Like
Mary J. Blige,
Price has a big, bad, beautiful voice. And like Blige, she often chooses smart material to go along with that big, bad, beautiful voice. On her second album, she goes through many R&B motions -- over-singing, pallid bedroom songs, tuneless tales -- but still manages to sound like a genuinely thrilled diva in the process. Filled with slow jams, slick hip-hop, and gospel,
Mirror Mirror is a more rounded record than
Price's debut. Best is a cover of
Shirley Murdock's "As We Lay" played like a Broadway curtain-closer. It reveals
Price's penchant for theatricality and demonstrates her warmth as a singer. She puts an individualist's stamp on the album, a looking glass, if you will, into her soul. ~ Michael Gallucci