In a world not exactly short on R&B divas Faith Evans, the former Mrs Notorious B.I.G., is a match for most of her peers.

On this, her fourth album which sees production duties shared by the Neptunes and Jermaine Dupri to name but two, her approach is more laid back than on previous outings, blending a retro style - I Don't Need It has such a Seventies feel to it you'll be checking the sleeve to see when the album was recorded - with a wistful but classy groove, as on a song like Stop N Go. Even when she gets down and funky, as on Mesmerized, it sounds like something from thirty years ago.

At times Evans reminds one of Lauryn Hill at her best, and vocally she has much more in her locker than she did when she accompanied Puff Daddy on I'll Be Missing You, which the latter concocted to pay tribute to her murdered hubby.

The album's first single, Again, sees the singer in reflective mood and let's face it, she's a woman who's had her share of ups and downs, and is entitled to take stock, but even here she's upbeat: "If I had my time again/I wouldn't take away the rain/ Because it made me who I am."