Album Review: Mary J Blige – “Growin Pains”

Mary J Blige – “Growing Pains”

Joe Music struggled with this album, because everyone loves Mary. She has a great story of overcoming adversity and pain, and her albums and collaborations have always been critically acclaimed. The problem with this album however is that, except for a few songs, it is so cathartic and emotionally driven by her past that many listeners will find it difficult to enjoy. Joe Music looks to Tina Turner as the perfect example of an artist who expressed her experiences and then moved on to the business at hand: music that her audience could appreciate and enjoy. M’s 2 most recent albums gave her that chance; unfortunately, that continuance of wallowing in her past is something Joe Music can’t listen to any longer, making this album a disappointment.

rates it a C

Track Title	Notes	Grade
Work That	Not a good start to the album, with it’s only claim to fame being the Apple iPod commercial	C+
Grown Woman	MJ pseudo-rapping her independence. She’s no Missy Elliott or Beyonce’, but it’s decent enough. Oh, and Ludicrous throws in his two cents. Eh.	B
Just Fine	This track makes the ablum, a Top 10 for 2007. Try to sit still, Joe Music dares you.	A+
Feel Like A Woman	Joe Music fell asleep. Is it over? What did I miss?	C
Stay Down	An anthem song about keeping relationships. Joe Music is a hopeless romantic, so it’s kinda hard to fault MJ for this one.	B-
Hurt Again	Ok we get it. Never get hurt again. Enough already.	C-
Shake Down	Oh, it’s a shake down? Well ok. So long as I don’t get hurt again	C-
Till The Morning		C+
Roses	The Angry Song	B-
Fade Away	The “I Want To Be Left Alone” Song	C-
What Love Is		C
Work In Progress (Growing Pains)		C
Talk To Me		C+
If You Love Me?		D+
Smoke		C
Come To Me (Peace)	Amen to that. Throwaway song alert.	D

Album Review: Jordin Sparks - “Jordin Sparks”

Jordin Sparks – “Jordin Sparks”

The American Idol team decided to take a different approach with the Season 6 winner. Rather than immediately releasing a sub-par album, they opted to wait and make sure that everyone agreed that the right songs were chosen and that Jordin was positioned for success. Joe Music thinks they succeeded. As with Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, her debut album holds much promise for a long and successful career.

rates it a B-

Track Title	Notes	Grade
Tattoo	Is it Joe Music, or is she channeling Dolly Parton with her voice? Weird. But it get a lot of radio play, for good reason (”This Is My Now” doesn’t count). But does “Love you once, needed protection” mean what I think it means?	B-
One Step At A Time	Ok. Kinda amateur, Disney-eqeue. Something better suited for Hannah Montana.	C
No Air Duet	Eh. Like a Hostess Twinkie – sweet but basically tasteless.	C-
Freeze		C+
Shy Boy	One of the best tracks on the album. Danceable and not in a cookie cutter fashion. Joe Music likes it a lot.	A-
Now You Tell Me		B-
Next To You	Another strong song that showcases her vocal ability. This should have been her debut single.	B+
Just For The Record	Decent enough; good hook.	B-
Permanent Monday	Jordin puts a lot of emotion into this, making it a solid track.	B
Young And In Love	Like OMG, a Britney Song! Not bad though.	A-
See My Side	Wow. Joe Music hearts this track, in a major way.	A+
God Loves Ugly	A very appropriate title for a throwaway song. Eh.	D+
This Is My Now	Joe Music will be kind: it’s one of the better American Idol winner songs	C-

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