Mary Mary

by David JeffriesHaving 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.