Sometimes an artist comes out with something that will make you stop and as All Shit Well Mary J Blige has done it for me. I was brought in by the first single Be Without You then I was hooked. Mz. Mary has returned with another chapter in her life and brings us good news. She has found her strength, happiness and is sharing it with the world. She can tell a story and bring you into her life and make you feel like you have been on the journey with her. I recommend picking this up and take a break and enjoy the ride.


[Edited 12/25/05 21:08pm]

Its decent I guess, no "My Life". I like the first song "No One But You". A good song to open the cd with. Compared to a lot of crap out there right now ie Chris Brown it would seem spectacular. More than anything I loooove her honesty.

Gonna get it

The Breakthrough is a masterpiece, in every sense. Mary J touches on everything from love, war, fatherhood, and relationships. The production is slick and soulful. She works with some incredible producers and she also does an A+ job with her collabos. I've been playing that album all week and for the first time since her 1999 record, Mary (one of my all-time faves from Mary), I could listen to that whole album from beginning to end with any skipping. Mary, you definitely rocked the house this time in 2005! See you at the Grammys in '07...

I used to be a huge MJB fan until I got more and more disappointed. I used to buy EVERY release I could get and then stopped after No More Drama...and I had already disliked the MARY album that came out before that one.
Upon reading some of the positive reviews of The Breakthrough here on the org I decided to give this new album a try and listened to it thoroughly and I think it´s a great album . The only reason why I haven´t bought it yet is because there might be a new version a few weeks later with bonus material, so I´d rather wait a bit because it´s always frustrating when artists release a better version a couple of weeks later ( for the same price ).
But it´s a good album.

That song with Raphael Saadiq sounds a bit like Prince´s U Make My Sunshine w/ Angie Stone.

lyecry said:

I'm with ya. I like it, but I'm not quite getting what people are hearing in it that's so great. Other than a few amazing tracks, it sounds to me like she's trying to bland herself down to sell some Mariah Carey like numbers.

MendesCity said:

"A few amazing tracks" isn't reason enough to qualify an album as great?

Tried to get my hands on it today, was sold out of the store I was in

RipHer2Shreds said:

Nah, not really in my book. Share My World, My Life and No More Drama are full of great tracks with a handful of merely average ones. This one (and the last one) are the reverse. But it's all semantics. I'm happy to have those amazing tracks, certainly!

i love mary and have been satisfied with all her cds except for love and life. why she hooked back up with diddy i'll never understand. i'm glad she has moved on in her life and has more positive songs. my life was great but i only listen to it when i'm feeling down.

k7i2m3 said:

It was hard for me to listen to Love & Life because it was too much hip-hop that got in the way of Mary's vocals and Diddy's production was ok, but I was expecting something else. I guess the No More Drama album messed it up for Mary alittle, athough some of the singles off of that album were impressive.

silverchild said:

As an album, I thought No More Drama was adequate. I mostly liked it. But the single No More Drama is a favorite of mine. I find it really moving.

I can't make up my mind if I should buy the Breakthrough or Lenny Kravitz's Greatest Hits cd...

silverchild said:

On the DVD for Love and Life they showed Mario playing the piano to one of her songs. It sounded so beautiful. Of course on the actual song all of that was cut out. I can't think of the name of the song now. I wish these super producers had a real appreciation for live instruments. It reminds me of the movie Fame. Bruno wanted to make all his music from a keyboard. LOL

ABeautifulOne said:

You can hear Lenny Kravitz's greatest hits anytime you watch a commercial. Go for the Mary J. album.

RipHer2Shreds said:

I'm gonna go for it along with the Te Amo Carazon single...

did someone just say they were going to buy prince's new single?




I LOVE THIS ALBUM!!! The first Jam/Lewis song is slamming. Reminded me of old school flyte time. the bass? the bass!! damn..

and her (there) version of One left me in chills. I have not enjoyed a song this much in a very long time....a beatiful song. and i hated the original.

sosgemini said:

It is beautiful, isn't it? She doesn't use her high range that often, but when she does at the end of that song, it made me .

RipHer2Shreds said:

One is lovely, as is Father in You, Found My Everything and So Lady. I find myself loving her slower songs more than ever. Uptempo stuff, just kinda bland.

MendesCity said:

I found that all of the tracks on The Breakthrough joint were amazing, but my personal favorites had to be Father In You and MJB da MVP. Father In You kind of reminded me of the stuff she did on her classic My Life album and with MJB da MVP, she gives us a little retrospective on her career.
[Edited 12/27/05 21:07pm]

I like all the songs minus Gonna Breakthrough

"One" with Bono would be ok except theres SO MUCH DISTORTION on their vocals on the end... I thought Wu Tang Clan was gonna jump in there.

Tried to pick that shit up today... another store was sold out WTF??

CalhounSq said:

damn girl.....try target...

I really like the first single and this album seems like a good step forward compared to her last with P. Diddy...It's sales where damn near ground breaking, something like 727,000! That has to be near a record of some sort. And it thought the release date seemed rushed after the rumours of the greatest hits album (which I can't wait for). I don't own any of her albums but I might check this one out.

MendesCity said:

See, I thought she kind of sold out with the last album and that terrible first single (which if not so overproduceded, could have been OK). Then again, I'm only basing this on what I've heard and heard about the albums...

VinnyM27 said:

I'm not sure if it's a record single week sales for her, but that is an impressive number for this album. We'll see if it holds up. I would guess not, but who knows.

RipHer2Shreds said:

Damn. Go Mary. I have a feeling the single's gonna hang around the charts for awhile. It definitely has that "We Belong Together" vibe.

In related Billboard news:

A musician long before scoring as an actor, Foxx's return to music moved an impressive 598,000 to debut at No. 2. The "Ray" star began stirring the musical waters earlier this year as a featured performer on Kanye West's smash hit "Gold Digger." Foxx first cracked The Billboard 200 in 1994 with his debut album "Peep This" which peaked at No. 78.