Stripped (Macy Gray album)
| Stripped | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Macy Gray | ||||
| Released | September 9, 2016 | |||
| Recorded | April 7–8, 2016 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 50:48 | |||
| Label | Chesky Records | |||
| Macy Gray chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 79/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| All About Jazz |   |
| AllMusic |  |
| Exclaim! | 8/10 |
| The National | |
| PopMatters |   |
| Record Collector | |
| Vice | A– |
Stripped is an album recorded by American singer/songwriter Macy Gray. Released on September 9, 2016, "Stripped" is her tenth album and her first jazz recording.Stripped was released September 9, 2016, and debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart.
The album is made up of ten songs, all recorded live on April 7 and April 8, 2016, in a decommissioned Brooklyn church. The album includes remakes of several of her songs ("I Try," "Sweet Baby," "She Ain't Right For You," "The First Time," "Slowly") and songs originally by other artists ("Nothing Else Matters," "Redemption Song"), as well as all-new recordings ("Annabelle," "The Heart," "Lucy"). Macy Gray told Elle that recording a jazz album "was such a completely unexpected but refreshing and fun thing to do." One of the songs on the album, "Lucy," was composed as the band was performing; it was regarded as one of the best songs on the album by many critics.
"Annabelle" was released on August 17, 2016, to promote the album. Gray said "'Annabelle' is one of my favorite songs on the album," adding that "it speaks to all the suffering you go through when you're trying to quit a habit. At the same time the mood of the song inspires a craving for a big fat joint." Macy Gray's newly-recorded version of "I Try," which was praised, was also used to promote the album. Elle said that the track "gorgeously reimagined," while Entertainment Weekly called it "jazz-infused."
The album was released on 9 September 2016. It was made available on CD and on vinyl, in addition to being available digitally.
Critical reception for Stripped was highly positive. The album holds a score of 79 out of 100 on review aggregate website MetaCritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews." James Nadal, writing for All About Jazz, awarded the album 4.5 of 5 stars, stating "Recorded with no over dubs, in a two-day session, this is as close to a live gig as one could imagine, with spatial realism and no audience background noise to hamper audio quality," singling out "I Try," "Slowly," "First Time," and "Redemption Song" as highlights and going on to conclude that "Gray is a throwback to the early days when jazz singers were not pretentious, but had to rely on their innate talent to carry the tune with raw emotion and sensual grace."
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