Customer Reviews

Stronger

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After four years since her fantastic debut, Land of the Living, Kristine W returns with yet another opus that amazes. Where Land of the Living was about surviving life, Stronger presents listeners with the outcome of the previous albums theme. The album starts off with the title track that asserts that "my love is stronger than your pain, stronger than your fear." Of the other 12 tracks, Kristine reminds us that only love will make us stronger. In "Lovin' You" she revels in the power of loving someone. "Never Been Kissed," a true-blue disco stomper, agains asserts Kristine's strength in love, but also her strength in crafting a perfect pop song. All of the songs of Stronger encompass a journey towards self-empowerment; "All That Glitters" realizes that feeding oneself full of superficial things, only leads to a sad ending, all the while wrapped in true classic ballad. Through this collection of songs, Kristine proves to be much more than the tired mainstream fodder that radio dishes out. Not only can she sing, and I mean SING!, she can write strong lyrics, play the sax (as on "Waters Run Deep"), and infuse dance music with yet another voice, as in the infectious song "Clubland." On every song, this artist proves that moving from a debut album to the sophomore, can be a strengthening experience...and she has brought us all along for the ride. EXTRA SHOUT OUTS to her recognizing her family background and making it such an integral part of the album's liner notes as well as art work! Get this album, it will do you proud!

In a world of Britneys, and Christinas' there shines a light in the dark world of pop....it's Kristine W. With one of the most powerfull and soul full voices I've heard in years, Kristines' latest album puts the "pop divaz" on ice. It's been 4 years since "Land of the Living", but wow is it worth the wait. Kristine, who co-wrote 90% of the album, is back in full force and will be crossing over into the pop era. She has 3 tracks that are a mix of Janet, Brandy, and Madonna. And with her club smashes "CLUBLAND" and the title track "STRONGER" she is going to establish herself not only in Las Vegas, Europe, L.A., and New York but all over the world. What a wonderfull album and what a wonderfull singer she has proven that with a little patience and a lot of ATTITUDE you can go a long way. Hail...Hail to the REAL DIVA!!!!!

This is the first time I ever remember being worried by an album cover. "Wait a minute! Kristine W is now a blonde? Is she trying to become the next Britney Spears/Christina Aguilera?" But not to worry. Inside the cover I found the real Kristine W. And "Stronger" is a worthy follow-up to 1996's excellent "Land of the Living."

The title track is a loud, thumping dance tune that starts the CD off on the right foot. Other favorite tracks of mine include "Clubland," "All That Glitters," and (interestingly enough since I usually dislike remakes) "Shower the People." But I think the best tune is "Waters Run Deep" which (you heard it hear first) I'm guessing will be the next single.

If, however, the CD disappoints, it does so on two levels.

First, anyone who has seen Kristine W perform live knows what a magnificent entertainer she really is. No CD will ever be able to capture the energy you feel sitting in the audience at one of her shows I'm afraid.

Secondly, the long four year gap between CDs put expectations for this album extremely high. I don't know what the long wait was all about. A management or label dispute perhaps? But after four years I wasn't hoping for good, I was hoping for great.

Oh well. This is still a fun CD and I have been playing it constantly for the last two weeks now. But next time, let's not make it four years. Okay Kristine?

"Land of the Living", Kristine W.'s debut CD, remains one of my favorite dance CD's of all time.

"Stronger", the long-awaited follow-up to that opus, finds Kristine trying to reach out to a more "mainstream" audience. Which, in this case, is not a complaint!!

The songs on "Stronger" are much "poppier" (if there is such a word) than those on "Living" but they still remain rooted dance.

Even the ballads don't disappoint. "All That Glitters" stands-out as one of the best tracks ... simply beautiful!!!

Other highlights (for me) include "Someone (Watching Over Me)", "If Only You Knew", "Pieces of Me and You" and "Never Been Kissed". The CD version of "Clubland" is actually better than the remixes. Listen to this song a couple of times and try to get it out of your head.

Overall a wonderful CD. I hope it sells well and I especially hope that radio FINALLY discovers the joy of Kristine W. Surely there is a place on the radio for any one of the 13 songs on "Stronger".

What a refreshing change in dance music! Kristine W is at the top of my collection. The tracks are totally different from one another. Kristine is a soulful, smokey-piped diva with atittude. She sings a clear story of what each track is about. The blonde bombshell has it all!

Even though Kristine doesn't write her own music, tracks like "stronger" are what make this cd great, along with her disco-revival music. She is a soundalike of Cher and Oleta Adams in her new material. I like the balance of the disco/dance music and the soulful slow songs. "Stronger" is an excellent follow up to the cd "Land of the living".

Songs like; "Let love reign" and "Stronger" are great upbeat, tracks. I bet Dance clubs will be happy to get these tracks so they can over-play it like "Land of the living" & "Feel what you want". I haven't heard these songs in over 2 years or so, no matter where I go. About her slow songs, "All that glitters" is sad and soulful. The song "Waters run deep" is very Toni Braxton-esque. I even thought it was Toni singing at first. "Someone watching over me" is very dancy. As a matter of fact, it sounds like the sequel to "It's raining men".

All the tracks pleased my ears immediately. My money wasn't wasted this time. I'm glad to have bought this cd. Unfortunately, there are only lyrics to tracks 1 and 13. Her photos are great. What a looker! Nice album cover. Buy this cd.

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Kristine W's latest is the "Strongest" dance/pop CD released in quite some time. With her thumping disco beats and rich soulful voice -- without those annoying Christina Aguilera-Mariah Carey vocal acrobatics -- she clearly takes a stylistic cue from The Diva herself, Donna Summer. But Miss W. brings things well into the new century with high energy songs that make us move and beautiful ballads filled with raw emotion (despite some cliche-ish lyrics). Not to mention her kickass sax skills. Still, it is Miss W's ability to belt out a song that puts her head and shoulders above her disco dolly peers. I hope Kristine W. crosses over to mainstream radio someday soon so that younger audiences can get an idea of what soulful singing truly sounds like.

There are women who sing "anthems". This is beyond "anthems" and goes into another realm! If you don't get lost in the space between Kristine's perfect vocals and the killer arrangements then i am afraid you are not fully alive. This cd stands out in a world of boring pop albums!! GET IT!!

Ok, at first i was a bit skeptical about getting this album. I was never really into this type of music. My girlfriend told me i had to get this album. so i did and i am soooo happy i got it. There is this song called Lovin' you and Stronger that i am addicted to. Everytime i hear it i can't get it out of my head. This cd is stuck in my head and my cd player. She blows me away everytime i listen to a track. I had to get more on her so i went to this website that had some songs available and some cool contests too, like free signed cd's and stuff. go check it out www.click2music.com/kristinew

Another Great Dance Artist, Lost due to lack of promotion.
This was a great follow-up cd. I love her Style. She has a great voice! (A Lisa Stansfield / Anastacia style.)
This is one of those cd's you find yourself falling in love with the more you listen to it. If you like Dance music, or Ballad style music...You will like many of the songs on here!

I fell in love with Kristine W as soon as I heard the "Land of the Living" album. Now four years later, "Stronger" makes me love her even more. The title track hooks you right into the disk and makes you want to hear more. "Lovin' You", "If Only You Knew", and "Clubland" are also highlights. I also love the '70's feel of "Never Been Kissed." Radio stations do not know what they are missing if they don't play this one. Kristine rocks my world and she should definitely rock yours!