Noblesse O-blige

Solipsism can be compelling if an artist reminds you in a non-smug fashion of the degree to which we all preen before mirrors. In this Mary J. Blige has always seemed reasonably grounded artistically, a singer whose imprimatur depends upon a reliable fusion of old R&B totems (up-from-the-bootstraps empowerment; vocal class, sealed with a hip producer's kiss) and self-help maxims (psychobabble lyrics increasingly delivered with enough melisma to send Mariah back to therapy). The Breakthrough's scariest moment occurs when Blige wails, "I love you, but I love myself too." Er, excuse me: "too"? Didn't you finish reading The Power of Now, Mary? Fuck this "too" business: you gotta love yourself, period, as you always have, unreservedly (then again, maybe I'm being too harsh; this album is way too long, suggesting that Mary's love affair with herself continues unabated).

On this album the less she tries, the more she succeeds, as in the generic-but-pretty "Be Without You," whose sensual robo-coolness evokes One In a Million-era Aaliyah; and "MJB the MVP," hijacking The Game and 50 Cent's "Hate It Or Love It" without a regret in the world, damn straight. When she joins forces with that titan of self-regard, His Holiness Bono Vox, for a not-bad cover of "One," the two mirrors face each other, and crack.

Anyway, Jason King's review covers a lot of the same ground.