"Christmas Tears," is a fiery performance with Blues Traveler head John Popper guesting, while the other is a collaboration between Clapton and Tracy Chapman on "Give Me One Reason," not exactly a Yuletide standard. That mix of the useful and the puzzling is typical of the whole CD. It's good to hear Mary J. Blige's force encouraging Sheryl Crow to push her vocal limit, even on a tune as lightweight as "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree." But why doesn't Blige, the 1990s' preeminent female R&B voice, get to work out on, say, Phil Spector's "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)"? Mainly because Jon Bon Jovi is instead called upon to lamely replicate Bono's vocal from the first Very Special disc. This too-often calcified offering is hardly this charity seri...  (less)

Murray disappears; the dreamy synth chords of Blige's title track emerge, and her sultry voice moans with a combination of weary loneliness and unslaked desire. The ballad which follows is "smooth" but never slick, for the singer's sinuous, extended notes confess the blues even as they yearn for something better. It's tempting to see this little scenario--the rapper being turned off in favor of the soul diva--as a repudiation of hip-hop in favor of old-fashioned R&B. An honest listen to this album, however, makes such an interpretation impossible. Blige does no actual rapping herself on her long-awaited second outing, but the sound of "My Life" would have been impossible without hip-hop. The results confirm the promise of Blige's '92 debut; she is the p...  (less)

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 so...  (less)

her infamous interview turned potential catfight with Veronica Webb?--it's the tag of royalty that counts. This collection of 23 tracks culled from various stops on her Share My World tour is the perfect sample of her highness's indisputable talent and a reminder that unlike many in her field, she is a powerhouse performer, not merely a studio puppet. The hits span her three studio albums, and while some cuts barely reach the two- minute mark, her renderings of favorites like "Real Love," "I'm Goin' Down," and "Mary Jane" more than make up for them. True to form, she also revives a couple of other classics--Aretha Franklin's "Daydreaming" and Dorothy Moore's "Misty Blue." The Tour is both a great introduction for the uninitiated and an essential ad...  (less)

album, history making #1 single, galvanizing television appearances and a sold out tour, 2006 became the 12-month span in which the multiple platinum selling, Grammy winning Queen of Hip Hop Soul scaled new creative, personal and commercial heights. So after all of those dazzling achievements what does Mary J do to top it? Simple. She rewards her fans by recording yet another classic in the making - REFLECTIONS - A RETROSPECTIVE. A much anticipated and long awaited collection Reflections -A Retrospective not only gathers together all Mary J's timeless greatest hits but features FOUR NEW GREATEST HITS TO BE - the first of which is the hot single "We Ride (I See The Future"). Spanning the entirety of Mary J's spectacular 15-year career Reflections- A Retrospective is mo...  (less)

album, history making #1 single, galvanizing television appearances and a sold out tour, 2006 became the 12-month span in which the multiple platinum selling, Grammy winning Queen of Hip Hop Soul scaled new creative, personal and commercial heights. So after all of those dazzling achievements what does Mary J do to top it? Simple. She rewards her fans by recording yet another classic in the making - REFLECTIONS - A RETROSPECTIVE. A much anticipated and long awaited collection Reflections -A Retrospective not only gathers together all Mary J's timeless greatest hits but features FOUR NEW GREATEST HITS TO BE - the first of which is the hot single "We Ride (I See The Future"). Spanning the entirety of Mary J's spectacular 15-year career Reflections- A Retrospective is mo...  (less)

incomparable Mary J Blige!  (less)