Whole Damn Year a Big Damn Cleansing Experience For Mary J Blige

Walking away from the wreckage of a previous segment of life. Not an easy assignment. But if you put Mary J. Blige behind a mic and give her room to unfurl you can see confidence behind the vulnerabilty. You see, none of us sets out to have the survivor label. Soon enough we discover it's foisted upon us somehow. Grace plays a large role in Mary's act. Using Nadia's Theme, otherwise known as the theme to The Young & The Restless (Yes, soaps still exist), Mary laid down how she wasn't looking for drama in her life. On her present single "No Damn Year" drama knocks her ass over tea kettle in a number of ways The seasons of the year take on a Jaws like life of their own. Spring punched her in the stomach for cripes' sake. What a horrific crash and grab scenario. Summer's no better. It senses blood in the water and, to the surprise of nobody, leaps in after it. By the time autumn hits the scene poor Mary's left with nothing. Don't drown yourself in pity for Mrs. Blige though. In the twenty plus years she's been on the scene, she's flowered into a majestic woman. She's come far from the ingenue featured on "Real Love". The percussion backup moves with appreciable stealth. It's not too dissimilar to the path a thief in the night takes to sneak up on his intended victim. Delicate shadings grace the piano playing. If there's a minus to be had in this whole proposition it's that the recitation of the big bad four seasons gets highly repetitious. In Mary's hands there's no doubting the sincerity of a soul who's been through many battles and come out the other side the better for it. Featured in the accompanying video are shades of real time London, the bustle of a big city that's rich in pageantry. Baby steps figure prominently in "No Damn Year". That Blige can summon up the courage to belt out the vocal chops to the degree that she does is this side of miraculous. For openers she's thoughtful to explain to her offscreen lover why she's being aloof. On the surface all's fabulous. Beneath the surface she's coming apart and fast. She's had to endure five years of unimaginable misery. If it's cold in the bedroom, there's your culprit. I get that Mary doesn't appreciate being whisked back to Hell with her man. "Bad to the liver" hints at some serious time with a bottle of hooch. Mary's a force of nature despite the odds weighing her down. This song was culled from "The London Sessions", an appropriate connection between atmosphere and mood since London's known for being a gray, gloomy spot. "Whole Damn Year" counts for a whole damn lot in terms of giving Blige's femme fan base the ability to slowly, surely liberate themselves from the relationship drama wreaking havoc on both body and soul. As spokeswomen go Mary has no peer.