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| Growing Pains | 
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| Artist: Mary J. Blige
Label: Geffen Records
Category: Music
List Price: $13.98
Buy Used: $2.15
You Save: $11.83 (85%)
New (60) Used (37) Collectible (1) from $2.15
Avg. Customer Rating:  146 reviews
Sales Rank: 973
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.4
MPN: 001031302
UPC: 602517520301
EAN: 0602517520301
ASIN: B000X3VN5U
Release Date: December 18, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | Work That | | • | Grown Woman featuring Ludacris | | • | Just Fine | | • | Feel Like a Woman | | • | Stay Down | | • | Hurt Again | | • | Shakedown featuring Usher | | • | Till the Morning | | • | Roses | | • | Fade Away | | • | What Love Is | | • | Work in Progress (Growing Pains) | | • | Talk To Me | | • | If You Love Me? | | • | Smoke | | • | Come To Me (Peace) |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
"I'm talkin' 'bout things I know," Mary J. Blige wails on "Work That," the second single and opening track of Growing Pains. The album squeaked into 2007 too late to make best-of lists but otherwise would have stormed its way up several, for sure. She needn't have hit us with such a pronouncement: In 16 songs that ring as remarkably, unflinchingly true as those on 2005's landmark The Breakthrough, the queen of hip-hop soul keeps "keeping it real" a specialty. There's no sense in trying to assign credit for the skin-tight grooves and funked-up retro vibe here; with nine producers padding Blige's emotion-rich voice and the lyrics she so obviously lives by, what we're left with is a melange of sounds. But it's a measure of an artist who has mastered her own identity and left nothing to chance that this, her eighth studio album, comes off so free of wild cards and loose edges. "You ask what love feels like," she sings on "What Love Is," one of the disc's less fierce tracks. "It feels like joy, and it feels like pain, and it feels like sunshine, and it feels like rain," she continues, answering the question. The album feels the same way, a passel of complex feelings all wrapped up in love. No one knows struggle, heartache, and triumph over mediocrity like Blige. --Tammy La Gorce
Amazon.com
Geffen Records superstar and hit-making songwriter Mary J. Blige, is set to follow-up the most successful album of her career, the triple platinum The Breakthrough, with her eighth (8th) studio CD Growing Pains. Growing Pains includes the single "Just Fine" which has become an instant favorite on radio and on MTV, BET and VH-1. The second single from Growing Pains, "Work That," is currently featured in an Apple I-Pod commercial. After selling over 40 million CDs and garnering six Grammy Awards during her phenomenal 15-year career, Mary is confident that her fans will not be disappointed with Growing Pains. "They're going to get a sense of what my state of mind is and how I view the world," she says. "And hopefully, most of all, they're going to hear just the sincere honesty and love that I have for them." She adds, "Growing Pains represents accepting that there's pain that goes along with growing and change. No pain, no gain." Growing Pains, with Mary co-writing most of the songs on the album, features guest appearances by Ludacris and Usher and production by The Neptunes, Jazze Pha, Johnta Austin, Neyo, Stargate, Bryan-Michael Cox, Dre and Vidal, Tricky, Dream, and Sean Garrett. Mary makes her message loud, clear and seriously funky on the first release "Just Fine" produced by Jazze Pha and Tricky and co-written by Mary and Dream. A celebration of life, "Just Fine" gives you Mary fierce, and as the video shows, glamorous. The song's vibe? "Sometimes it feels like you're having this miserable time, like all 365 days of the year are tough. But then, you get one of those days; maybe when your hair is great, or you're not stuck in traffic; where it's a `just fine' day. At some point," Mary laughs, "You've got have one or two of those." The party and positivity keeps on keeping on with the rump shaking second single "Work That." Mary comments, "When I meet a woman who doesn't know what to do about her weight or her hair I always say - `whatever it is that you have, make that work for you, Work what you got.'" After releasing her bestselling anthology Reflections last year, Growing Pains is Mary's first CD of new material since The Breakthrough debuted at #1 in 2005, selling over 700,000 copies its first week -- the best opening week for a solo R&B female artist in SoundScan history. The album's first single, "Be Without You," also made chart history by holding down the #1 spot on the Billboard R&B charts for a record breaking 16 straight weeks; making it the longest-running No. 1 song on the R&B chart in over 40 years. Mary led all artists with eight 2007 Grammy nominations for the landmark album, and she took home honors for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Song (both for "Be Without You"), and Best R&B Album. After earning three Grammy Awards, she continued her award show domination by winning nine Billboard Music Awards, two American Music Awards, two BET Awards, two NAACP Image Awards, and a Soul Train Award. The Breakthrough lived up to its name selling over seven million copies worldwide. More from Mary J. Blige 
