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All That I Can Say

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"All That I Can Say"
Single by Mary J. Blige
from the album Mary
B-side"Beautiful"
ReleasedJuly 9, 1999 (1999-07-09)
Recorded1998
Genre
Length
  • 5:30 (album version)
  • 3:59 (radio edit)
LabelMCA
Songwriter(s)Lauryn Hill
Producer(s)Lauryn Hill
Mary J. Blige singles chronology
"As"
(1999) 		"All That I Can Say"
(1999) 		"Deep Inside"
(1999)
Music video
"All That I Can Say" on YouTube

"All That I Can Say" is a song by American recording artist Mary J. Blige. It was composed by fellow R&B singer Lauryn Hill, who also sang backing vocals, for Blige's fourth studio album, Mary (1999).[1] Released as the album's lead single in July 1999 by MCA, it became a moderate commercial success in both the United States and United Kingdom, peaking at numbers forty-four and twenty-nine, respectively.

Blige garnered her sixth Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 42nd Grammy Awards. Blige performed the song live in addition to an impromptu appearance by Hill who performed a rap on the first incarnation of The Queen Latifah Show in September 1999. She also performed the song on Top of the Pops, and her performance was shown the week "All That I Can Say" charted.

Critical reception

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Larry Flick from Billboard wrote that the song "demonstrates yet another formidable step forward in the career path of this fly girl gone sophisticate." He noted that Blige is "in good hands with this dreamy, '70s-based jazz/funk smash", and that she is "sounding as sharp as cut glass, with a smattering of scatting and just enough grit to define the artist's signature edge in this classy number." He also described the track as "spirited, joyful, retro, and yet right on the edge, sounding like nothing she's delivered before".[2] The Daily Vault's Mark Millan stated that "All That I Can Say" "gets things off to a good start, and Blige's voice has never sounded as softly sweet as it is here".[3] Stacey A. Rather from Lincolnian said the song has a "pop sound that is very prevalent in music right now."[4]

Stevie Chick from NME called it a "perfect, loving pastiche of Wonder's Moog-powered balladry." He added, "It is, tellingly, written, arranged and produced by Lauryn herself. Standing head and shoulders above the rest of the LP, it almost cruelly reveals the distance between Hill, and this pretender to her throne."[5] Another editor, John Robinson, wrote, "'All That I Can Say' is glorious, as if straight out of the '70s soul/funk golden age. Those searching synths could've been stripped straight from Stevie Wonder's 'Fulfillingness' First Finale' album, that melody embodies not a little of Al Green's sexy, laid-back magic. And Mary J's vocals eschew the modern, octave-skipping histrionics of Mariah et al, in favour of a more reserved delivery, building up to an angelic crescendo on the run-out groove that may be the most perfect 30 seconds or so of music recorded this year." "'All That I Can Say' is also as sublime a listening experience as you're likely to hear all year, written, produced, performed to perfection, and guaranteed to coat you head to toe in goose pimples in under four minutes flat. Shameless, yeah. But as in shamelessly good."[6]

Music video

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The accompanying music video of "All That I Can Say" begins with Blige lying asleep in her bed. It's morning over New York City. A white horse runs through the streets. Her alarm clock wakes Blige up at 9.00 a.m.. Sitting up in bed, she begins to sing, before walking to the window where she looks at the white clouds over the city. In the next scene, the singer is seen walking in the middle of a street in front of the Grand Central Station, while it is raining confetti from the sky. Large billboards in the city are showing press photos of Blige and a large moving red text line says, "New York Loves You Mary ..." Standing, looking at this, many red bubbles suddenly appear around her. Inside each of them we see Blige in another dress. In the last part of the video, she stands in the middle of a giant escalator up from the city to the sky. Then the singer walks on the clouds, apparently on her way to meet a young black man, who is standing naked on the clouds a little further away. Suddenly the alarm clock interrupts after it has just turned 9.00 a.m.. Blige wakes up and sits up in bed with a puzzled face, as she looks out at the clouds outside the window as the video ends.

The music video was later made available on Blige's official YouTube channel in 2009, and had generated almost five million views as of November 2023.[7]

Track listings

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UK CD single[8]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."All That I Can Say" (Radio Edit)   
2."Beautiful" (Blackstar Remix featuring Mos Def and Talib Kweli)
 
3."All That I Can Say" (Album Version)   

Notes

  • ^[A] denotes additional producer

Charts

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Release history

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Region Date Label
United States July 9, 1999 (1999-07-09) MCA Records
United Kingdom November 2, 1999 (1999-11-02)

Cover versions

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In 2000, French pianist Alex Bugnon covered the song from his album As Promised, which featured a guest vocals from Blige's then-current labelmate Christopher Williams.[20][21]

In 2011, jazz vocalist Gretchen Parlato covered the song on her album The Lost and Found.

References

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  1. ^ James, Steven (July 10, 2018). "Today in 1999 Mary J Blige drops All That I Can Say". Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  2. ^ Flick, Larry (July 17, 1999). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. p. 22. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  3. ^ Millan, Mark (July 6, 2010). "Mary - Mary J. Blige". The Daily Vault. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  4. ^ Rather, Stacey A. (September 15, 1999). "THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY". Lincolnian. p. 8. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  5. ^ Chick, Stevie. "Mary J Blige – Mary". NME. Archived from the original on 2000-08-17. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  6. ^ Robinson, John. "This Week's Singles July 31 1999". NME. Archived from the original on 2000-10-05. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  7. ^ "Mary J. Blige - All That I Can Say (Official Music Video)". YouTube. June 16, 2009. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  8. ^ "Mary J. Blige - All That I Can Say (UK CD, 12" (Single) Discogs.com. Retrieved Feb. 25, 2014.
  9. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. August 28, 1999. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  10. ^ "Mary J Blige — All That I Can Say". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  11. ^ "Mary J Blige – All That I Can Say" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
  12. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  13. ^ "Mary J Blige: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
  14. ^ "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  15. ^ "Official R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  16. ^ "Mary J. Blige Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
  17. ^ "Mary J. Blige Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
  18. ^ "Urban Top 20 Tracks of 1999" (PDF). Music Week. January 22, 2000. p. 54. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  19. ^ "R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: Year End 1999". Billboard. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
  20. ^ "As Promised overview". Allmusic.com.
  21. ^ "Alex Bugnon". Smooth-jazz.de.
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