| | Mary J Blige Breakthrough CD Mary J Blige Discography of CDs
 (79 Customer Reviews)
The album's lead-off single, "Be Without You," a bittersweet slow jam, is representative of the album's themes, which focus on feelings of strength and weakness in love. But whether waxing romantic ("Can't Get Enough") or detailing the travails of the heart ("Baggage"), Blige lays down elastic R&B vocal lines that are second to none. Even a seemingly unlikely duet with Bono and U2 on "One" comes across beautifully, adding a new dimension to that familiar tune.
After her somewhat lukewarm 2003 release LOVE & LIFE, Mary J. Blige returns to her rightful place as the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul with 2005's THE BREAKTHROUGH. Blige enlisted a host of guest producers to contribute tracks to THE BREAKTHROUGH, and the result is one of her strongest and most varied albums. As usual, the sound is a mixture of smooth, urban contemporary and hip-hop edge, but Blige nails it with tracks like the pulsing "Enough Cryin'" (with its rich, multi-layered vocals) and the breezy "Can't Hide From Luv" featuring a guest spot by Jay-Z.
Personnel: Mary J. Blige (vocals); Dave Young, will.i.am, Brook (vocals); Jay-Z (rap vocals); Bryan-Michael Cox (various instruments); Raphael Saadiq (guitar, bass guitar); Craig Brockman (keyboards); U2.
Entertainment Weekly (p.78) - "[The albums'] sprawl of conflicted emotions feels true to her fierce, prickly personality." -- Grade: B+
Mojo (Publisher) (p.93) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]his new album reveals a still intense and enthralling grittiness to her performances..." Breakthrough Music Review Purchase Breakthrough CD To buy, Click on price to add to cart | Kanye West Late Registration CD (2005)
Breakthrough album
 $11.25   
Throughout the album, West merely continues to perfect his craft, slowing tracks down and speeding them up into an awe-inspiring mosaic. While his MC style is often discounted as being of secondary importance, he shines when put up against the best in the game, as with Common on the bluesy "My Way Home" or Nas on the lush "We Major." And in the spirit of Bob Dylan, West knows how to make the most of a very original voice. LATE REGISTRATION is ample proof of West's staying power.
Rapper/producer Kanye West's second album, LATE REGISTRATION, incredibly lives up to expectations following his universally acclaimed debut, THE COLLEGE DROPOUT, which took the art of sampling to a new plateau. Here, for example, "Gold Digger" features a sample of the legendary Ray Charles alongside actor Jamie Foxx in Oscar-reprising character as Charles. "Addiction" pairs a frenetic African beat with a stuttering, singular ...
| | Chamillionaire Sound Of Revenge CD (2005) Parental Advisory
Breakthrough CD music
$13.19
With THE SOUND OF REVENGE, Chamillionaire's 2005 Universal debut, the Houston-based rapper makes the most of his major-label deal, which includes his own ...
| | Jamie Foxx Unpredictable CD (2005) Parental Advisory, DualDisc
Breakthrough music CDs
$16.69
This is a DualDisc, which contains a CD on one side of the disc and a DVD on the other.
Jamie Foxx's second release as a solo artist is his first since his Oscar-winning portrayal of Ray Charles in the 2004 film RAY. It is natural, then, that UNPREDICTABLE would be a much higher-profile affair than 1994's PEEP THIS. The production credits include top-currency names like Timbaland and Sean Garrett. And guest stars? Forget about it. Common, Ludacris, Twista, Snoop Dogg, and Mary J. Blige, just to name a few, make appearances and help boost Foxx's credibility as one of the most popular kids on the block.
