New Music From Mary J Blige: The London Sessions [review]

I participated in the Mary J Blige The London Sessions album review program as a member of One2One Network. I was provided a free album to review but all opinions are my own.

In an effort to shake things up and step out of her musical comfort zone, Mary J Blige spent a month in London writing and collaborating with some of the most exciting and popular artists in the UK – including Sam Smith, Disclosure, Emeli Sandé. The result is her highly anticipated album The London Sessions – which was released today (December 2, 2014).

Each of the collaborators worked with “Queen Mary” to create a new body of work driven by her one-of-a-kind voice.

Track Listing for The London Sessions, her 13th album.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	“Therapy”	Mary J. Blige Sam Smith Eg White	White	3:23
2.	“Doubt”	Blige Sam Romans		3:59
3.	“Not Loving You”	James Napier Smith		3:26
4.	“When You’re Gone”	Blige Napier White		3:24
5.	“Right Now”	Blige Smith Napier Guy Lawrence Howard Lawrence	Disclosure	3:49
6.	“My Loving”	Blige Romans Rodney Jerkins		4:25
7.	“Long Hard Look”	Blige Romans Harry Craze Hugo Chegwin Ben Harrison James Murray		3:36
8.	“Whole Damn Year”	Blige Emeli Sandé Knox Brown	Naughty Boy	4:11
9.	“Nobody But You”	Blige Smith Napier Matthew Coleman		4:38
10.	“Pick Me Up”	Blige Sandé Shahid Khan Shakil Ashraf		3:07
11.	“Follow”	Blige Napier G. Lawrence H. Lawrence	Disclosure	4:08
12.	“Worth My Time”	Blige Napier Stephen Fitzmaurice		3:28
Total length:				45:34

I am in love with this new sound! It’s so fresh, captivating, and emotion-filled. I had it playing in the background while I was working and found myself sitting at my desk just listening to song after song, not doing any work. This is Mary J Blige at her best!

I have been a fan of Mary J Blige since I was in college and heard “Real Love” and “Sweet Thing” and ran out and purchased her CD What’s the 411? She has evolved so much over the past 22 years and continues to inspire me with her soulful voice.

“I know who I am and what I can do. With each album, it’s just me continuing to grow.” – Mary J Blige

I have to say the first song that really caught my ear was Doubt.
I love the message in the lyrics:

“You think you know, but you don’t know the half
You think you beat me down, but I’ll have the last laugh
I’ll keep getting up, cuz that’s what I want to do
I’m gonna be the best me, I’m sorry if it kills you.”

While I do LOVE the Amy Winehouse-esque sound of “Therapy”, my next favorite has to the Sam Smith written ballad “Not Loving You”. It’s soulful and delicate and actually gave me goosebumps.

Another favorite is “Right Now”. I immediately felt like getting up and dancing when I heard it the first time.

And again I love the lyrics:

“They don’t see what you do to me
From the outside
This can’t be what it used to be
From the outside

I’m telling you right now, I’m telling you right now
No, I won’t play this game with you
I’m taking it back now, I’m turning it right round
My love won’t be the same for you no more”

The disco-styled “My Loving” is another track that begs to be danced to. It starts off slow and lets you think it is another ballad, then BOOM the dance beat starts and my little chair dance begins 🙂 Thankfully I can dance BECAUSE nobody’s watching, well except for my dog Sparky, and he’s cool with it.

An inspirational and powerful performer, Mary J Blige knows the ups and downs of life. If you’ve ever seen her perform, you know the passion she brings to her everything she does. The London Sessions is full of meaningful moments and uplifting messages. Get ready for some “Therapy” in the form of a new Mary J Blige album!

“Pure, unadulterated and empowering. That has been Mary J. Blige’s calling card ever since her 1992 multi-platinum debut album, What’s the 411? And in the ensuing years, the singer/songwriter’s musical strong suit has attracted an intensely loyal fan base—responsible for propelling worldwide sales of more than 50 million albums. With a track record of eight multi-platinum albums, nine Grammy Awards (plus a staggering 29 nominations) and four American Music Awards, Blige is only getting started.”

Purchase The London Sessions today on iTunes or Amazon.

Follow Mary J Blige via Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube and visit the Official Mary J Blige Website for more music, bio info and photos.

I participated in the Mary J Blige The London Sessions album review program as a member of One2One Network. I was provided a free album to review but all opinions are my own.