On her last album "Indigo"(2004) - ONJ showed us how jazzy she can be, but on this album she definitely moves a step further....again!
Besides having lost her long-time boyfriend, she proves being a strong voice inspiring people all over the world.
The opener "Stronger than before", like "Under the skin" and "That's all I know for sure" have been composed by Olivia and her co-writers especially for this album and breast cancer month 2005!
On "Phenomanl woman" she gets support by no one less than Patti LaBelle, Delta Goodrem and Diahann Carroll!
Olivia's daughter Chloé wrote "Can I trust your arms" for her mother, which is touching and moving and a great performance song for Olivia.
As Newton-John quotes on the albums' credits: "this CD is not just for people touched by cancer, like more for people who suffer any kind of difficulty!"
Miss Newton-John just finished a successful tour of the US and is going to be honored with a lifetime-achievement award early in 2006. This CD should see a world-wide release on a bigger label, but it stands out for Hallmark and breast cancer month, which is great anyway.
Olivia reflects her experiences in life and shares them with the listener on "Serenity", a beautiful and spiritual ballad composed by canadian singer Amy Sky, who already worked with ONJ in 1988 and contributed her voice and writing talent on two other tracks on "Stronger than before"!She also did record "Phenomenal woman" first in 2001. This must be about Olivias 33rd album, and she is still able to sound as she always did - youthful and letting the listener believe what she believes in and sings about!

Olivia Newton-John's latest album was made for Hallmark to help raise awareness for breast cancer, so, given that it was her second album in less than a year (not seen since the 70's!) and a 'charity' album to boot, one could be forgiven that Stronger Than Before wouldn't be much cop...

Well, you'd be wrong as this release is one of her best albums for years. Closest in feel to her 1998 Back With A Heart CD (not a surprise since at least a couple of the songs seem to be culled from it's sessions), the collection is almost up there with the best of her mid-70's work.

There are some really strong ballads here. The title track and When You Believe (which almost segue into each other) are truly lovely and her voice is as refreshingly gorgeous as it was in her hey day. Similarly, Serenity and Under The Skin are first class and really quite affecting. A co-write with her daughter, Chloe Lattanzi, Can I Trust Your Arms, despite the duff title, is one of the best tracks here. A simple piano led melody with a flawless vocal from Olivia.

A remake of her 1976 hit, Don't Stop Believin' is another highlight. Now, given how much I loathed the 'samba' version of Physical from her (2) album, I was dubious, to say the least, about this one. But, my fears were groundless as this version works in conjunction with the original adding something special to the song in the process.

Pass It On, the only upbeat song here, is a rousing number and has a catchy melody, but the production is awful and Olivia becomes lost in the mix long before the end. It has to be said that vocally, Pass It On is quite beyond Olivia, her silly squawks amd gruff shouting being no substitute for a powerful voice.

That's All I Know For Sure, along with Phenomenal Woman are the worst songs here. The former, a drab, tuneless reject from the aforementioned BWAH sessions, really lets the album down, and the 'insirational' latter, is a formless mess. Without a decent melody. When I Needed You is a little better, having a new age vibe and a pretty melody, but the lyric is clumsy and well, just plain bad.

And that's your lot. If ONJ produced albums like this for the rest of her life, I wouldn't mind at all. Given her baffling career missteps over the years, this is the second album in a row that she's got it pretty much right. So there is hope!

The sleeve artwork screams 'cheapo charity album' at the top of it's lungs featuring one grainy photo from the shoot for Olivia's last album, Indigo.

Stronger Than Before may be riddled with cliches and doesn't contain that special song that will spark a renewed interest in Olivia, but for fans of the artiste, it's a really good album and I wholeheartedly recommend it.

I've always thought that John Farrar wrote these lyrics from "Don't Stop Believin'" about Olivia herself: "Your smile can open any door...You never chase your dreams/They find you." While other icons of pop-music stardom (such as Barbra Streisand) may have mouthpieces which are richer and more textured, Olivia Newton-John's purity and sweetness, in voice and personality alike, always made for a conquering, charismatic compound. One reviewer surmised he couldn't even tell you whether Olivia is a good singer. Her voice seemed to come wrapped up in so many other good qualities that you don't even notice. At her career peak, Olivia may have been a tad irritating to some in her enthusiastic cheerleading, but in more recent times her positive outlook has been strongly tested: professional lull, marriage breakup, breast cancer, disappearance of boyfriend. She emerges as a woman who is timelessly beautiful and very spirit-centered yet also one who has earned her stripes and endured suffering.

