Mary Mary Albums (4)
What The Critics Say
A Mary Mary Christmas is filled with plenty of joy and excitement. Erica and Tina Campbell and their producers keep proceedings light and funky on a set that's split between originals and covers of classic holiday tunes. Most Christmas albums that showcase original compositions find them overshadowed by the chestnuts; here the opposite occurs. The R&B-based songs like "Only One," "'Tis the Season," and the sunshiny "California Christmas" are so filled with fun and sweetness, the gospel songs (the tender "Still the Lamb," the rollicking "Call Him Jesus") so filled with passion, they make the classics they cover faithfully ("Merry Little Christmas," "Carol of the Bells") sound stodgy. When they do take chances with the arrangements (the seemingly Lion King-influenced "O Come All Ye Faithful," a modern update on "Hark the Herald Angels Sing"), the results are decidedly mixed. While A Mary Mary Christmas is a solid addition to the holiday CD blizzard, a few more originals and fewer "classics" would have made it even more enjoyable. ~ Tim Sendra, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Having taken three years off to focus on motherhood, Mary Mary return with their self-titled third album. The momentum multi-talented sisters Erica and Tina (Trecina) Atkins built with their first two albums should bridge this time passed quite easily since their 2005 release is filled with ideas and succeeds brilliantly at every new thing it attempts. The opening "Believer" is the kind of powerful, new jack gospel fans have grown to expect from the group, and while it's great to hear the sisters still have it, where the album goes from here is what makes it special. "Biggest Greatest Thing" is a big band-styled number while "Heaven" samples Honey Cone's feel-good hit "Want Ads" for just about the greatest hand-clapper Mary Mary have ever delivered. House music is inspiration for "The Real Party" and "What Is This" is as big and grand as whatever 2005 pop or R&B ballad you care to mention, but if all this sounds like Mary Mary are derivative, one listen will convince you the pop and R&B worlds could borrow just as much from the album as the sisters have from the two genres. The only thing left to say about their comeback is that it gracefully winds down into softer, more personal material and that filler doesn't even enter into the picture. Blessed with wonderful voices, poignant songwriting skills, and a keen eye for which producers to work with, Mary Mary are a triple-threat who have delivered one exciting album after another. Raising the contemporary gospel bar once again, Mary Mary deserves your attention. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Sisters Tina and Erica Atkins, better known to the music world as Mary Mary, follow up their award-winning, platinum-selling debut album, Thankful, with a project whose music aptly fits its title, Incredible. Superstar producer Warryn Campbell, who has worked with the likes of Sisqó, Brandy, Luther Vandross, and Kelly Price, as well as having worked on the duo's debut project, once again works his magic. These sisters rock on the funk-filled tracks "In the Morning" and "God Bless." Also highlighted here are the songs "Trouble Ain't," "Hold On," the beautiful "I Try," and "Little Girl," along with a well-produced cover of Stevie Wonder's "You Will Know." Once again, this album's title says it all. ~ Tim A. Smith, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Though still in their twenties, Erica and Tina Atkins, who make up the duo Mary Mary, have had an apprenticeship as songwriters with several cuts on R&B and gospel albums over the past few years, and before that were gospel singers. Thankful is pure gospel music, a series of praise songs and cautionary tales with religious messages, but it is likely to have a broader appeal than most gospel music, as indicated by the success of the lead-off single, "Shackles (Praise You)," prior to the album's release. In part, this is because, writing with producer Warryn Campbell, the sisters have come up with a group of songs that will appeal musically no matter what the listener's religious beliefs, but a second important reason is the vocal quality of the two singers. Just as Columbia act Lauryn Hill expanded the audience for hip-hop with her The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill album in 1998, Mary Mary is likely to push back the barriers for gospel, an event that has been in the making for some years, especially in the work of Kirk Franklin, and that is long overdue. Campbell employs many conventional hip-hop rhythmic ideas and usually is credited with playing "all instruments" on the tracks, but that wouldn't matter if the sisters' melodies and lyrics weren't so effective or their singing so compelling. Even when they take on a traditional tune like the album-closing "Wade in the Water," for which guest producer Andrew Gouché has disingenuously taken the songwriting credit, they reinvigorate the song, turning it into a tour de force of vocalizing. Thankful is a powerful debut by a duo that deserves to be gathering platinum records and Grammy Awards in the near future. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
