On How Life Is is the debut studio album by American singer and songwriter Macy Gray. It was released on July 1, 1999, by Epic Records and Clean Slate. Produced by Andrew Slater, it became Gray's best-selling album to date, selling 3.4 million copies in the United States and seven million copies worldwide.
The album's second single, "I Try", became an international success, topping the charts in Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand, while reaching number five on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song also won a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 2001.
Critical reception
On How Life Is was met with highly positive reviews from music critics upon its release, with many praising Gray's songwriting and vocal performance. Q rated the album four out of five stars, calling it a "confident, bluesy soul debut [...] with a lived-in sound – as if Rod Stewart were a girl."
Track listing
Sample credits "Do Something" contains a sample of "Git Up, Git Out" by OutKast and "Funky for You" by Nice & Smooth. "I've Committed Murder" contains a sample of "Live Right Now" by Eddie Harris and an interpolation of "(Where Do I Begin?) Love Story" by Francis Lai & His Orchestra. "A Moment to Myself" contains a sample of "Human Beat Box" by The Fat Boys, excerpts of "The Wildstyle" by Time Zone, and a sample of "Entropy (Hip Hop Reconstruction from the Ground Up)" by DJ Shadow & the Groove Robbers.
Personnel Credits adapted from the liner notes of On How Life Is.
Musicians
Macy Gray – lead vocals, vocal arrangements ; backing vocals Dawn Beckman – backing vocals Musiic Galloway – backing vocals Jeremy Ruzumna – backing vocals ; organ ; piano ; electric piano, Moog ; Farfisa, clavinet ; Rhodes ; Optigan, Chamberlin David Wilder – backing vocals ; bass Jinsoo Lim – guitar Arik Marshall – guitar Lenny Castro – percussion Matt Chamberlain – percussion ; drums Darryl Swann – backing vocals, guitar ; programming ; vocal arrangements DJ Kiilu – turntables ; programming Jon Brion – Chamberlin ; synths ; guitar ; piano ; orchestra bells ; vibes ; marimba ; Optigan Patrick Warren – vibes ; Chamberlin ; synths ; Rhodes, Wurlitzer Dion Derek Murdock – bass Sy Smith – backing vocals Bendrix Williams – guitar Rami Jaffee – synths ; piano, Optigan, Chamberlin Blackbyrd McKnight – guitar Gabriel Moses – guitar Steve Baxter – horn Charlie Green – horn Michael Harris – horn Miles Tackett – guitar Greg Richling – bass David Campbell – string arrangement Jay Joyce – guitar Ngozi Inyama – sax solo
Technical
Andrew Slater – production Dave Way – recording, mixing Darryl "D-Style" Swann – additional engineering Howard Willing – first assistant engineer Dave Reed – second assistant engineer Kevin Dean – second assistant engineer Jeff Walch – second assistant engineer Michelle Forbes – second assistant engineer Sherry Sutcliff – production coordination
Artwork Stéphane Sednaoui – photography Hooshik – art direction, design Frank Harkins – art direction
Charts
Weekly charts Chart (1999–2000) Peakposition Australian Urban Albums (ARIA) 1Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)1 Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI) 13 Danish Albums (Hitlisten) 1 European Albums (Music & Media) 5 Irish Albums (IFPI) 3 Japanese Albums (Oricon) 61 Portuguese Albums (AFP) 9
Year-end charts Chart (1999) Position European Albums (Music & Media) 95 UK Albums (OCC) 10
Chart (2000) Position Australian Albums (ARIA) 7 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) 22 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) 47Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)12 Danish Albums (Hitlisten) 10 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) 96 European Albums (Music & Media) 14 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) 59 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) 5 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) 25 UK Albums (OCC) 28 US Billboard 200 21 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) 32
Chart (2001) PositionCanadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)63 UK Albums (OCC) 192
Decade-end charts Chart (2000–09) Position US Billboard 200 129
Certifications and sales
Release history Region Date Label Japan July 1, 1999 Sony United States July 27, 1999 Epic
Notes
References