Macy Gray
On How Life Is (1999)

Review by: Mike Webb
Date: 7/13/00

Face it, it's all about that voice. If it cooed from another room, you'd have to go seek it out. And if you tried to drink 100 whiskeys and smoke 100 Marlboro's, you still wouldn't be able to get that scratchy, soulful thing she's got (and you'd have one hell of a hangover!). And if you put it over some cool, modern R&B grooves, you'd get an album that's worth listening to.

Macy's got a great feel for the songs she sings. "I Can't Wait To Meetchu" is an upbeat, gospel number where Macy celebrates life, as she wonders what it will be like when she meets God. And the gospel-like ballad "Still" is reminiscent of "Exile On Main Street" era Stones.

If you're looking for something better than the hit single "I Try", you might want to look elsewhere. But as a general musical philosophy, On How Life Is is a pretty good standard to go by.