Rating: 7/10

Track Amount: 12

Running Time: 52 minutes and 50 seconds

Genre: R&B

Personnel: Mary J. Blige

Producer: Sean “Puffy” Combs, DeVante Swing, Tony Dofat, Dave “Jam” Hall, Mark Morales, Cory Rooney

Recording Location: Chung King Studios, The Hit Factory, Marathon Studios and Soul Convention Studios, New York City, USA

Art Direction: Michael Benabib

Best Tracks: Real Love, Love No Limit

Quick Verdict: Lush R&B music to get you in touch with your feminine side

Before R&B was a huge, phenomenal Pop chart-based success, some key players pioneered the genre in a unique and interesting musical fashion. Mary J. Blige was one of those artists. She was signed to Uptown Records and, ironically, worked with the now infamous criminal P. Diddy on this album, who produced it. The album was unleashed to mostly positive reviews back in 1992. It was not specifically an out-there Rap Music album, but instead mixed a variety of styles, namely Hip Hop, Soul, and the R&B of the time. It charted at #6 on the Billboard 200 in the USA, and sold over three million copies globally, establishing her as an up-and-coming artist with real potential. The album title reflected Mary J. Blige’s past job. In any case, this album should be a very interesting listen, so let’s revisit 1992 and see if it is any good.

1. Leave A Message begins with the sound of a phone being dialled and a guy talking to himself on the phone as it dials. It rings through and reaches Mary J. Blige’s answering machine. Soon enough, this tune gets into action, and it has the caller angrily leaving a message. This has many messages that follow on it, which are likely real messages. All the same, this is an interesting introduction and has multiple people leaving messages of interest throughout after people have heard her album. This is interesting and a suspenseful introduction to the album at hand. It sounds absolutely awesome. Screening calls these days is an absolute must when dealing with most people, and Mary J. Blige was ahead of the game. A good listen, and goodness knows how many people left messages for Mary J. Blige.

2. Reminisce launches into it with some absolutely gorgeous and fantastic singing by Mary J. Blige, and launches into a unique and beautiful take on the early 1990s R&B Music. One is instantly mindblown by Mary J. Blige’s deep, clear and emotional singing throughout. This was well before autotune as well. This is a sweet and tender tune about heartbreak and lovemaking. This lady definitely needs to be heard, and the music is excellently produced and recorded as well. Clearly a woman ahead of her time, Mary J. Blige delivers a pretty, soaring and heartfelt contribution to the world of music. All in all, an absolutely fantastic listen that is sweet, tender and magical throughout. This is much, much better than the R&B artists in the 21st century at the time of writing, as well, to be fair. This is a sad sort of song, but it definitely has a unique and fabulous magic about it all. Even if you are not a fan of this sort of style of music, this is genuinely fine listening. This song does have a rather sad conclusion to it all, but nonetheless, it does sound really great to hear. Mary J. Blige has a fantastic, soaring singing voice. Great.

3. Real Love is one of the most popular tracks from this album. It begins with some drum machine clicks and launches into a bombastic and interesting piece of music that sounds very 1990s. This is an upbeat and groovy tune that sounds really terrific and iconic. Mary J. Blige sings like a real queen of Pop Music on this tune, and this is the sort of feminine album that young ladies will want to hear. The music is smooth, nicely layered and fantastic overall to listen to. Indeed, this tune is a retro Pop Music classic that sounds fantastically powerful and original. This continues on with some variations in the sounds and samples. Mary J. Blige can truly sing very well, and she has the music to back it all up. Sure, R&B-based Pop Music is not everyone’s flavour, but if you are open-minded musically, you will definitely enjoy this song. A tasty ear candy treat for all Pop Music fans out there. This song is a little repetitive with the chorus, but despite that, the majesty of this tune breaks through very nicely. A good listen, although it does seem quite repetitive throughout, once again. Mary J. Blige sings very nicely. The outro is minimal and somewhat reminiscent sonically of Nine Inch Nails, oddly enough.

4. You Remind Me is a blissful and pretty ballad with a variety of organic and electronic sounds matching Mary J. Blige’s beautiful singing. This is a tranquil listen that will make any grown man fall in love with her beautiful singing and music, and make every young lady appreciative but jealous simultaneously. This is an upbeat and romantic song that has a dramatic and pretty flavour to it all. Mary J. Blige is quite underrated as a singer, and her multi-octave delivery stands out on this album. She sounds absolutely gorgeously unique as a singer, and the music matches her unique vocal delivery very nicely. With cut-up beats, twinkling percussion and pretty vocals galore, this is a great tune. There is a keyboard solo towards the end, which sounds nice, followed by a euphoric section of singing about romantic ideals. An absolutely beautiful tune. It fades out smoothly.

5. Intro Talk features Busta Rhymes. It has an electronic fade-in of sounds and textures, and Busta Rhymes talks over the top of it all. Some percussion enters, and this tune gets low and funky musically. This is a more Hip Hop flavoured track, especially considering who is on this track as a guest. It seems like a bit of a nonsensical tune at hand, but regardless, it has its musical appeal. In the second half are some interesting sections of development. Only two minutes long, but interesting nonetheless.

6. Sweet Thing is a nice tune that is tranquil, with some Fender Stratocaster guitar parts and Mary J. Blige singing absolutely beautifully on this song. This is another romance-flavoured song that is really fantastic to listen to. The music and singing are really fine and sweet to hear. This is a showcase for the finest R&B of 1992. Mary J. Blige sings in a passionate, upbeat and purely romantic way. The music at hand is really lovely, tasteful and divine. It is very much like the sort of music that defined 1990s R&B, complete with a fantastic key change in the second half. Mary J. Blige hits all the higher notes beautifully as well. A really top-notch tune to listen to and enjoy. This music is a great listening experience that should be enjoyed and cherished by many. Fantastic, the outro is solidly good.

