Love & Life (Mary J. Blige album)
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| Love & Life | ||||
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| Studio album by Mary J. Blige | ||||
| Released | August 26, 2003 (US) | |||
| Recorded | 2002-2003 | |||
| Genre | R&B, hip hop soul | |||
| Length | 67:36 | |||
| Label | Geffen | |||
| Producer | Sean "Diddy" Combs (Exec.), The Hitmen (also exec.) | |||
| Mary J. Blige chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Love & Life | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [1] |
| BBC Online | (favorable)[2] |
| Blender | [3] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B−[4] |
| PopMatters | (favorable)[5] |
| Rolling Stone | [6] |
| Vibe | [7] |
| The Village Voice | (favorable)[8] |
Love & Life is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Mary J. Blige, released on August 26, 2003 by Geffen Records. This marks the third collaboration with former one-time producer P. Diddy, after Combs produced two of Blige's albums: What's the 411? and My Life, which, to this day, are considered their best work together. Nonetheless, the album became a commercial and critical success, becoming Blige's first album in six years to open at (since her third album, Share My World) at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling 285,424[9] in its first week sales. and on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart respectively. The album earned Blige two Grammy nominations at the 46th Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary R&B Album (which lost to Beyoncé's Dangerously In Love) and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "Ooh!" (which also lost to the title track of Beyoncé's album). The album was eventually certified Platinum by the RIAA for shipping one million copies, and more than two million copies worldwide.[10]
Contents |
[edit] Reception
Love & Life received mixed reviews from music critics.[11] Allmusic gave it 4 stars and said the album "beamed with joy" and Rolling Stone gave it three stars, saying "You may not always love Blige's music, but you will feel her".
[edit] Track listing
| # | Title | Length | Writers | Producer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Love & Life Intro" (featuring Jay-Z & Diddy) | 2:48 | Mary J. Blige, Shawn Carter, D. Christo, Sean Combs, L. McCann | Sean "Diddy" Combs for The Hitmen |
| 2 | "Don't Go" | 4:28 | Blige, B. Miller, D. Angelettie, Combs, J. Williams, J. Mercer | Sean "Diddy" Combs & Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie for The Hitmen |
| 3 | "When We" | 3:36 | Blige, M. Jamison, A. Creamer, Mario Winans, Combs, M. Gaye, A. Gaye, E. Stover | Sean "Diddy" Combs for The Hitmen |
| 4 | "Not Today" (featuring Eve) | 4:13 | Blige, Miller, Andre Young, R. Feemster, Mike Elizondo, Eve Jeffers | Dr. Dre |
| 5 | "Finally Made It (Interlude)" | 1:39 | Blige, Angelettie, Combs, R. Holland | Sean "Diddy" Combs & Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie for The Hitmen |
| 6 | "Ooh!" | 4:07 | Blige, Jamison, D. Christo, Combs, H. Bohannon | Sean "Diddy" Combs for The Hitmen |
| 7 | "Let Me Be the 1" (featuring 50 Cent) | 4:40 | Blige, Jamison, Curtis Jackson, M. Crosby, C. Sanchez, Combs, S. Barnes, George Clinton, T. Lindsey | Sean "Diddy" Combs for The Hitmen |
| 8 | "Love @ 1st Sight" (featuring Method Man) | 5:18 | Blige, Jamison, Winans, Combs, Clifford Smith, S. Jordan, K. Fareed, K. Ibn, A. Muhammed, M. Taylor | Sean "Diddy" Combs, Mario Winans, & Steven "Stevie J" Jordan for The Hitmen |
| 9 | "Willing & Waiting" | 4:19 | Blige, Jamison, A. Creamer, D. Lewis, W. Lewis | Sean "Diddy" Combs for The Hitmen |
| 10 | "Free (Interlude)" | 2:04 | Blige, Winans | Sean "Diddy" Combs & Mario Winans for The Hitmen |
| 11 | "Friends" | 4:02 | Blige, S. Foote, M. Hasan, T. Brock, R. Taylor, B. White | Sean "Diddy" Combs & Mario Winans for The Hitmen |
| 12 | "Press On" | 4:17 | Blige, K. Gist, C. Cofield, D. Crofts, J. Seals | Sean "Diddy" Combs for The Hitmen |
| 13 | "Feel Like Makin' Love" | 4:42 | Blige, Jamison, S. Jordan, Combs | Sean "Diddy" Combs & Steven "Stevie J" Jordan for The Hitmen |
| 14 | "It's a Wrap" | 4:20 | Blige, Winans, Combs | Sean "Diddy" Combs & Mario Winans for The Hitmen |
| 15 | "Message in Our Music (Interlude)" | 2:14 | Blige, Robert Bell, Ronald Bell, George Brown, Robert Mickens, Claydes Smith, A. Taylor, Dennis Thomas, Rick Westfield | Sean "Diddy" Combs for The Hitmen |
| 16 | "All My Love" | 4:16 | Blige, Miller, D. Christo, Combs, D. Addrisi, R. Addrisi | Sean "Diddy" Combs for The Hitmen |
| 17 | "Special Part of Me" | 4:33 | Blige, Combs, Winans | Sean "Diddy" Combs & Mario Winans for The Hitmen |
| 18 | "Ultimate Relationship (A.M.)" | 5:05 | D. Lawrence, S. White | Sean "Diddy" Combs for The Hitmen |
- Bonus tracks
- "Whenever I Say Your Name (Duet with Sting) [International Bonus Track]
- "Didn't Mean" [UK and Brazil Bonus Track]
- "Happy Endings" [Japan Bonus Track]
- "If I Don't Love You This Way" [Japan and UK reissue Bonus Track]
Bonus US Limited Edition DVD:
- A look at making the album.
[edit] Charts
[edit] Chart positions
| Chart (2003) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums | 1 |
| Canadian Albums Chart | 6[12] |
| German Albums Chart | 21[13] |
[edit] Chart procession and succession
| Preceded by The Neptunes Present... Clones by Various artists |
Billboard 200 number-one album September 7, 2003 |
Succeeded by Metamorphosis by Hilary Duff |
[edit] References
- ^ link
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- ^ Christgau, Robert (September 23, 2003). The Commoner Queen. The Village Voice. Archived from the original on 2011-01-09.
- ^ http://www.hitsdailydouble.com/sales/archcht.cgi?cht859
- ^ http://fanofmusic.free.fr/BestSellers.php?Act=MaryJBlige
- ^ Mary J. Blige: Love & Life (2003): Reviews Metacritic. Accessed November 8, 2007.
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
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