accessAtlanta

R&B
Mary J. Blige
"The Breakthrough." Geffen Records. 16 tracks.
Grade: B+

Rumors have been swirling that Mary J. Blige's latest album is a return to heartbroken Mary, which set fans of the powerful hip-hop/soul singer to dreaming of another classic along the lines of 1994's "My Life," an incredibly melodious trip through misery.

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Well, sorry to disappoint those who believed the "heartbroken Mary" headlines, but this is not "My Life."

And yet "The Breakthrough" isn't a disappointment either.

Her first single "Be Without You" — co-written by Atlanta's Johnta Austin — has all of the likable schmaltz of Mariah Carey's monster single "We Belong Together" (also a tune Austin helped write).

And the other standouts —"Can't Hide From Luv" (with rapper Jay-Z) and "I Found My Everything" (with R&B singer-songwriter Raphael Saadiq) — are dynamic turns at Emotions-era disco soul and traditional gospel, respectively.

The rest is standard, revelatory Mary. Both "Good Woman Down" and "Father in You," for example, detail her troubled upbringing. But instead of wallowing in heartbreak as she did on past records, she wills and — with what sounds like new might — wails herself out of it.

— Sonia Murray