Foxx's music falls firmly into the category of sultry, hip-hop-inflected R&B a la R. Kelly. ...
| | Anthony Hamilton Ain't Nobody Worrying CD (2005)
Breakthrough songs
$9.59 
After the success of his 2003 album, COMIN' FROM WHERE I'M FROM, R&B/soul singer Anthony Hamilton followed up in earnest during 2005, first with a collection of previously unreleased tunes, SOULIFE, and then with another new studio record, AIN'T NOBODY WORRYIN'. This latter disc truly solidifies Hamilton's sterling reputation; it's an utterly confident outing that nods to 1970s soul music without being beholden to the style of that era. In fact, Hamilton's deft balancing of both vintage soul and contemporary production is what helps the expressive vocalist stand out in the crowd. Rather than calling up his R&B/rap peers for guest shots, Hamilton largely goes in alone on this solid record, allowing superstar producer Mark Batson and others to create organic backdrops that perfectly showcase his undeniable talent.
Recording information: Allustrious Recording ...
| | Ne-Yo In My Own Words CD (2006)
Breakthrough album
$12.99
The grooves on IN MY OWN WORDS are mostly down- to mid-tempo, with plenty of room to showcase Ne-Yo's way with a lyric and melody. The album's first single, "Stay," is a case in point, layering vocal lines for a choral effect while Ne-Yo's fine, flexible voice soars over the top. As one might expect, matters ...
| | Keyshia Cole Way It Is CD (2005)
Breakthrough CD music
$11.05
Far from the usual fizzy pop practiced by contemporaries like Beyonce and Kelis, the debut album from Oakland-born singer/songwriter Keyshia Cole is full of sophisticated, adult R&B that bridges the gap between the neo-soul likes of Alicia Keys and the inspired, kinetic hip-hop of Kanye West. Keys and West both guest here, on the singles "(I Just Want It) To Be Over" and "I Changed My Mind," respectively, ...
| | Tower Of Power Bump City CD (1972)
Breakthrough music CDs
$7.69 
Funk masters Tower Of Power's tight, funky sound is in high gear on BUMP CITY, one of the group's strongest efforts. Containing several TOP hits, including concert favorite "You Got To Funkifize" and the classic "Down To The Nightclub," this is one of the best examples of Oakland's favorite sons in their stride. Other cuts, like the down-and-dirty "You Strike My Main Nerve" and the bluesy shuffle "Flash In The Pan," couple the funky power of the original Prestia-Garibaldi rhythm team with those signature TOP horns.
Singer Rick Stevens also shines on such ballads as "What Happened To The World That Day" and the moving hit "You're Still A Young Man," yet another classic from the group's early days. In all, BUMP CITY is guaranteed to funk you into bad health and make you crave that Oakland stroke more than ever.
Recorded at TMI Sound Studios, Memphis, ...
| | Fleetwood Mac Boston Blues CDs (2000) (Import) France
Breakthrough songs
$11.29
| | Patrice Rushen Patrice CD (1977)
Breakthrough album
$10.65
Patrice Rushen was an R&B-jazz vocalist/pianist/songwriter who in the 70's and 80's had numerous albums make the Billboard charts. The majority of her work originally came out on Elektra Records but has never been issued on CD anywhere in the world until now. Patrice was her first album recorded for Elektra and reached #98 in 1979. Wounded Bird Records. 2003.
After recording three jazz-oriented albums for Prestige, Patrice Rushen switched to Elektra and gave herself a major R&B/pop makeover with Patrice. Even the funkiest parts of Shout It Out, the last of Rushen's three Prestige/Fantasy albums, couldn't have prepared listeners for this LP, which finds her taking the commercial plunge and successfully making the transition from jazz instrumentalist to R&B/pop vocalist. As expected, jazz's hardcore audience cried foul: Like Roy Ayers, George Duke, George Benson, and other jazz instrumentalists who took up R&B singing, Rushen was called a sellout and vilified in the jazz media. Patrice was trashed by jazz critics. Instead of hating this album because ...
| | Luv City Dream On CD (2004) (Import) Germany
Breakthrough CD music
$16.09
| | Cirque Du Soleil Mystere CD (2006) (Import)
Breakthrough music CDs
$15.75
| | Marianne Rosenberg I'm A Woman CD (2008) (Import) Import
Breakthrough songs
$28.69
| | Trancemaster 6003 CD (2009) (Import) Import
Breakthrough album
$48.59
| | Ringo Starr Y Not CD (2010)
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