Very Best Of Macy Gray, The

In more ways than one, Macy Gray is a bit like the Dan Marino of neo-soul: full of promise and potential but never truly reaching her full blossom. Having only reached the Top Ten promised land once (and Top 40 only three times) in her five-year career on the good ship Epic, it's hard to call this a "very best of" and get excited about the songs held within the packaging. Starting off with the one-two chronological punch of "I Try" and "Do Something," the air starts to leak out of the ball ever so slowly as the compilation progresses, leaving a deflating feeling by the time the new additions are reached. And while "Love Is Gonna Get You" is as delightful as anything she's done in the past few years (the Philly soul strings and Memphis-styled production values make it infectiously delicious), the unforgivable atrocity that is her interpretation of Aerosmith's classic "Walk This Way" cancels that feeling out rather quickly. Nevertheless, if you wanted all of her hits together in one package, this is most definitely the place to start. ~ Rob Theakston|