Hear Me Out
Katharine McPhee, Mary J. Blige, Matt Morris
Katharine McPhee, Unbroken
Now a blonde, you wouldnâ??t recognize the former Idol frontrunner on the cover of her second album. Thatâ??s probably the point. After an awful, R&B-leaned 2007 debut bombed and struggled to artistically define the singer-turned-actress (causing her then-label RCA Records to drop her), the former broadâ??s going the Mandy Moore route â?? right down adult-contemporary road. Songs like the first couple pop confections â?? mid-tempos â??Itâ??s Not Rightâ? and â??Had It All,â? the irresistible first single â?? fit McPhee better than the shoes she ridiculously sang about on her predecessor, partly because the focus wisely shifts to her fine, cloudless voice. Itâ??s an alluring instrument that works marvelously on â??Say Goodbye,â? a piano-led lament vulnerably conveyed in a haunting cadence. Unfortunately, itâ??s often also stylistically vanilla â?? and a heap of bland ballads rounding out the album arenâ??t particularly wooing. But at least sheâ??s moving her Manolos in the right direction.
Grade: B-
Mary J. Blige, Stronger withEach Tear
If ever an artist could sell a cliché, itâ??d be Mary J. Blige. So much raw conviction is served alongside her inimitable powerhouse voice that even self-empowerment platitudes, like those on the canned MJB upper-anthem â??Each Tearâ? off her ninth studio album, go down easier than they should. But even a bona fide soul queen like Blige canâ??t redeem something as abominable as â??Kitchen,â? cooking up atrocious rhymes and silly appliance metaphors like a parody. Meatâ??s missing in the hallow shells of â??I Love U (Yes I Du)â? and â??I Feel Good,â? and a few cookie-cutter club songs â?? produced by trendy hip-hop hot shots â?? dilute Bligeâ??s trademark stamp, but still do their job. She gets into her groove on â??I Amâ? with its classic-ballad throwback vibe. But itâ??s the prized closing paean, â??I Can See in Colorâ? â?? a sparse, bluesy song of joy, redemption and self-love â?? that makes bold boasts like â??Iâ??m the bestâ? more believable.
Grade: C+
Matt Morris, When Everything Breaks Open
Major guts make good on the adventurous debut of the out Colorado native â?? formerly a Mouseketeer, now a songwriter for the stars. One being Justin Timberlake, who signed Morris to his Tennman label (and serves as co-producer of his first CD) â?? a move that further mirrors the pop forceâ??s strong musical sense. Morris has a gorgeous, tenor-to-falsetto fluidity to his malleable voice, and on â??Let It Goâ? it flowers into Rufus Wainwright-like wonder. But heâ??s also unafraid of making bold moves: His style-hopping work â?? atmospheric rock (â??Just Before the Morningâ?Â), rhythmic Jason Mraz-styled soul (â??Loveâ?Â) and baiting pop (radio-ready â??Live Foreverâ?Â) â?? is full of instrumental nuances. The classic underbelly of â??The Un-American,â? a circusy song with a biting social commentary, epitomizes that. It only ruins him when it deprecates his voice, buzzing with percussion like â??You Do It For Meâ? does. Otherwise, itâ??s worth breaking open.
Grade: B
By Chris Azzopardi