Reflections—A Retrospective | 
The Breakthrough | 
My Life | 
What's the 411? | 
No More Drama | 
Share My World | 
Mary | 
Love & Life | 
The Tour |
Album Description
UK pressing of the R&B diva's 2007 album features three bonus tracks: 'If You Love Me' (Edit), 'Hello It's Me' and 'Mirror'. Growing Pains is Mary J. Blige's eighth studio album. After a tumultuous period in the '90s which saw the R&B and Soul diva battle demons both privately and professionally, this album documents her final steps to personal happiness as uplifting single 'Just Fine' demonstrates. As a positive record, it highlights the emotional depth in Blige who sounds more confident and mature than ever before. It also includes a guest appearance from rapper Ludacris. 19 tracks. Polydor. 2008.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 141 more reviews...
 Growing painful to listen to April 26, 2008
20 out of 27 found this review helpful
I'm a huge fan of Mary J. Blige. I've been a fan more or less from the moment What's the 411? dropped back in '92. I've bought every single album she released since, including the live and remix albums but excluding 2003's Love & Life, right up to The Breakthrough. I didn't get Reflections - A Retrospective but that was because I just didn't see the point (I had practically everything on it already) and not because I didn't like it.
But I seem to be the only one on the planet who just can't get into this one. I simply don't get it. Mary has been selling millions of albums across the world for 16 years now and that could explain why, to these ears, she's beginning to sound a bit weary. She's been telling us all how she's incredibly happy now, how her life is exactly where she wants it to be and how, whilst going through all the pain in her recent past, one thing she's always strived to do is keep things real with her fans. This might all well be true but I'm yet to see Mary actually LOOKING happy in an interview or a video. (Jill Scott always looks happy for instance, even these days - and she's just been through a divorce!).
But maybe that's just Mary's way. Maybe it's the 'street' or 'ghetto fabulous' thing to; to never smile even if feeling blissful. Her continuous banging on about said bliss is starting to grate on the nerves a tad though. She's a strong woman, no doubt, and a trooper. She does "keep on going", as one reviewer said but at what cost? Like I said, the poor woman is probably just really tired.
When she burst onto the scene back in 1992 with songs like "Real Love", "Reminisce" and "Love No Limit", she showed energy, versatility and raw emotion that have long since dissipated. The bittersweet "Be Happy" and the poignant "I'm Goin' Down from her sophomore album My Life proved she was no one-hit wonder. And let's not forget her star turns on hip-hop classics like "Can't Knock The Hustle" with Jay-Z (1996) and "I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need To Get By" with Method Man (1995). I for one thought the title "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" was absolutely well deserved.
But every subsequent album has been less satisfying, and more geared towards what was playing on the radio than the one that preceded it. By the time "The Breakthrough" came out, I was starting to lose interest. It was clear to any objective listener that Mary was just treading water and I've barely played the CD three times since I got it. This one I simply couldn't bear and had to take right back to the store and ask for something else.
As soon as I saw the video to her single "Just Fine", I had my doubts. The Michael Jackson homage-paying intro (and the video itself) was probably well intentioned but to me, they just fell flat. It just doesn't sound or look like she really means it. She's singing about being uplifted but she sounds (and looks) anything but. Jackson looked ecstatic in the video to "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" but to me, Mary looks like she'd rather be somewhere else, doing something else. It's not so much in her moves, it's in her eyes and her facial expressions.
The female empowerment of "Grown Woman" and "Feel Like A Woman" sound like the kind of thing that would play well to Oprah's studio audience but this listener just couldn't find the groove - and I'm no chauvinist. It would take too long to list the female empowerment tunes I've grooved to in my time.
