Mary J Blige - 'Just Fine'
It's not massively relevant in a review of Mary's latest song, but in this cynical dog-eat-cat showbiz world, there never seems to be a good time to mention the good things celebs do for each other, so I'm just damn well going to MAKE time. OK?
It seems that the endless, enormous tabloid spotlight on Amy Winehouse is so bright, it can be seen from the other side of the Atlantic, prompting Ms Blige - a lady who has seen a thing or two, it's fair to say - to offer Amy some sororal* advice.
She told ITV: 鈥淚 have things to say to Amy Winehouse, loving things and things she will be able to relate to. But I don鈥檛 really think she can hear me right now, because when I was in a situation like she was in I couldn鈥檛 hear.鈥
Now, don't be making any jokes about how, if you're in such a bad way that it makes you go deaf, you really do need to get a few early nights. That would just mock the spirit in which these comments were made.
It's a good measure of where Mary J Blige, a lady who has had a fearsome diva reputation in her time, is at these days, that she can afford to be generous about the troubles of a 'rival' singer.
Anyway, to the song!
Wow, someone's been listening to the Jackson family recently, haven't they? From the super-high "woooh!" which launches the song, to the tumbledown, skippy bits just before the chorus, there's a real air of classic Michael (and equally classic Janet) to this super-bubbly party jam.
Having said that, there's also a fair slice of Ultra Nate's 'Free' to the chorus, so when Mary says "y'know I love music" at the beginning, you'd best believe it.
But, worthy as these influences are - and good as the song is - somehow you know she's capable of better than this. It's either the production which takes that honeyed rasp and half-buries it in the mix, or the frivolous, fun nature of the song itself, after a high profile torch song ('One') and a heartfelt career resume ('MJB Da MVP') from the Blige stable, but this just seems a bit flimsy.
Still, there's not many artists that can claim that their upbeat material suffers because of the brilliance of their weightier stuff (Westlife excepted...and I'd debate the word 'brilliance' from now until, well, forever).
Maybe we should just chalk this one up to that dodgy hearing she was talking about earlier?
Download: Out now
CD Released: February 4th
(Fraser McAlpine)
* No, not 'sore oral', it's the female equivalent of 'fraternal', and means 'sisterly', OK?
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