Macy Gray

Macy Gray is best known for her distinctive, raspy singing and flamboyant sense of style—and though there's no way to hide the peculiarities of her voice, she goes a long way toward minimizing her eccentricity on her fourth album, Big. This is not to say that her previous records were outrageously out-there, but they did crackle with a certain manic energy. They also benefitted from her willingness to experiment with the conventions of neo-soul as she played up a larger-than-life persona that owed an aesthetic debt to the freaky funk stars of the '70s.

Yet Big is mainly comprised of amiable yet unmemorable R&B ballads that lack the unrestrained emotion and obvious hooks of her break-through hit "I Try," much less the unashamed yet mature sexuality that informed her highly underrated sophomore effort, The Id. Too much of the record settles into a mid-tempo haze that would be unremarkable if not for her vocal performance—but Gray's presence alone is not enough to elevate the mediocre songwriting.

The record features several guest appearances from high-profile stars—Nas, Fergie, Natalie Cole—but, curiously, most of them recede into the background. However, Justin Timberlake stands out on the upbeat funk-rocker "Get Out." Though he only cheers Gray on at the start and sings the relatively understated chorus, his pop mojo is in full effect—the track is sexy, groovy, and modern.

Will.I.Am of Black Eyed Peas produced the similarly excellent "Treat Me Like Your Money," but he nearly derails his own ingratiating, Prince-esque track when he provides a hacky, obnoxiously rapped cameo near the end. Both songs hint at a better, more exciting direction for Gray's music, but they come too late in the running order, and seem out of place on an album that is otherwise uninspired.

- Matthew Perpetua
03.29.07

Though he's not the first high-profile producer in Macy Gray's career, will.i.am is the first to make a big difference -- but probably not the one listeners would expect. Gray, whose wonderfully woozy voice was always searching for the right songs and the right context, has usually sounded like a certain segment of '70s soul: the earthier deep soul of early Ann Peebles. Big, however, is the slickest album of Gray's career, with a production finesse that sounds like a different (and opposing) segment of '70s soul -- quiet storm, with its pristine sound, frequent synthesizers, fretless bass, and performances programmed to perfection. These are not the traditional makings of a solid Macy Gray record, but Big is startling and, overall, truly appealing (the first time those two adjectives could be honestly applied to Gray's music). In this slick context, the gritty character of her vocals comes into better focus. The songs, though still written Hollywood-style (with credits often going to three or four or five writers), fit in well with her personality and are among the best in her career. (There's no breakout single but there's also no dog in the bunch.) Meanwhile, a set of super-sized backing vocals gives Gray the testifying chorus she really needs; the opening "Finally Made Me Happy" features no less than Natalie Cole providing backup, and if it doesn't earn airplay on Tom Joyner's radio show, it'll be a tragic omission. As a producer, will.i.am has had trouble in the past when attempting to diversify -- which led to a horrible Sergio Mendes record, Timeless -- but he works well here. There are only a few nods to hip-hop, one good ("Ghetto Love") and the other one rather more difficult (for "Treat Me Like Your Money," will the rapper gets in a pair of stinkers: "I love you like money cuz I love you a lot" and "Baby don't ask me cuz that's the way it is and it's like that and that's the way it is"). It'll be interesting to see if past Macy Gray fans are willing to follow her into adult contemporary territory, while those who might like the new direction will be able to alter their perceptions of her. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide