Mary J Blige has been considered the queen of contemporary soul music

This year three-time Grammy winner Mary J Blige releases her long overdue greatest hits collection Reflections: A Retrospective and serves a telling reminder of why she has been considered the queen of contemporary soul music for so long. The album marks her first release since 2005’s The Breakthrough, which has sold over three million copies, and chronicles the work from the nine albums she has released throughout her 15-year career. Blige was brought up on the streets of Yonkers, New York, and raced from the blocks in the early '90s to bridge the gaps between R&B, hip-hop and soul music. Her output since has being an unpredictable mixture of more conventional soul and thundering tunes, warmly embraced by the critical and commercial world. The compilation Reflections: A Retrospective takes the listener on a journey from her childhood to her early successes that were plagued with drama, right through to her current position at the forefront of modern soul music. Blige is undoubtedly one of the fascinating figures of modern pop culture, so even though there's more than a suspicion of Christmas cash-in here, and omissions are made, Reflections: A Retrospective amply represents every extreme of her ouvre. It's a mixed bag that more than anything else highlights the differences between commercial and artistic creation, and as hip-hop continues to veer towards the former, provides a pretty relevant story.

Reflections: A Retrospective chronicles the work throughout 15-year career

A much anticipated and long awaited collection Reflections: A Retrospective not only gathers together all Mary J's timeless greatest hits but features four new greatest hits to be - the first of which is the hot single We Ride (I See The Future). Reflections (I Remember) opens the disk. A new song King And Queen is a really classy duet with another famous musician, John Legend. On the whole the album contains 18 tracks. Further highlights include the emotionally-charged No More Drama, which still rates as one of her finest moments, 911, a passionate duet with ex-Fugees founder Wyclef Jean. Family Affair is another instantly recognisable gem, while there’s a funky bassline strut surrounding Be Happy that marks the artist at her most laidback and happily soulful. I’ll Be There For You/You’re All I Need, featuring Method Man, is an incendiary mix of Blige’s soulful delivery and Method Man’s harder rap. Rounding the album off, however, is another highlight in the form of MJB Da MVP, her Motown-influenced duet with 50 Cent, that emerges as another triumphant blast of hip-hop informed R&B soul. The track is a real dancefloor groover that drops an incredibly sassy brass section reminiscent of the good ‘ol days.

The CD solidifies Mary J blige as one of the greatest recording artists of all time

To state that 2006 was one of the biggest years of Mary J Blige's career isn't hype. It is truth. In 2006 there was no bigger story or artist, in any genre, than Mary J Blige. 2006 became the 12-month span in which the multiple platinum selling, Grammy winning Queen of Hip Hop Soul scaled new creative, personal and commercial heights. So after all of those dazzling achievements what does Mary J do to top it? Simple. She rewards her fans by recording yet another classic in the making – Reflections: A Retrospective. It is more than a greatest hits collection. It’s actually a mini-autobiographical reflection on her glorious career to date that looks set to herald an equally exciting new era for her. It's a soulful shout out to Mary J's loyal fans, and a celebration of the year when one of R&B's most influential singers "broke through" bigger than ever. It’s worth noting that Blige is a tireless charity worker as well as a committed musician. In addition to filming anti-drug PSAs, she has worked with various education groups and received Rock the Vote’s highest honour, the Patrick Lippert Award. She is also a tireless fundraiser for people with AIDs.

18.12.2006