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Track Listings
| 1. Intro |
| 2. Mary Jane (All Night Long) |
| 3. You Bring Me Joy |
| 4. Marvin Interlude |
| 5. I'm The Only Woman |
| 6. K. Murray Interlude |
| 7. My Life |
| 8. You Gotta Believe |
| 9. I Never Wanna Live Without You |
| 10. I'm Goin' Down |
| 11. My Life Interlude |
| 12. Be With You |
| 13. Mary's Joint |
| 14. Don't Go |
| 15. I Love You |
| 16. No One Else |
| 17. Be Happy |
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
During one of the "interludes" on My Life, Keith Murray is rapping about "Grab your cranium for my ultimatum", when someone in the studio control booth asks producer Chucky Thompson, "Hey, Chuck, put on some of that smooth [stuff]". 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 favour of the soul diva--as a repudiation of hip-hop in favour 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 premier soul diva of the hip-hop generation. --Geoffrey Himes
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
i decided recently that if i could only have one album for the rest of my life......it would be this.....anybody who likes soul, r&b or wotever you wanna call it should hear this album.....
if you only listen to ashanti and co then buy this album and witness how hip-hop inspired soul is meant to sound......
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
If you want to hear a woman in love with a man who is in the process of dumping her than My Life is waiting for your ears. Song by song, Blige lets listeners into her troubled relationship with K-Ci Hailey from the R&B group Jodeci. She may not have the best voice in the world, but like her debut album, What's The 411?, Blige still lets you know she is and will always be the Queen of Hip Hop Soul. This time singing over more sophisticated samples, Blige opens up with the Rick James sampled "Mary Jane," in which she pleads, "if you give me one more chance/I can still show you romance." A couple of tracks later she takes you into "I'm The Only Woman" and if you know Blige, you know she's not afraid to hide her feelings on wax. It takes a few minutes but Blige goes from "I'm The Only Woman" to the Roy Ayers sampled "My Life." Sounding like she's on the verge of tears she quails, "if you look at my life you will see I'm so blue." As much as we love her honesty on some tracks it's clearly blatant she's a woman in love on the bass driven, "Be With You"
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
My Life, the follow-up to 1992's What's The 411?, sees Mary change direction. Gone is the minimal backing of Changes I've Been Going Through, instead the tracks are backed by a range of synthesisers and a full band. While it's predecessor was more hip-hop influenced, My Life heads in a more soulful diection, as shown on tracks such as I'm Goin' Down, her signature tune. 70's soul samples by the likes of Barry White, Curtis Mayfield and Roy Ayers are used to full effect on the hip-hop soul of You Bring Me Joy, the classic sounding I'm The Only Woman and the dreamy My Life. Each track is good or very good, with the exception of the dull, overlong ballads You Gotta Believe and Never Wanna Live Without You. Overall, one of Mary's most consistent works.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
mary, mary...
this was the most personal album that mary's done. it is also the best. songs like 'i'm the only woman', 'no one else' and the sublime 'be happy' blow me away, even after all these... Read more
Published on 12 July 2005 by gigi81
Best of the bunch
Having also listened to 'What's the 411', 'Mary' and 'No More Drama', I've come to the conclusion that MJB is an outstanding soul singer but the material/producers she works with... Read more
Published on 11 July 2005 by M. Kilpatrick
Excellent
As i'm a big big fan of Mary J Blige the album My Life is wicked, when i mean the woman can sing oh my gosh, anyone who isnt a Mary fan it doesn't matter. Read more
Published on 25 Feb 2005 by Leon
the best of the lot
If you're only ever gonna buy one of her albums this is her most soulful, most moving album. You can hear the pain and tell that there was plenty of drama going on at this point. Read more
Published on 8 Mar 2004
Fantastic!
Every song on this album could be released as a single. Mary J is a legend and a diva. Sexy sounds and soulful lyrics open your mind. Read more
Published on 4 Jan 2001
v. good !
i got this cd today and have just listened to it. it's really a must have just for 'i'm the only woman' and the superbly powerful 'i'm goin down'. Read more
Published on 10 April 2000
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