Review: Macy Gray - "Big"

Macy Gray has long needed to be reigned in. Her quirky ways and unusual voice made her a successful novelty act when her debut album, On How Life Is, was released in 1999, but she slowly began her wear out her welcome on the music scene, beginning with her second album, 2001's The Id. Now on her fourth studio album, Big, Macy finds herself under the guidance of hitmaker will.i.am and others who harness and refine her distinctive raspy voice. The results are mixed: her sound's been updated, but on a few Big songs, her wacky personality is so diluted that she sounds like a run-of-the-mill, average pop singer.

If there's one thing you can count on with each Macy Gray album, it's that somebody's probably going to get killed. Not literally, of course. But on each of her four studio albums, Macy sings about killing someone; it's been a tradition dating back to the song "I've Committed Murder," from her debut album and continuing with each studio album since.

Such songs epitomizes the quirky, off-kilter nature of the singer and distinguishes her from her musical peers. This time the murder song is "Strange Behavior," where Macy tells the story of how she and her husband each want to kill one another for the insurance money. It's one of the album's highlights, of which there aren't a lot of.

Part of the album's problem is that its producers try to remake Macy into a standard adult pop/R&B singer, which she isn't. Her attempts at singing over standard R&B music mostly fail; it's the more musically jagged songs, like "Treat Me Like Your Money," (which features will.i.am, who's also the album's executive producer); the funky, rock guitar-driven "Get Out" (featuring and produced by Justin Timberlake); and the hip-hop posturing of "Ghetto Love" (which samples a James Brown beat) where Macy is really in her element vocally.

Of the 12 songs on the album, only half and worthy of repeat listening, while the other half sound like the vocal equivalent ramming a square peg in a round hole. So, despite guest performances by many notable artists and better than average song production, Big comes up short half the time when it comes to quality material.