Music Review: Mary J. Blige "All That I Can Say"
Mary J. Blige
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All That I Can Say
Album: Mary
Year: 1999
Mary J. Blige is proud of her relationship with her boyfriend in the soft-hearted "All That I Can Say."
Opening with a beaming guitar and keyboards, Mary J. Blige "hmm's." The guitar and keyboard have a short solo which sets an easygoing, comfortable tone. Being in love with him is a joyous experience. It's something she thought only happened to lucky people. She's not nervous talking to him. She's able to discuss her feelings openly. She wants him to remain as sincere as he is forever. ("Loving you is wonderful/Something like a miracle/Rest assured I feel the same way you do/Meeting you isn't hard/With you I can let down my guard/Stay secure that's all I'm asking from you/(Stay secure.")
In the pre-chorus, Blige can't articulate her emotions, though. ("I wish I had words to tell (I wish)/This feeling that I know so well/But I don't, I don't.")
In the chorus, she's at a loss for words. All she knows ist that she loves him. ("All that I can say/(Do do, do do, do do, doo)/All that I can say/(Do do, do do, do do, doo.")
She's been wondering what a serious relationship would be like. Would it be how she imagined? Would the guy be romantic and fulfill her needs? His opinions are important to her. They allow her to see life differently. ("I've always been curious/Meeting someone serious/
Looking for someone who loves like me/But the day I stopped my search/It seemed that you were put on this Earth/To show me everything I could not see.")
In the pre-chorus, she wants to talk about the first day she saw him and what she felt. However, she finds her emotions too complex to talk about. ("I wish I could find a way/
To tell you how I felt that day/But I can't (I just can't)/I can't.")
After the chorus is sung twice, the single has it's brighest moment. In the bridge, Blige mentions all the reasons why he makes her happy: she's honored to be his confidant and to care for him, revealing her love for him in small ways, being with him and compromising through their fights. He's sincere and helpful. He's kind and for Blige, he's an angel. Blige builds to a heartfelt "oohh." It's as though as it's release from pain from past heartbreaks. ("Hmmm, oh/Knowing him, loving him/Showing him that I'm all him/Living and forgiving and/I would do it all again/
Genuine, servant/Sweeter than cinnamon/Heaven-sent gentleman/Sent him here for loving him/
Ooh, oh/Ooh, oh.")
The chorus is sung twice again, the music continues on with Blige adlibbing. It's a tedious and drawn-out section. It's essentially two minutes of dead air. Finally, some lyrics are scattered until the end. She tells him she loves him and he's the one for her. ("He's all that I'll ever need/He's got a hold on me/I love you/Oh I don't wanna live without you/You're all that I can say, hey/Loving you is wonderful/(Do do, do do, do do, doo)/All that I can say/(Do do, do do, do do, doo)/All that I can say.")
There's something missing in "All That I Can Say." Blige sings it in her usual heartfelt manner yet it feels programmed. The music is modernized neo-soul but it's devoid of any spirit. The lyrics are realisitic. Not everyone can describe love. However, it feels artificial.
Album: Mary
Year: 1999
Mary J. Blige is proud of her relationship with her boyfriend in the soft-hearted "All That I Can Say."
Opening with a beaming guitar and keyboards, Mary J. Blige "hmm's." The guitar and keyboard have a short solo which sets an easygoing, comfortable tone. Being in love with him is a joyous experience. It's something she thought only happened to lucky people. She's not nervous talking to him. She's able to discuss her feelings openly. She wants him to remain as sincere as he is forever. ("Loving you is wonderful/Something like a miracle/Rest assured I feel the same way you do/Meeting you isn't hard/With you I can let down my guard/Stay secure that's all I'm asking from you/(Stay secure.")
In the pre-chorus, Blige can't articulate her emotions, though. ("I wish I had words to tell (I wish)/This feeling that I know so well/But I don't, I don't.")
In the chorus, she's at a loss for words. All she knows ist that she loves him. ("All that I can say/(Do do, do do, do do, doo)/All that I can say/(Do do, do do, do do, doo.")
She's been wondering what a serious relationship would be like. Would it be how she imagined? Would the guy be romantic and fulfill her needs? His opinions are important to her. They allow her to see life differently. ("I've always been curious/Meeting someone serious/
Looking for someone who loves like me/But the day I stopped my search/It seemed that you were put on this Earth/To show me everything I could not see.")
In the pre-chorus, she wants to talk about the first day she saw him and what she felt. However, she finds her emotions too complex to talk about. ("I wish I could find a way/
To tell you how I felt that day/But I can't (I just can't)/I can't.")
After the chorus is sung twice, the single has it's brighest moment. In the bridge, Blige mentions all the reasons why he makes her happy: she's honored to be his confidant and to care for him, revealing her love for him in small ways, being with him and compromising through their fights. He's sincere and helpful. He's kind and for Blige, he's an angel. Blige builds to a heartfelt "oohh." It's as though as it's release from pain from past heartbreaks. ("Hmmm, oh/Knowing him, loving him/Showing him that I'm all him/Living and forgiving and/I would do it all again/
Genuine, servant/Sweeter than cinnamon/Heaven-sent gentleman/Sent him here for loving him/
Ooh, oh/Ooh, oh.")
The chorus is sung twice again, the music continues on with Blige adlibbing. It's a tedious and drawn-out section. It's essentially two minutes of dead air. Finally, some lyrics are scattered until the end. She tells him she loves him and he's the one for her. ("He's all that I'll ever need/He's got a hold on me/I love you/Oh I don't wanna live without you/You're all that I can say, hey/Loving you is wonderful/(Do do, do do, do do, doo)/All that I can say/(Do do, do do, do do, doo)/All that I can say.")
There's something missing in "All That I Can Say." Blige sings it in her usual heartfelt manner yet it feels programmed. The music is modernized neo-soul but it's devoid of any spirit. The lyrics are realisitic. Not everyone can describe love. However, it feels artificial.