A 'Big' letdown

On Macy Gray's fourth album and first album in four years, she finds herself trying to make herself a career artist and not just the girl with the unique voice. She has changed record labels, has Will.I.Am from the Black Eyed Peas as the executive producer, a slew of guest singers and a more sophisticated sound. Gray continues to try to change herself to create something special, like her debut smash, On How Life Is. Even though she gets a lot of help from Justin Timberlake, all the changes don't equal greatness. \nStylistically, the album sounds like '70s soul, with its pristine production, strings and synthesizers, but Big falls short on so many levels. Vocally, Gray struggles at times to hit and sustain notes, which is an ugly thing for an artist only on her fourth album. She sounds out of place at times, even with vocal help from Fergie and Nas, and is much more comfortable singing songs that fit her eccentric personality. \nThe album opens up sounding, well, big. "Finally Made Me Happy" is a sophisticated soul tune that climaxes with help from the soaring strings and backup vocals from none other than Natalie Cole. The album moves into two more sophisticated tunes before hitting Big's first great song, "Okay." Timberlake not only sings on "Okay," he also produces it along with a few others, which are the best songs on the record. Timberlake once again proves himself as heir to the pop throne, as he is able to make Gray sound playful and modern. Then there is "Strange Behavior," a song that does a great job at showing just how quirky Gray is. The song is about a woman and her husband who want to kill each other for insurance money. This is, of course, followed by an extremely mediocre "Slowly," but is once again revived by JT with the funky guitar-driven "Get Out." \nThis is the story of the album as it goes from good to bad and then back again repeatedly throughout. Big is an extreme hit-or-miss album, and once again leaves Gray falling short of her debut. She is unable to establish herself as a continuous force and will be left as the quirky, woozy singer with one great album and a few mediocre ones.