7. Love No Limit begins with the twinkling of wind chimes, and quickly launches into a gorgeously symphonic digital ballad that Prince would be jealous of. Mary J. Blige sings pleasantly about being her everything for her man. This is a very impressive tune that has style, character and sounds really interesting throughout. The music and singing complement each other throughout, just sounding spot on for R&B Music from back in 1992. Mary J. Blige sings absolutely beautifully on this song, and she sings from a highly emotionally charged and skilful place. Another great listen that has some impressive production, naturally great singing and beauty about it all. Even for music from back in 1992, this has aged very, very well. Surely Anita Doth of 2 Unlimited was taking some notes from this album? In any case, this is a sensationally wonderful tune about being deeply in love. A great, great listen from beginning to end. The outro is symphonic and fantastic, with some world-class singing.

8. I Don’t Want To Do Anything features K-Ci Hailey. It begins with some interesting electronic sounds, and the guest sings smoothly over the top of it all. It is an unusual digital ballad with some quirky and anthemic sounds throughout. This is more of a listen for guys out there rather than girls, but even so, this is a good listen. Mary J. Blige is nowhere to be heard on this song at the start of it all, and this is not a good sign on this album in terms of quality control. In any case, this is a good song, just unlikely to be a great one. Mary J. Blige eventually enters, and she sounds blissful throughout and pleads to her man to love her completely. This is deeply moving and romantic throughout. The midsection has a really excellent vocal combination of Mary J. Blige and K-Ci Hailey singing at a higher register nicely. This admittedly is quite long for a rather simple R&B Pop song, and some of the sounds throughout are fairly awful. Even so, this is a good example of what Mary J. Blige and her contemporaries could make musically. This is good, but it extends well past its welcome. Not outright bad, but it could have been better with some subtle editing.

9. Slow Down begins with some whispering by Mary J. Blige, launching into a colourful and interesting-sounding R&B tune about loving. This is essentially more of the same, but this album does seem to have a natural consistency about it all. The music at hand is sweet and sensual, and really does sound fantastic for what it is. A precursor to the female-driven Pop Music of the 21st century, this is miles better than some of the garbage being put out today that it inspired. The production is immaculate, even by today’s standards. It sounds rich, flavoursome and notably good. Even for a lesser listened to and lesser known track from this album, it does sound very much in tune with Mary J. Blige’s phenomenal singing voice. The musicianship and performance are very cool indeed. If you like downtempo R&B with a difference, then this is an obvious choice for you. Again, a really phenomenal and great song to hear, and this is a unique feminine take on music itself. A top tune.

10. My Love begins with some interesting sonic sounds, and has Mary J. Blige singing beautifully over the top of it all. This is a real example of 1990s R&B that sounds impressive, clean and pristine throughout. Our lady sounds extraordinarily talented and gorgeous with her singing at hand. Indeed, Mary J. Blige is untouchable with her singing overall. This is a very magical and upbeat listening experience that has aged much better than most albums of this style since its release. Yes, this is music aimed primarily at young women, but even so, Mary J. Blige breaks down barriers in music terms that sound sweet and romantic in the process. So yes, this is not just for women; this can have appeal to men as well. A great and lusciously beautiful song, which is directly Soul Music styled and thoroughly enjoyable, even for a lesser-known track from this song. Somewhat repetitive, but still highly enjoyable overall. Decent tune.

11. Changes I’ve Been Going Through begins with some moody instrumentation that sounds very emotional and moving. Mary J. Blige sings nicely, launching into a sad and emotional tune with bombastic beats throughout. The beats are fantastic, in particular, sounding like a shotgun blast to the ears. This moody and emotional tune is very lovely to hear, but indeed, it is a tune about breaking up. Perhaps not as solid as what came before it, but nonetheless, a winner of a listen. All in all, this is a sad reflection on love lost. The music at hand is full of beauty, even if it isn’t an easy listen to hear. Regardless, this is a sweet tune, although it is a bit of a tearjerker. Mary J. Blige proved that in terms of platonic love concepts, she could do happiness and misery equally well on her debut album. The music is very much wrapped up in tragedy and despair. The beats are likely something that The Chemical Brothers would have loved and been inspired by in their own works later on in the decade. A good tune, but not a happy one at that. A lengthy Pop song, but a rewarding one nonetheless. It ends with the bombastic beats to finish up and a fadeout.

12. What’s The 411? features Grand Puba. It begins with a bassline, and some talk over the top by the male guest stars on this tune. This is honestly a rubbish tune at the end of the album that doesn’t necessarily need to be listened to. Even so, it fits in with the rest of the album and badly plagiarises Eric Clapton here; see if you can spot it. In any case, this is not a really necessary tune and Mary J. Blige is not really a rapper at hand. Anyway, a tune about dealing with time-wasters at hand who need to be less about sex and more about respect. All in all, this is a good idea that falls apart at the end of the album. Mary J. Blige finally sings in the second half, but this does not lighten up the vibe, nor make this track better overall. In any case, most listeners of this album will likely wish to hit stop here. Do so if you feel it is a must. The outro is too long and has some rubbish talk over it. The album ends here with an extended backing track playing.

This is a genuinely good album that has some very good music made for it all as well. It’s not terribly consistent, particularly towards the end of the album. However, having said that, this is a solid start for Mary J. Blige, who would have more credible popular music moments later on in her career. Still, if you really want to hear a lady sing her heart out in the best way possible, look no further. Should you listen to this album release? If you want to hear a unique and fantastic female singer with R&B stylings, this is a must. People who prefer guitar-based music should look away, however.

If you like this article, please like, share, comment and follow me on The Ultimate Music Library. Thank you, Chris Airey.