The IdMacy GrayGenre: PopDescription: PRODUCT DESCRIPTION The Id CD Epic EPC5040899 Jewel Case 14 Track 2001 AMAZON The ID is a multi-coloured chocolate coated wide flared jumping pumping epic. Once a surprise hit Macy Gray is now near the top of the soul tree (where she remains a strange fruit among a bunch of soundalikes). Her debut album On How Life Is came from seemingly nowhere to be loved by millions. This follow-up has to contend with much greater expectations. But she doesn't disappoint. The opening track Related to a Psychopath is perhaps the album's best a mixture of 60s and 70s funk that'll have you grinding in the streets. If that doesn't then Sexual Revolution will (So many things to do before I die) a saucy butt-shaking hymn to acting out your fetishes. Slick Rick's sing-song vocal on Hey Young World II is a perfect compliment to Macy's trademark mixture of gasp and squeak but other guests such as Erykah Badu and Mos Def seem overwhelmed by Macy's larger-than-life presence. Lyrically she's strong at times hilarious (You're role model's in therapy) and much improved from the (relative) simplicity of debut tracks such as I Try and Why Didn't You Call Me. Tracks such as Boo and Freak Like Me couple clever wordplay (she trained as a screenwriter) with the same anthemic quality. On occasions she loses the plot particularly on Oblivion which sounds like it's written and performed by Oompa-Loompas but this is on the whole an excellent follow-up to a brilliant debut.--Jake Barnes
