Some artists perform better when they are unhappy. Pain often turns out to be a strong source of inspiration. But even though hip-hop soul diva Mary J. Blige left all the pain behind in 2001 with the album No More Drama, sales have not deteriorated. In terms of content, Mary is now mainly concerned with inspiring others. On her new album Stronger With Each Tear, the singer does not hesitate to sing
… about how well she is doing and, as expected, she does that not without merit. The problem is that when compared to her older work, the conclusion is always the same, namely that Mary J. sang about her misery with more passion. The main problem, however, is the fact that not all productions on this album are worthy of her vocals. She has brought in the hottest producers, but no track comes even close to the soulful Raphael Saadiq production, Colors. Unfortunately! (GL)more
