Mary J. Blige’s highly anticipated "The London Sessions" (to be released December 2, 2014) is a musical delight full of powerful, inspiring messages – old love, newer relationships, encouragement, and even some faster tunes worthy of the dance floor. Mary has come a LONG way since her “What’s the 411?” rendition with Grand Puba (remember the 90’s)? London Sessions has (mostly) sophisticated, classy lyrics, with the exception of a double negative or two (“I’m not about to waste NO time”) and a few cuss words (compliments of track 8 – “Whole D-mn Year”). All around though, the album is an enjoyable one and the instrumentation is much better than average.
The most impressive track on this album is song 1 – Therapy. If you’re a fan of India Arie’s music, chances are you’ll appreciate Mary J. Blige’s “Therapy”. With soulful, clear lyrics and an awesome acoustic humming in the background, this song makes reference to being stressed out due to a relationship that’s going through a trial. Who can’t relate? I actually like the sound of the music and her voice much more than I like lyrics. Not exactly sure what “…when I can go therapy two times a day” means.
Track 2, Doubt, lends itself to good old gospel music with its inspirational message, beginning piano tunes, and choir-like background vocals. This song of perseverance is sure to pop up at many a high school graduation next spring. Wanna bet?
Not Loving You seems more of the opposite of Track 2. In a soft ballad style and strong voice, Mary is gently speaking to a friend who is down on luck and needs to learn to start loving him/herself. Beautiful music, and I even like the “idea” of the song, but I wish Mary had gotten deeper into sending across a message. I guess I was hoping for more of a therapeutic approach – with a lyric about “smiling”, “everything is alright,” and “you’re beautiful and worth it”. Rather, she simply states, “There’s only so much I can do if you’re not loving you.”
Of the few upbeat songs – Right Now (great song for the dance floor), My Loving, and Pick Me Up (I love the sounds of the horn) – Right Now is by far my favorite. It boasts a sophisticated beat with some interesting instrumentals (I haven’t figured out what instrument is making the soft popping song, but I like it)!
Mary J. Blige fans will not be disappointed with this album. Even my least favorite tracks were pleasant enough for me to listen to a second time.
Visit http://bit.ly/MJBLondon to preorder/order The London Sessions on iTunes, or http://bit.ly/MJBLS to preorder/order on Amazon.
