The Breakthrough (CD - 2005)

Personnel: Mary J. Blige (vocals); Dave Young, will.i.am, Brook (vocals); Jay-Z (rap vocals); Bryan-Michael Cox (various instruments); Raphael Saadiq (guitar, bass guitar); Craig Brockman (keyboards); U2.

After her somewhat lukewarm 2003 release LOVE & LIFE, Mary J. Blige returns to her rightful place as the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul with 2005's THE BREAKTHROUGH. Blige enlisted a host of guest producers to contribute tracks to THE BREAKTHROUGH, and the result is one of her strongest and most varied albums. As usual, the sound is a mixture of smooth, urban contemporary and hip-hop edge, but Blige nails it with tracks like the pulsing "Enough Cryin'" (with its rich, multi-layered vocals) and the breezy "Can't Hide From Luv" featuring a guest spot by Jay-Z.

The album's lead-off single, "Be Without You," a bittersweet slow jam, is representative of the album's themes, which focus on feelings of strength and weakness in love. But whether waxing romantic ("Can't Get Enough") or detailing the travails of the heart ("Baggage"), Blige lays down elastic R&B vocal lines that are second to none. Even a seemingly unlikely duet with Bono and U2 on "One" comes across beautifully, adding a new dimension to that familiar tune.

At the end of 2005, Mary J. Blige's career was supposed to be anthologized. The singer had her way, however, and one of her best studio albums came out instead. In retrospect, her previous album, 2003's Love & Life, was awkward; the P. Diddy collaborations, likely intended to recapture the magic the duo put together on What's the 411? and My Life, didn't always pay off, and Blige was about to become a wife, so the songs steeped in heartbreak and disappointment weren't delivered with as much power as they had been in the past. The Breakthrough also contains some of the drama that fans expect, despite Blige's continued happiness, but it's clear that she has gained enough distance from the uglier parts of her past that she can inhabit them and, once again, deliver those songs. The past does play a significant role in the album, as in "Baggage," where she apologies to her husband for bringing it into their relationship. "Father in You" sounds like a note-perfect facsimile of a classic soul ballad, rising and falling and twisting with a sensitive string arrangement, but the lyrics are pure Blige, acknowledging the ways in which her husband has made up for the absence of her father. On the nearly anthemic "Good Woman Down," she sees a less matured version of herself in young women and uses her experiences to advise. She jacks the beat from the Game's "Hate It or Love It" for "MJB da MVP," where she reflects on her career, thanks her supporters, and reasserts her rightful position as the soul hip-hop queen. It's one of several tracks to beam with a kind of contentment and confidence that Blige has never before possessed. Take "Can't Hide from Love," where she's such a force that Jay-Z dishes out a quick introduction and knows to stay out of the way for the remainder of the track, or the glorious "I Found My Everything," her "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman." Beat for beat, the album features the best round of productions Blige has been handed since the mid-'90s. Apart from only a couple lukewarm tracks and a poorly recorded version of "One" with U2, it is completely correct. ~ Andy Kellman minimize