CD Review: Joss Stone
"Introducing Joss Stone"
Issue date: 4/6/07 Section: The Edge
- Page 1 of 1
In a fairly stale pop world, new, well-done albums are hard to come by. Joss Stone's new album, "Introducing Joss Stone," is one that takes old material - like that of Etta James and Aretha Franklin - and refreshes it in a good way.
The album is solid soul music but with a funky, danceable beat; this makes it part of that neo-soul genre which is generally thought of as the domain of Lauryn Hill, India Aire or Jill Scott. Stone barges right in and even gets a hand from Lauryn Hill on "Music," one of the highlights of the album.
By featuring Hill and hip-hop artist Common, Stone escapes the feeling of a generic pop/soul album while adding some much-needed credibility. Without those artists, she just sounds like a soul artist. With them, her music has soul.
She's better than most of the younger, female vocalists out there and is easily one of the most talented singers. However, some of the album sounds recycled. It's easy to imagine Macy Gray or Amy Winehouse taking over the reins of the album and doing many of the same things musically. Even though Stone has co-writing credits on 12 of the 14 tracks, it's nearly impossible to imagine a 19-year-old writing such sophisticated material.
Stone's second track off her new album is titled "They Won't Believe It." I don't believe it. This girl is a teenager, has released three albums and has more control over her voice than any of the other pop divas like Britney or Jessica but spares us the Aguilera vocal spasms. At times, she nails her sound so well it becomes tough to believe a British 19-year-old can produce these vocals. So, yes, they might not believe it.
The opening lines of "Bruised But Not Broken" go like this: "Been a lot that I've been through. I cried a tear a time or two." Really? How much heartbreak can you go through before you're out of high school? This song isn't one that Stone helped write, but there are lyrics like this all through the album. It's easy to just sit back and think, "Wait, you're 19. How many broken hearts can you possibly have?"
Regardless, "Introducing Joss Stone" is a good, poppy soul album. Stone's definitely got the voice for these songs, but she seems to needs some help to really fill the album out lyrically and stylistically.
-Chris Rossett
edge staff
The album is solid soul music but with a funky, danceable beat; this makes it part of that neo-soul genre which is generally thought of as the domain of Lauryn Hill, India Aire or Jill Scott. Stone barges right in and even gets a hand from Lauryn Hill on "Music," one of the highlights of the album.
By featuring Hill and hip-hop artist Common, Stone escapes the feeling of a generic pop/soul album while adding some much-needed credibility. Without those artists, she just sounds like a soul artist. With them, her music has soul.
She's better than most of the younger, female vocalists out there and is easily one of the most talented singers. However, some of the album sounds recycled. It's easy to imagine Macy Gray or Amy Winehouse taking over the reins of the album and doing many of the same things musically. Even though Stone has co-writing credits on 12 of the 14 tracks, it's nearly impossible to imagine a 19-year-old writing such sophisticated material.
Stone's second track off her new album is titled "They Won't Believe It." I don't believe it. This girl is a teenager, has released three albums and has more control over her voice than any of the other pop divas like Britney or Jessica but spares us the Aguilera vocal spasms. At times, she nails her sound so well it becomes tough to believe a British 19-year-old can produce these vocals. So, yes, they might not believe it.
The opening lines of "Bruised But Not Broken" go like this: "Been a lot that I've been through. I cried a tear a time or two." Really? How much heartbreak can you go through before you're out of high school? This song isn't one that Stone helped write, but there are lyrics like this all through the album. It's easy to just sit back and think, "Wait, you're 19. How many broken hearts can you possibly have?"
Regardless, "Introducing Joss Stone" is a good, poppy soul album. Stone's definitely got the voice for these songs, but she seems to needs some help to really fill the album out lyrically and stylistically.
-Chris Rossett
edge staff
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Christian
posted 6/29/07 @ 4:47 AM CST
Just Great album! By the way, here is some useful
website devoted to the
Introducing Joss Stone album: http://joss-stone-introducing-joss-stone.info/
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