This dichotomy is well-reflected on STRONGER THAN BEFORE, a CD which blends Olivia's classic clearness with a newfound maturity and control. She is balanced and believable. This project of inspirational songs designed especially for people dealing with cancer or in other difficult situations is a most suitable outlet for Newton-John's clarity and calm. Whereas her previous outing, INDIGO: WOMEN OF SONG, had a few memorable moments, STRONGER THAN BEFORE is indeed stronger than before--across the board! INDIGO lost a little credibility whenever Newton-John strained a little too hard for torch-song toughness or wanted to duplicate a cover too nostalgically. "Loving You" lacked sexiness, "Send in the Clowns" needed more emotional wavering.

With spiritual enlightenment and recovery as the main themes, STRONGER THAN BEFORE utilizes material closest to Olivia Newton-John's heart. While these melodies may not be complex enough to catapult or compel, they are nonetheless highly pensive and placating.

The title jaunt, pleasant and pristine, is an anthem of continual self-discovery amid patches of rough water: "I've survived so many things/From broken hearts to shattered dreams/In every wall I found an open door." "When You Believe," a logical follow-up, centers on the magic of numbers in healing and on Olivia's own apparent metamorphasis from good-girl next-door to composed woman in her own right: "She knows how far I've come/How hard I've tried." On "Phenomenal Woman"--with uplifting lyrics by Dr. Maya Angelou--Olivia is joined by other legendary divas such as Patti LaBelle, and the result is a sensuous, proud and dignifying celebration of womanhood wherein LaBelle delivers passionate, primal screams of devotion and Olivia's diplomacy is well-grounded: "Now you understand just why my head's now bowed/I don't shout or jump about or have to talk real loud." And Olivia beomes even quieter when reciting "real loud."

"Under the Skin," dealing with virtual reality and transformation, is at once spiritual and surreal and affecting: "Don't believe the mirror/'Cause mirrors sometimes lie." And it seems that here is a woman who has a love and acceptance of self great enough to pour outward into the lives of others who are affected by cancer surgery. "That's All I Know for Sure," meanwhile, is a cute ditty about the memorable messages of life's circling journey (although this one could have used another verse, it ends abruptly). The childlike "When I Needed You" is an enjoyable supernatural odyssey wherein Olivia sounds ethereal yet earnest in her mission. It is a tad disappointing, however, that she hits none of her trademark stratospheric high notes at the end as this dreamy piece lends itself so well to it (there is only mechanical whistling). Yes, her notes may be lower, but even the new samba version of "Physical" from a few years back let her peal off a couple somewhere in orbit.

"Can I Trust Your Arms" is in contrast poignant and pointed. A haunting bass accompanies an urgent piano and an edgy, emotional vocal. This is one of my favorites of the set. It is searing and realistic in its pained portrait of the many conflicted levels of cancer confrontation--where do you go, what do you do, whom can you trust--and possibly more moving in the aftermath of her boyfriend Patrick's mysterious disappearance.

The new version of "Don't Stop Believin'" is still charming but the bossa nova styling doesn't really work well with the lyrics (the original can't be topped, it seems). "Serenity," as updated and outlined by Amy Sky, is a stirring prayer and affirmation brought to twilight-esque actuality via Olivia's aura-like articulation.

Chong Lim's production values are honorable. He emphasizes Newton-John's uncorrupted vocalization and yet does not sentimentalize her sweetness either through overdone arrangements. This CD really captures the feelings of a tumultuous journey with all its euphoric highs and uncertain downs. Highly recommended--especially as a gift for someone who is going through a very hard time.

I have to disagree with the reviewer who preferred her subsequent outing with Amy Sky, GRACE AND GRATITUDE. Here we have music that is not only reflective and placating but almost crafted for a coma-like catatonia.

Move over Gaia here comes Stronger Then Before. This song has 9 new songs, including a new bossa nova version of "Don't Stop Beleiven'". This cd is beyond brilliant. I reccomend to this to any Olivia fan, or anyone who is going through a rough time. These are very theraputic and uplifting songs.

The title song is just fabulous - and the rest of the cd is quite good. Having nearly every CD by ONJ, I would rate this as her second best cd with some very solid music.