Pharrell's multi-tempoed "'Til The Morning" and Ne-Yo's interestingly winding "Smoke" are probably the only two songs on here that break away from the made-for-radio formula that dominates the album and Mary is probably singing the best she's ever sung - much more control, much less excess - but somehow for me, that just makes her less interesting to listen to. A perfect example of what I mean is the solemn "Fade Away". Forget all the almost spiritual wailing and chest beating of the good old days, Mary sounds like she's barely breaking a sweat.
Maybe that's how music is now in the 21st century and I need to either get with the program or leave it alone. Or maybe, just maybe, as listeners, we've allowed our standards to drop to basement level and as a result, anything even slightly passable is lauded as the next best thing. Mary is undoubtedly one of the legends of our time and I'll never even try to take that away from her but I do wonder if the way many of us fans are almost deifying the woman these days, is blinding us to the fact that her music is simply not as good as it used to be. I realise that we're living in an age where creativity and individuality are not rewarded and where studio executives and radio programmers are now telling artistes what kind of music to make so it's entirely possible that Mary's heart isn't really in the music she's putting out, despite all her talk of the contrary. Whatever. In the end, we'll only get the quality of music that we as consumers demand.
Maybe Mary's new life is indeed the happy and peaceful one she says it is. All I know is that while it must be a good thing (especially for her) that all the pain is behind her and all the angst gone, her supposedly newly-found joy is not coming through in the music quite yet. To me, singing songs of empowerment and bliss while looking and sounding utterly miserable just makes Mary painful to watch - and to listen to.
The album will probably still sell truckloads and earn her all kinds of awards, so I know my view is the minority one. I also know that my review is very likely to be unpopular here but I had to say my piece. I didn't want to post the review but a good Amazon buddy of mine (who will remain nameless) encouraged me to do so, so here it is. Let the hissing, booing and clicking on the "no" button begin.
 "Growing Pains" Doesn't Dissapoint December 18, 2007
13 out of 19 found this review helpful
Mary J. Blige follows "The Breakthrough" with "Growing Pains" which to me was an even stronger effort that claims the title of being one of her best, if not the best, albums of her career. She found her footing with "The Breakthrough" and any fears that she'd return with a cd that wasn't as strong should be put aside. "Growing Pains" has something for all of her fans and new ones, a sound that mirrors old R&B but also goes into territory that music seems afraid to venture into. After listening to the entire album, I found myself saying this was true quality. There isn't really a track to skip here; each song adds something to the mix and covers everything from a dance-vibe to a laid-back groove about love and loss.
Some of the standout tracks are "Work That" which is one of the upbeat songs, "Grown Woman" that could be this albums "Enough Crying" with Mary dishing out her good qualities and what makes her stand out at this point in her life. "Feel Like A Woman" is a new kind of song for Blige where she puts aside her reservations about being with someone and shows her most vulnerable of traits in this ballad-like track. "Stay Down" stands as my favorite, another turn for Mary J. Blige as she's asking her man to stay through the troubles and paints a picture of better days in their relationship that are to come. "Roses" is another track, more hard in sound, with Blige proclaiming she's all right and doesn't need people telling her what's wrong with her. "Fade Away" and "What Love Is" both are tracks that stand out for their production and the feeling she evokes. In what's perhaps one of her best closing tracks, "Come To Me (Peace)", is a big R&B/80s type of song that's a no-holds-barge explosion of sound and is moving and leaves you wanting more.
In all, "Growing Pains" is an absolute must own. Where most artist hit their peak at some point and become predictable, Mary J. Blige seems to be getting better with each year. The songs on this cd are fresh, original and yet sound different and a bit experimental for Blige as she matures into her new sound and comfort zone as an artist. Buy this cd, you will not be disappointed.
Not "The Breakthrough" but it shouldn't be expected to be! December 25, 2007
11 out of 18 found this review helpful
Most popular singers can attest to that one album that is considered by fans and critics alike as being their apex. Michael Jackson had "Thriller," Prince had "Purple Rain," and Mary J. had the multi-Grammy-winning "The Breakthrough." It is unfair to the singers to always compare each successive release with its predecessor for the artists may have different directions and concepts that they wish to pursue.
