Who wore it best: A castle built for two

Stevie Wonder "Overjoyed"
Mary J. Blige "Overjoyed"

I'm scared of Mary J. Blige for a few reasons. This is one of them. Her titanic, grapefruit sized balls are another.

Seriously: who, at 21, on her debut album covers Chaka Khan? And not just Chaka Khan, but "Sweet Thing?" And not just covers, but releases the track as a single that goes on to become the definitive version for a generation (or two or all)?

Balls.

And that's why we love her. It's no coincidence that her two highest-charting U.S. singles -- "Not Gon' Cry" and "Family Affair" -- include premium Mary sassin' like, "I shoulda left your ass a thousand times," and "hateration / holleration," respectively. To love Mary is to admire her boldness, her recklessness (particularly vocally -- her aesthetic is almost proud-to-be-flawed), her arrogance (only she could make endearing a diatribe about today's R&B youth beginning with the phrase, "It's not like Beyoncé can't sing, but . . . "). If she's striking fear in your heart, however slightly (even if she's making you scared that she's not gonna hit that next note she's already straining for), she's doing her job.

Mary's cockiness has led her to take on many more classics -- you get the feeling that she's knowledgeable enough to dig up soul obscurities to cover, but she'd rather just raid the canon. And so we get uniformly great remakes of uniformly obvious tracks: Aretha's (sorry, Carole, it's hers) "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," Rose Royce's "I'm Goin' Down," The Mary Jane Girls' "All Night Long" (sort of), the Emotions' "Best of My Love," Cheryl Lynn's "Got To Be Real," Luther Vandross' "Never Too Much" and First Choice's "Let No Man Put Asunder." Her recent cover of U2's "One," off The Breakthrough, has gotten so much attention that she's set to perform it with Bono on the Grammys. Great. It's not that I don't understand the praise for the track -- Mary's performance is indeed amazing. The track's production (and pointless inclusion of Bono's vocals) is not -- it's just a cleaned-up version of the mind-numbingly bland original.

But that's Mary for you -- most of the aforementioned covers bear remarkable similarities to the originals. Maybe it's out of respect, but considering Mary's ever-present 'tude, I think it's another sign of arrogance: I'ma knock this outta the park without even changing it up, she's saying. She's going toe-to-toe with titans on purpose. Perhaps the most blatant example of this is "Overjoyed," her nearly identical cover of Stevie Wonder's moderate hit from his 1985 album, In Square Circle. Mary's version knocked around for a few years after it was recorded in 1999, bouncing from a Nike commercial to the 2001 Japan-only compilation Ballads to 2003's oft-delayed Wonder tribute, Conception: An Interpretation of Stevie Wonder's Songs.

Mary's "Overjoyed" was produced by Stevie himself and really, it's virtually the same backing track -- Stevie beefs up the bass a bit (it no longer sounds like splashing puddles, thanks to hip-hop culture's demand for a blatant low end), and he turns down the fake strings, but that's about it. Mary, herself, keeps things as close to the original as possible, aping Stevie's every vocal turn, as best she can (for unquestionable proof ,check the 2:58 mark of hers versus the 2:57 mark of his -- the "And though the odds say improbable . . ." section -- identical!).

And so, on virtually equal ground, Mary does what she always does: knocks it out of the park. Her "Overjoyed" has what Stevie's is missing: conflict. Though his voice sounds a bit hoarse in the opening lines, Stevie soon commences joyously gliding over the gushing track, giving a lovely, if forgettable performance (certainly, what I always found so awesome about this song, before Mary even touched it, is the melody and the songwriting, not necessarily the delivery). When Stevie opens his mouth, out comes liquid soul, and he often risks sounding complacent and phoned-in if there's no discernible discord in his work (which is why his sweetness is so effective over sad, sad, sad tracks like, "Lately" and "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer"). Yeah, you know he's overjoyed, but what else is new?

Mary's delivery on the other hand, her natural, gravelly, marvelously flawed tone chafes wonderfully against Stevie's idyllic lyrics. You feel the stucco texture on her castle. You're aware of the pain in turning every stone. You understand what it means for this voice to be overjoyed. The past is caked on her voice, and even if you don't exactly know what it entails, you know that it means so much for her to be, finally, in this ecstatic state.

(As an aside, could someone please, for the love of God, explain to me what the blue fuck " . . . just to find I had found what I searched to discover" means? Please?)

So Mary wins. And I'm not just saying that because I'm afraid she'll choke me if I don't.

Comments

[Brandon]

My fantasy is for Whitney to sing Bono's part of "One" during the Grammys.

[Curious]

I love your take on the subject, but I think Stevie did this on better. I was just pleased with your writing style. You had very interesting comments. Do you have a writing background? And I'm curious are you male or female?

[marina]

In all honesty, I only know of the song when one of the contestants sang it for American Idols.

I love both version, of the songs, Stevie Wonder and MJB but I think the original is always the more superior one as its got the special quality that remixes dont have.

Just my $0.02

[B.harlow]

I had no idea that Mary redid this, so I listened amazed, and though I agree with your 'phoning in' comment about Stevie, there is so much in his voice....and Mary just seems to be copying the original.
I like Stevie's better.

[Scientific]

I'm sorry - I have no idea what this blogger is even listening to. Stevie's version is far superior, as for one...it's on the beat! Mary's singing (not nearly as good as Stevie's) doesn't even follow the rhythm at times, and it gives the impression that she's going through the motions. Stevie's conveying the desperation of unrequited love with emotion that Mary, sorry to say, doesn't even come close to expressing here.

I can't believe this is even a conversation.

You can't become the Queen of "Hip-Hop Soul" (whatever that means - and I love both hip-hop and soul) when your most famous record is a cover of someone else's music. Sorry. Just my opinion.

[Theo]

Found this on Google looking for Mary's version; thanks for posting it - but you couldn't be more wrong about which one is better.

This isn't a song about conflict (which you're right, is Mary's bread & butter), it's about being, well..."Overjoyed", which Stevie has exuded probably every day of his life. You hear it in his voice and in his arrangement; this is not a song that needs an "edge", it's about unabashed joy - and should be sung and played that way...unabashedly.