Album review: Mary J. Blige's 'Stronger With Each Tear'
December 21, 2009 | 6:57
pm
No one understands better than Blige how rewarding hard-won happiness -- the kind that delivers a soul after the darkest hour -- can be. Her ninth studio album, "Stronger With Each Tear," finds the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul as in touch with that resilient truth as ever, her personal discoveries bound in slick but never alienating packaging.
The compositions belie their complexity with expansive hip-hop beats, delicate piano and lush strings. Producers such as Ne-Yo know how to primp and pamper without hitting overload, and guests Drake, T.I. and Trey Songz all deliver strong turns. Yet some of the best moments are stripped down: the Raphael Saadiq-produced "I Can See in Color," also featured on the "Precious" soundtrack, is a profession of self-worth that's at once silky and dirge-like.
"Stronger With Each Tear" might not have the raw emotionalism of some of her earlier work but it's clearly a polished performance from a woman who's 100% comfortable in her own skin, healed wounds and all.
-- Margaret Wappler
Mary J. Blige"Stronger With Each Tear"
Geffen Records
Three stars (out of four)