Rapper Jay-Z and rock band U2 lend their waning musical credibility to Mary J. Blige's new album "The Breakthrough."
Yes, the album is catchy and at times lyrically inspirational, but it took a small army of musicians and producers backing Blige to create the new songs. Blige seems to have invited everyone she knows and their granddaddy to work on "The Breakthrough." The only thing Blige attempts to "breakthrough" is the entourage of other artists, so her own voice can be heard. It's unfortunate because the monster the album itself has swallowed up Blige's raw but angelic voice.
The monster roars with ordinary bass thuds and samples from long-standing Motown tunes, and Blige only emerges from the monster's depths to communicate cliché messages of love.
The long list of names credited in the liner notes rival the lengthy end credits for Peter Jackson's "King Kong." And not only is there a cornucopia of folks working on the songs, but Blige thanks everyone from Jesus to her lawyers in the CD jacket.
It seems that Blige's response to the low record sales of her 2003 release, "Love and Life," is to amplify the number of people contributing to her album.
And if high record sales is the bottom line for Blige, she has accomplished her goal with "The Breakthrough."
The new album, which was released Dec. 20, sold a towering 727,000 copies in the first week almost three times as many as her last first-week record.
And the song "Be Without You" is No. 1 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs as of Monday. The success of the album proves that fans of the R&B star have stayed true, even though she seems to have lost her edgy sound from her 1992 debut album, "What's the 411?"
Blige is no longer trying to prove that she has street cred but just wants to solidify herself as a strong woman which she has already established on past albums.
On the track "Baggage," which credits eight co-writers, Blige offers "I got all of this baggage with me/Don't wanna make you pay for what somebody else has done to me/I don't know what to do." She's not communicating any new knowledge with these lyrics.
And appearances by Jay-Z and U2 are laughable at best.
Jay-Z briefly introduces and concludes "Can't Hide From Luv," with words of encouragement for Blige. He doesn't rap and only mentions the same message at the beginning and end of the song. "It's just beautiful music ladies and gentlemen/ Turn the music up loud/ I've got a feeling in my soul."
As for U2, the members redo their worn-out tune "One" with Blige. Bono's voice is a lot raspier this time and at one point whispers "Mary" in an even creepier tone to signal Blige to start singing. Blige actually does a great job with the U2 song. She's singing in a gospel style and making Bono sound terrible in comparison.
Bono is already everywhere else he doesn't need to be on this album.
Although all the songs are upbeat and memorable, the album seems to hide the talented voice of Blige. The album would work better with a stripped-down sound to highlight Blige's voice without all the extra riffraff of musicians and producers.