KEY POINTS:
Herald rating: * * *
Verdict: Easy-listening fourth album needs more crazy
She was a big star once, thanks to that big voice, big hair and big personality. With each album, (save the dull The Trouble With Being Myself) it seemed Macy Gray's eccentricity got bigger until she wound up talking shambles on TV. But unlike Britney, Gray pulled the mad act off in a manner reminiscent of the freaky soul divas of the 70s.
Now, on her sixth album, she's recruited big names will.i.am, Ron Fair, and Justin Timberlake to produce, and singing stars Natalie Cole and Fergie. But the result is mostly one big, slick production that sounds too safe to really do justice to Gray's unusual, raspy vocal.
The fun doesn't start until you've made your way through a series of midtempo, R&B ballads. It's not until Strange Behaviour, about a violent romance, the kooky Get Out, and the Prince-like Treat Me Like Your Money that she sounds as loopy as you'd like her to. Even then, Gray's vocal is swamped by strings, backing vocals and too many studio layers.
