I had heard "Do Something" on MTV when this CD first came out... I enjoyed it, but wasn't bowled over. I'm usually not a big fan of R&B, soul music. A couple friends of mine played this CD in their car constantly at the end of last summer. I ended up purchasing the disc because I couldn't get "I Try" out of my head. This disc may not hit you immediately, but let me assure you IT WILL GROW ON YOU and you will love it! It's my favorite disc of 1999. I purchased it back in August and continue listening to it today. For a guy with a 700+ cd collection that says a lot. Most cd's find their way onto a shelf and rarely come back down. I saw Macy in concert here in Pittsburgh recently. She is an incredible talent and deserves much success. I consider my self an 'adult alternative' fan with tastes that range from Everything but the Girl to Dead Can Dance to Pet Shop Boys... love a real voice (Sarah, Sting), love drama (Erasure, Depeche Mode)... hate polish (Whitney, Mariah)... love Macy Gray. Check her out. You won't be disappointed!

My partner purchased this CD several months ago, after it was first released. Neither one of us had heard anything about her--it was just set up at a listening station at a record store and he thought I would like it (he knows that I enjoy women who sing with lots of emotion.) The CD sat in the music rack for months before I listened to it for the first time last week. I did not see her on SNL; hear her on Rosie; nor have I ever watched any of her videos. I can honestly say that I wish I had not waited so long, because this woman is GREAT!

The beautiful thing about 'On How Life Is' is that it is truly just that--stories about life, sung by a woman with the most refreshing voice I have heard in years (and I am not one of these twenty-somethings that some reviewers here think are the only people who would find her sound refreshing...) The more I listen to her sing, the more I feel intoxicated by the sound. Unfortunately I discovered this woman after her show here in Seattle sold out, but I can only hope that she will have much future success and somehow live up to the pedestal I am placing her on.

My friend has been telling me for months to buy this cd. When I finally got tired of listening to him talk about it, I broke down and bought it and all I can say is WOW! This cd is great for roadtrips. It's great for getting ready in the morning. It's great when you're in a terrible mood and nothing else seems to get you out of it. It's great when you're getting ready to go out and get your groove on. IT's just great!

Macy Gray's voice does not belong in this century, although I'm glad it's here. Her sound is reminiscent of the great ones like Ella, Billie and Sarah--those voices that they just don't make anymore. She's sassy, funky and fun, all the things I love in an artist.

The cd itself is PACKED with good tunes that make you want to get up and dance around your living room, or drive up next to someone on the highway and groove out in the window. If I had to pick my favorites (which is close to impossible) I would say "Why Didn't You Call Me" and "The Letter," but there isn't one song on this disc that I skip over.

Keep them coming Miss Gray and I'll keep buying.

Tired of all those divas who think singing is how loud, high and long they can extend a note? Bored with song after song that say the same thing and say nothing at all? Concerned that the prerequisite for female music stardom these days depends more on the ability to crush walnuts on one's abdomen while virtually defining the word "perky" on other parts of their anatomy?

Well, welcome to some real music from a real woman. Macy's track "I Try" ended up in the top twenty of 1999 in the UK, and is currently #1 in Australia. It took an SNL appearance to finally get her sales kick-started in the US, but there's no stopping the Grey steamroller now!

This is an album that sneaks around the edges of your subconscience rather than strike you in the face. No "hooks". No remakes. No samples. But you'll find yourself humming these tunes for months. And you'll be hearing on radio all year.

There've been several comparisons to Billie Holliday, but Macy is not really like that. More like Janis Joplin if she made it to forty and cleaned up.

The opening track on Macy Gray's debut album, a slice of laid-back party funk called "Why Didn't You Call Me," is nothing special. It might be good enough to convince the average listener to try out a few more tracks, however, and in that case the album is as good as sold. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what elements separate Gray from most of the other hip-hop/soul divas on the charts. There's her scratchy, distinctive voice, which is reminiscent of Nina Simone and Billie Holiday, and which works equally well on sultry ballads ("Still") and screaming funk jams ("Caligula.") There's the even more pronounced influence of classic 1970s soul, most apparent in the lush, orchestral production (courtesy of Fiona Apple's producer, interestingly enough.) But when the reason this album truly works (as it does, surprisingly well, on more than half of the tracks) is the strong writing. Lyrically, the album veers from frank sexuality (the unmistakable "Sex-O-Matic Venus Freak") to intense religious devotion ("I Can't Wait to Meetchu") to ambiguously moral storytelling (the slightly reggae-ish "I've Committed Murder"), without missing a step, all of which promises to keep things interesting. The music is inconsistent, and in some cases doesn't withstand frequent listening. There are some indelible hip-hop grooves and interesting sampling, but some of the melodies are rather uninteresting and self-indulgent. This is Gray's first album, so maybe we shouldn't be so rash to criticize her. She is clearly talented both as a singer and as a writer, as is especially evident from the sublime and pervasive radio hit "I Try" and the moving "Still." I don't doubt that we have much to look forward to in the coming years from this artist, who is already, for my money, on a par with Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill.