Macy Gray - On How Life Is
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CD Details
Artist: Macy GrayEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 1999-07-27
Music Label: Sony
Soundtracks:
- Why Didn't You Call Me
- Do Something
- Caligula
- I Try
- Sexomatic
- I Can't Wait To Meetchu
- Still
- I've Committed Murder
- Moment To Myself, A
- Letter, The
Music reviews of On How Life Is
Music Review: The Joys Of Non-Conformity
Rating: 5 Stars
Macy Gray had a great thing going right from the start. Emmerging at the tail end of the 90's at a time when people such as Destiny's Child and TLC were still at the R&B forefront,and the Jill Scott's and Alicia Keys' were still a couple years away Macy actually helped get the ball rolling on what I suppose what could be called retro soul,something of a successor (or companion depending on how your talking to) of the popular 90's genre of neo soul. Not that this particular album doesn't borrow to some degree from the same hip-hop sources as neo soul did however the one thing that gives this album it's character is as much the persona of the artist as the music itself.
This particular album is divided basically between two different styles; Sly Stone/Larry Graham style deep funk jams such as "Why Didn't You Call Me","Caligula","Sex'O Matic Venus Freak" and "I've Commited Murder" as well as 70's Memphis/Ann Peebles style deep soul midtempo tunes with a lot of organ riffs and high bubbly basslines such as "Do Something","Still" and of course Macy's breakout hit "I Try"-not the type of song you'd think would rule the radio during the turn of the millenium. But much the same as with Toni Toni Tone's surprise smash "Thinking Of You" a couple years previous to this it was a welcomed return of the Hi soul sound to pop radio. When it comes to Macy's personality that's a whole different story. With her unique sense of vocal phrasing,whiskey soaked singing tone and her EXTREMELY......non sequiter lyrics to say the least she brings to the surface the strong cultural paralell's between the female blues belters of the original jazz age and modern hip-hop/soul divas. So you could easily squeeze Macy somewhere between Bessie Smith,Dinah Washington and Mary J Blige in this respect with a healthy helping of Betty Davis (of They Say I'm Different fame) sandwiched in between.
So as easy as this album is to find and as surprizingly popular as it was for it's day it's one of those extra meaty modern funk/soul releases that has a lot of it's own kind of character,even if the young artist herself sounds vocally and thematically as if she'd experienced thirty years more life than she has. And perhaps that sense of maturation,experience and slight weariness is part of her appeal. It's clear she's had a lot of different experiences and revells in having her own outlook on things. It comes out not only in the music but the lyrics too. It would blossom into even fuller flower as her career continued but for those who got hooked with this album this would begin the pattern of making each successive Macy Gray release a new musical treasure to look forward to.
Description of On How Life Is
Vinyl Classics reissue of her platinum selling debut album comes as a vinyl look-a-like CD that's packaged in a die-cut see-through slipcase. Features the same tracks as the standard US pressing. Sony.Gray starts from a solid foundation of retro funk and soul and builds on it by adding hip-hop signifiers and modern studio techniques. The result is one of the better debuts of the year, thanks to Gray's blunt proclamations ("I've committed murder... and I don't feel bad about it") and inimitable vocal phrasing. On How Life Is offers the sass of a '20s blueswoman plus the don't-mess-with-me strength of a 21st-century R&B icon-in-the-making. --Keith Moerer
Macy Gray's debut draws heavily on '70s funk traditions to make its progressive-R&B points. With help from a band including former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Arik Marshall, she uses her raw yet controlled voice to celebrate sex ("Sexomatic," "Caligula"), God ("I Can't Wait to Meetchu"), and injustice ("I've Committed Murder"). Gray's songwriting doesn't seem fully developed yet, but On How Life Is is a striking first shot nonetheless. --Rickey Wright
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