The Tour (album)

The Tour
Live album by Mary J. Blige
Released July 28, 1998
Recorded April 1998
Venue Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles
Genre R&B[1]
Length 109:18
Label MCA
Producer Mary J. Blige, Lanar Brantley
Mary J. Blige chronology
Share My World
(1997)		 The Tour
(1998)		 Mary
(1999)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[1]
Los Angeles Times[3]
Rolling Stone[4]
The Village VoiceA−[5]

The Tour is live recording album by American R&B singer Mary J. Blige, released July 28, 1998. The album was recorded from two shows in Los Angeles at the Universal Amphitheater during her Share My World Tour in 1997-1998 in the U.S..

Critical reception

In a contemporary review for Rolling Stone, Jancee Dunn wrote that The Tour "deftly captures the energy and exuberance" of Blige's live shows while calling the singer "a commanding, self-assured performer" who "plays her audience like a damn fiddle".[4] Entertainment Weekly critic Matt Diehl said while the arrangements were occasionally overwrought, Blige compensated with passionate vocals and impressive covers of classic soul songs, "blending motifs into each other like an expert DJ".[1] Robert Christgau deemed the record Blige's "de facto best-of" in The Village Voice;[5] he explained in 2003 why it remained his favorite album of hers:

"Not for its slightly gauche show band, or even for its concentrated song selection and bonus covers. More for its hype man cheerleading like the nameless subaltern he is and the high-pitched cheers he works up; for Mary missing notes, or claiming she's getting fat and then not worrying about it anyway. In this context, deathless nonpoetry like 'I know that I was wrong for all that carrying on/But are you gonna hold it against me?' carries weight."[6]

Track listing

  1. "Intro"
  2. "Real Love"
  3. "You Remind Me"
  4. "Reminisce"
  5. "Sweet Thing"
  6. "Mary Jane (All Night Long)"
  7. "Love No Limit"
  8. "Summer Madness"
  9. "My Life"
  10. "You Gotta Believe"
  11. "Slow Down"
  12. "Mary's Joint"
  13. "I'm the Only Woman"
  14. "Share My World"
  15. "I'm Goin' Down"
  16. "Thank You Lord"
  17. "I Can Love You"
  18. "Keep Your Head" (with Dustin Adams)
  19. "Everything"
  20. "Seven Days"
  21. "Not Gon' Cry"
  22. "Missing You"
  23. "Day Dreaming"
  24. "Misty Blue"
  25. "A Dream" (Japanese Bonus Track)

Personnel

Musicians

  • Mary J. Blige - Main Performer, Vocals
  • Lanar Brantley - Musical Direction
  • Benny Pough - Introduction Announcer
  • Dustin Adams - Vocals (Background), Performer
  • Paulette McWilliams - Vocals (Background)
  • Joya Owens - Vocals (Background)
  • Audrey Wheeler - Vocals (Background)
  • Angel Rogers - Vocals (Background)
  • Sharon Bryant-Gallaway - Vocals (Background)
  • Chantell Jones - Vocals (Background)
  • Michelle Matlock - Vocals (Background)
  • Cindy Mizelle - Vocals (Background)
  • Lanar Brantley - Bass
  • Michael Clemons - Drums
  • Jeff Motley - Keyboards
  • Luke Austin - Keyboards
  • Loren Dawson - Keyboards

Production

  • Mary J. Blige - producer
  • Lanar Brantley - producer
  • Kirk Burrowes - Executive Producer
  • Hank Shocklee - Executive Producer
  • LaTonya Blige-DaCosta - Associate Executive Producer
  • Lanar Brantley - mixing
  • Larry Alexander - mixing
  • Hank Shocklee - mixing
  • Greg Pinto - Mixing Assistant
  • Larry Alexander - sequencing
  • Tom Coyne - mastering
  • Chuck Orozco - engineering
  • Larry Alexander - engineering
  • John Protozko - engineering
  • Booker T. Jones III - engineering
  • Jeff Keese - engineering
  • Scott Peets - engineering

References

  1. 1 2 3 Entertainment Weekly review
  2. ↑ Allmusic review
  3. ↑ Johnson, Connie (July 26, 1998). "Record Rack". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  4. 1 2 Rolling Stone review
  5. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (September 29, 1998). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  6. ↑ Christgau, Robert (September 30, 2003). "The Commoner Queen". The Village Voice. Retrieved September 20, 2016.

External links

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