Mary J, though traveling some of the same roads as her previous works, branches out somewhat with "Growing Pains" with an album that is possibly more pop-oriented than anything that she has previously done, including "The Breakthrough."
"Growing Pains" is a bit of everything that will, no doubt, increase her already large fan base. Riding high on the strength of the first single "Just Fine" and its eye-popping video, the album is a well-crafted blend of R & B, funk, pop, and female angst and strength that can only be done by Miss Mary.
EVERY single song is a winner and each makes a seamless segue to its successor.
Besides that, she looks MIGHTY FINE on every photo in the liner notes!
We all should grow so well!
ABSOLUTELY STUNNING December 24, 2007
10 out of 12 found this review helpful
Most people love "What's The 411" and "My Life" and they think they are totally classic, and then there's "The Breakthrough" which is a 5 star effort in itself - but here Mary J. Blige surpasses everything she has done - the cut SHAKE DOWN with Usher is so commercial it's sickening which is GREAT it's like the sweetest candy you could ever want - but don't think for a minute she's sold out. NO NO NO - this CD is so deep, so heartfelt, so BLACK, so true, so much full of emotion. Mary J. Blige I think this is her "THRILLER" - this CD is phenomenal from start to finish. Even if you've never heard of her before - you will be infected with these songs - they stay in your mind, soul and heart. This CD is ABSOLUTELY STUNNING - her best effort yet, and how do you surpass "My Life" - she has done it - you will be TOTALLY REWARDED WITH THIS PURCHASE - look out for Mary in 2008 and 2009 - SHE TRULY IS THE UNDISPUTED "QUEEN OF HIP-HOP SOUL" Girl you GO GO GO GO GO!!! Man O Man, Mariah you know you're my heart, and Rickie Lee you are my favorite - but she even revamps some old Emotions samples - THIS CD IS BEYOND BEYOND. Just listen, GUARANTEED!!! Thank you ET for my favorite gift this Christmas. God is alive - Listen to Mary - you'll be a witness!!! It's THAT UNBELIEVABLE - miraculous. Anyone who rated this CD less than 5 stars has not listened to it more than twice, this CD rewards the listener with repeated listens and you see how brilliant this CD is. It's really A NON STOP PARTY. Keep playing this at your Christmas or New Years Party's - you'll see - this grows on your without ANY PAIN. MARY J BLIGE - much respect. This is one of the best CD's I've ever heard - period. Trust me, listen to it a few times - you'll start becoming infected with her "Growing Pains". THIS IS A SLAMMER - all respect to the TRUE QUEEN OF HIP HOP SOUL. God is my witness!! If Mariah is "the voice" - and Rickie Lee is "my heart" - then NO QUESTION Mary J. Blige is QUEEN OF MY SOUL. This CD is too good. YOU WILL NOT REGRET YOU BOUGHT THIS CD EVER.
 "You could look in my palm and see the storm coming, read the book of my life and see I've overcome it." December 21, 2007
9 out of 13 found this review helpful
Back in 2003, someone apparently thought it was a good idea to bring the powers that were Mary J. Blige and P. Diddy back together, in hopes of re-creating the magic of their earlier works. Well, they were wrong. By no means was the result, Love & Life, a terrible album; however, almost any fan will agree that it's Mary's--for the lack of a better term--worst work to date. Yes, there were some great moments, but most of it was uninspired with some pretty lazy production, courtesy of Diddy. The disc barely went platinum, making it her lowest selling studio album by far. The ever-consistent woman who seemingly could do no wrong made a slight misstep. That's what made 2005's excellent release, The Breakthrough, such a pleasant surprise. With the huge success of "Be Without You," the album's triple platinum status, its record-breaking first-week sales, and its eight Grammy nominations, it proved that Blige was on top once again and wasn't going anywhere. Two years later, she is back with Growing Pains.
