Search - Mary J. Blige :: Mary J. Blige & Friends (CD & DVD Combo)

Not a bad addition to the mary collection

musicman013 | Columbus, OH | 10/23/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"At first I resisted buying this Circuit City exclusive for price and short song list. (only 9 tracks, 2 of which were already on Mary albums) But months later when I did get the cd for less than $10, I was a little impressed.



Nearly all of the duets are available on other varied albums. Of course this cd does not include her best duets throughout her career (You're All I Need To Get By, I Don't Wanna Do Anything, As, 911, Not Today, Rainy Dayz) None of the tracks are her best work, but several tracks are still some great tunes- and the whole cd is worth a repeated listen. The first 4 tracks are just okay, but the 2nd half of the cd gets better.



My favorite tracks are

#5-Alone w/ Dave Young (also available on The Breakthrough)- a great break-up duet with very complimentary m/f vocals

#6-Favorite Flavor w/ LL Cool J (from his album) - the kind of rap-lite mid tempo track LL has become known for lately

#7-Love Is All We Need **no explanation needed**

#8- My Man w/ Santana & Big Boi - the combo may sound like a mess, but I think it really works well together

#9- ....The Blues w/ Elton John - a live track of the Elton 80s classic that I didn't think I liked that much until I heard Mary blow through it



But the BEST part of the cd/dvd is the live DVD performances on the 2nd disc. Most of the performances are live AOL sessions and they are all superb! The price ($10 or less) is well worth it to see Mary perform several of her old jams with a live band. Check it out!"