Now that Mary J Blige is happily married, it seems she has said goodbye to the misery that plagued her life. Reason enough for a CD that is not supported by the subjects of doom and gloom. Here and there there is sometimes something wrong with love (Roses), but across the board, married life seems to suit the 'queen of hip-hop soul' well. Although Blige has not lost any of the depth and emotion in
… her voice, she deserves better accompaniment than the tracks that producers Theron Otis, Tricky Stewart, Stargate and even the Neptunes come up with. Her voice deserves grand arrangements and the production team fails to do so, most songs sound rather bare. Blige manages to absorb a large part of this lack with her raw voice, but now and then it sounds like she's on her own. This version of Growing Pains includes an extra DVD. This includes the video of Just Fine, and a half-hour look behind the scenes in the entourage of La Blige. (AD)more
