Precious', this is another ballad about reaching a point in your life where you can finally See In Colour. The organs provide minimal support to the lyric that shows how for the very first time, life is full of promise for Mary. She likens this point in her life to the spring time, the beginning of her life and she realises that she is on the cusp of great things. Despite the positivity of the lyric, the tone is somewhat sombre, in direct contrast to what is being said. The consequence of this is that, although you want to believe the emotional Mary, you can't help but think that she could be mistaking Spring for Autumn and find herself back in the darkness of winter all too soon. The simplicity of the track is its charm and, with Mary telling things as they are in her life in her music, it has been a good three albums since we have heard such a raw Mary J. Blige now that things are going swimmingly for her. Take the time to get to know this track and you are going to love it.
Stronger (Bonus Track)
The acoustic guitar introduces us to the listed bonus track 'Stronger' that recognises the close calls that Mary has had with her partner. After weathering the storm that they have done so together, Mary knows that she will survive anything with her man by her side and there is no doubt in her mind that she is Stonger than before. High strings accompany the chorus along with a male backing vocal and what sounds like electronic woodwind. A good song with which to end the album.
Whole Lotta Love (Additional Bonus Track)
This Led Zeppelin cover is so good that I couldn't wait another twenty-four hours to make it the Tune of the Day and it bumped LeToya's new joint, 'Good To Me' straight outta there. As soon as the famous electric guitar rift comes in, the song just does not stop. Mary belts this one out and the additional beats and revs that she has added force you up out of your seat. This is an absolute powerhouse of a track and, although Mary adds more Hip Hop beats to it, she keeps it true to the song's rock roots with a blinding guitar solo. When you think it's all over, Mary just strikes it back up again and goes another round. I love this track!
I Can't Wait feat. Will.i.am (Additional Bonus Track)
The introduction sounds exactly like Robyn S' 'Show Me Love' before Will.i.am announces the arrival of the drums. The dancefloor feeling continues throughout the track, with a slower vocal than the music accompanying it. Mary is singing that she Can't Wait for the night to fall so that she can let her hair down, have some fun and party all night. Rather than making me want to hit the dancefloor, the song becomes annoying and repetitive to the point where it sounds like the needle is stuck on the record over a short rap by Will.i.am. The vocal that drops just before the very end of the track is the best thing about the song, though not worth the wait.
City On Fire (Additional Bonus Track)
The introduction to this song is strange. It is oriental, epic crunk. This description is appealing, though the song is anything but. A sampled, distorted spoken vocal provides Verse Two, making the song even more weird and I just don't get this. Gospel elements go some way to redeeming the song around three minutes in and the track ends much better than it begins indicating that, with more work, the song could turn into something brilliant.
Stairway To Heaven (Additional Bonus Track)
The guitar, clarinet and strings introduce this slower track, which is another depature from the rest of the album and another Led Zeppelin cover version. Less successful that 'Whole Lotta Love', this is potentially a grower as I do like the orchestral feel that Mary has given the song, though it is in danger of being one rock cover version too many.
Mary J. Blige has been on fire lately, she sounds much better these days than she has done before and is turning in good song after good song. 'The Breakthrough' and 'Growing Pains' are amongst her best work and, whilst 'Stronger With Each Tear' is a little below the standard of these two, the difference is marginal and there are some fantastic songs on this that warrant the purchase. 'Tonight', 'The One' 'I Am', 'Good Love' and 'Whole Lotta Love' are all begging to be released as singles. Given the single choices from 'Growing Pains', however, I am interested to see whether Ms. Blige agrees and what she will go for. On top of the album, there is 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' with Andrea Bocelli on release for the recent disaster in Haiti. There seems no stopping the Queen of Hip Hop and Rn'B and long may she reign!
Mary J. Blige's Official Website: www.mjblige.com
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