From the photos, to the lyrics, to the themes and overall sound, Mary J. is definitely getting her grown woman on. Now a wife, she speaks with brutal honesty and maturity on serious relationships. They involve work, conflicts, disagreements, dependency, compromise, pain, passion, effort, and love, of course. Although it is a beautiful thing and brings much joy to people, to quote her, "it ain't all roses." I have read numerous reviews, from proffesionals nonetheless, that simply dismiss some of the lyrics as "preachy," but I would have to disagree. Mary is a woman who has clearly been through many trials and tribulations in her life, and she just wants to share her wisdom and knowledge of the world to her large fanbase, who could most likely benefit from her viewpoints. (If these reviewers really can't hear these true-to-life statements without cringing, then it's probably time they put themselves in check!) The pictures in the album's booklet show Mary keeping it classier than ever.
The stunning back cover shows Mary sitting atop a cabinet of old vinyls. The only vinyl cover that you are able to decipher is Diana Ross' 1981 album, Why Do Fools Fall In Love. It is most likely just a plain coincidence, but it speaks volumes of Growing Pains. This album has the major crossover appeal that Ross possessed back in the day. While Pains will not alienate her solid fanbase that was built upon her original hip-hop/soul (which is still very present), each track, especially "Come To Me (Peace)," contains a slight change in sound that could let them be comfortable on almost any radio format, not just simply R&B. This could be due to some fresh producers and songwriters that have shown much promise recently, such as Ne-Yo, Tricky, The Dream, Jazze Pha, Bryan-Michael Cox, Stargate, and the Neptunes, among others.
"Work That," as heard in the iTunes commercials, is a great choice for the second single. It is upbeat, inspirational, and infectious. The production by newcomer, Theron Otis Feemster, is simple and melodic, but it suits the song perfectly. On this, and a few other select tracks, Mary has a new swagger in her delivery that almost makes her sound like an MC. "Grown Woman" is another example of this. Over the hard-hitting and grungy hip-hop beat, she exudes confidence and pride in her womanhood. "Stay Down" speaks on marriage and how "sometimes when we fight/ it don't seem like God's desgin/ but... I promised I would stand by you." My favorite line appears in the chorus, when she begs her man to "stay down/ we're almost to the very best part." The production, by ingenious Bryan-Michael Cox, complements the emotion and triumph in Mary's strong vocals. "Roses" finds her nowhere near being preahcy; it's about those days when you want to be left alone and quite frankly, your lover just fans the fire. In between verses, she speaks, venting her emotions. On "Talk To Me," she urges her man to communicate his feelings over an Emotions horn sample, casuing the track to have a very nostalgic, old school soul feel.
While this album is excellent, it is not flawless. Ludacris' guest appearance irritates me and almost ruins the great "Grown Woman" for me. His verse, while not terrible, is a bit vulgar, putting him and his supposed grown woman's bedroom business all out there. Lines like "we some Stairmasters/ I make her get her exercise" seem to contradict the classiness that Mary maintains throughout the rest of the track. "Shake Down" sounds a bit too much like something Mariah Carey would record. (I love Mariah, I just think that it's not like something Mary would do.) It's not a bad track, though. "Just Fine," oddly chosen as the lead-off single, is a song I can take or leave depending on the day and my mood. "Till the Morning," however, is my least favorite track. The Neptunes' production and writing has become very bland, stale, and predictable to me by this point in time. The song sounds like Kelis-lite during her Kaleidoscope era. The bridge is good, but that's pretty much all I enjoy of the track. "Work In Progress (Growing Pains)" is a musically very good, but the whole I'm-just-like-you-even-though-I'm-a-celebrity thing is getting pretty tired. "What Love Is" is also exceptional, but lyrics like "it feels like joy/ it feels like pain/ it feels like sunshine/ it feels like rain" are undeniably cliche.
The bottom line: It is not perfect, but Growing Pains is still a darn good album. Her vocals are on point, the production and songwriting is top notch, and the lyrics are mature and real. Growing Pains has a slightly new sound that will most likely lead to an even bigger crossover than The Breakthrough caused. Still, even her fans from the beginning will feel satisfied. How does she do it? It's a mystery. Mary J. Blige is a truly special and talented grown woman.
Key tracks: Grown Woman, Stay Down, Roses, Fade Away, Talk to Me, Work That.
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