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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.

The Id
by Macy Gray


8.5

based on 15 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 7 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

Official Artist Site

This is the follow-up to the singer's acclaimed 1999 debut. Rick Rubin produces, with guest appearances from Slick Rick, Mos Def, and Erykah Badu.

LABEL:	Sony/Epic
RELEASE DATE:	18 September 2001
DISCS:	1 disc
GENRE(S):	R&B, Pop

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Sonicnet

Even though one can hear echoes of everything from "The Threepenny Opera" to Bitches Brew here, the funk is in her DNA.

E! Online

Musically, the album bounces from a full-on urban polka ("Oblivion") to tracks with plenty of Apollo Showtime-style organs, horns and disco and funk elements that keep the wacky tales from sounding wack.

Spin

The Id, like On How Life Is before it, never seems too polished because Gray adamantly pursues her complicated pleasures, belying her image as a stoned soul picnic... [Oct 2001, p.123]

Rolling Stone

Gray's pipes aren't for everyone, but if you can't stomach them, I feel for you. You're missing some of the best soul on the planet.

Blender

A conceptual bacchanal of sweat-drenched lust. [Oct/Nov 2001, p.104]

Spin Cycle

A platter of hot-buttered R&B popcorn, liberally sprinkled with salty social critique, "The Id" finds Gray getting disco-freaky while instigating her "Sexual Revolution," and playfully rapping about her kids with Slick Rick on the funky burner "Hey Young World II."

Entertainment Weekly

The tracks are brassy and effusive, swelling with horns, organs, and tasteful orchestration. At their best, they deflect attention from Gray's often irksome voice, which veers toward novelty more than a soul singer's should.

Dot Music

With this eclectic, eccentric approach comes a lack of cohesion and quality control.

The Onion (A.V. Club)

Amazingly, the disc still feels cohesive in spite of its unpredictability, aided by can't-miss crowd-pleasers like the irrepressible disco-pop blowout "Sexual Revolution."

Playlouder

The music itself doesn't quite have the simple accessibility and easy soul of her debut, but it's loads of fun and bursting with ideas.

Q Magazine

It is only when she tries something a little different that Macy comes unstuck.

All Music Guide

Macy Gray lets her freak flag fly, almost to the detriment of everything else.

Village Voice

The Id suffers from the conundrum of all post-breakout second albums. You're disappointed either because the songs are not enough like the first one or because they're too much like the first but not quite as good.

Mojo

The Id simply turns up the levels on what made her debut so big, in the process overshadowing the background detail that made that album so special. [Oct 2001, p.128]

New Musical Express

But while Gray's voice is still beguiling and unique, The Id is basically Brit-award winning, corporate soul with little identity, too cosy and calculated to have any genuine depth.

The average user rating for this album is 8.5 (out of 10) based on 7 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

tom a gave it a10:
i finally came across the id 5 years after it was issued and fell in love with it, as the finest post-60s psychedelic record since beck's midnight vulture (better even). totally love it, can't stop playing it. went to get a couple more of her records -- very nice, yes indeed, but the id's definitely my favourite. this is an enjoyable artist -- and i'd been put off her because paul holmes interviewed her on television making her appear like some little dimwit. but no, as an artist she's brilliant. i can't stop raving about her, and her lyrics are great too. just wonderful.

Nse E gave it a 10:
A cd of diverse sounds, kooky lyrics, and an interesting voice. Love it. From 'Oblivion', 'Forgiveness', every little bit.

Jose Antonio A gave it an 8:
Clear & deep songs of life looking for a soul.

Steve R gave it a 9:
Although the public doesn't get it, Macy Gray continues peeling away the layers covering her sexuality with The Id. It's been a while -- since On How Life Is -- that I've heard an album as fun as this, with references to 70s disco and 80s p-funk. Has it been that long since music has actually been fun?

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The Id by Macy Gray

The Id
by Macy Gray