Joss Stone - LP1

Devonshire talents are rare to come by. We've done pretty well for ourselves with Muse, Chris Martin and Seth Lakeman all coming from the largest and greenest county, but almost ten years ago we were all proud of a teenage soul sensation who'd taken the country by storm. Joss Stone wasn't actually born here but it's far too late for me to change my angle now, and after a burst of success with teenage talent shows and a cross-Atlantic hit debut The Soul Sessions she seems to have crashed back down to Earth thanks to a couple of faux pas at the 2007 BRIT Awards.

No Brit likes one of their own to go off and make it big in the USA. Ask Radiohead, whose release of Kid A initially met a world of "oh, is that it?"s and claims that (what Australians call) the Tall Poppy Syndrome had come into effect. There is some truth in a certain possessive nature amongst the British - and much of the backlash aimed at Stone following her new image and American drawl in 2007 was probably out of spite. Perhaps all of this is the reason to start afresh (or so the album title would have us believe) - arguably a more noble route than pleading for forgiveness. Put together in just 6 days with Eurythmic Dave Stewart, it poises Stone in one of her most stylistically varied records.


We start strongly with an altruist rant in the form of 'Newborn', complaining about the lack of human compassion and soaring self-interest: "We're stiffening our love" she muses in amongst some faultless powerful vocals, but the lyrics for me feel a little too vague and misdirected to really resonate. Hippie vibes are ditched in favour of some disco funk (think Superstition with no hook) on 'Karma' which is a bit of a woman-scorned vendetta anthem that culminates with a satisfying "you're the bitch!" and some sideshows involving guns and vengeance. It's entertaining. Certainly this new Joss appears to have a bit of attitude, that much is clear on 'Don't Stop Lying to Me Now' - but lyrically it suffers from so many clichés ("Got no use for your excuses", rhyming fight with right) and the backdrop, whilst all fun and ragtime, doesn't quite feel at ease with the passion of her voice.

A predominantly pop route is taken in 'Last One to Know' (think a Kelly Clarkson single) - where whispers and husks from Stone give it a bit of a less contrived edge, and vocally she again excels. Instrumentally it sounds a little similar to Adele's Set Fire to the Rain (particularly during the strings) but it's a minor detail. I can't really explain the positioning of 'Drive All Night' as track 5, unless it's meant as a kind of interlude whilst the angry Joss goes backstage to swill some JD, because at 5 minutes long and with an utterly unoriginal structure it really drags the record down when it was really going. One of her nicest vocal performances (without being overbearing) is seen on 'Cry Myself to Sleep', which is carried along with a pleasant tune.

Single 'Somehow' initially disappointed because the chorus, to me, felt like it was stopping just as it begun to kick-off. The choruses sound a little like last year's Fuck You! single from Cee-Lo, but there's a couple of guitar hooks thrown in for fun. It's a gloriously retro affair and that's something I'm a bit of a sucker for. Sadly it only gets worse: 'Landlord' is an acoustic burst (and positioning that right after a heavily produced single is a risk) that again suffers from tired lyrics ("I just wanna be your lover baby/ I want you with me: no other lady") and nothing in the way of tune, melody or really magnificent vocals, to be honest. 'Boat Yard' has the same problems despite a bit of an 80s drumbeat and some other uninspired instrumental inclusions (the guitar twangs, the generic piano tinkles).


Thankfully 'Take Good Care' makes up for that with an attention-grabbing vocal performance and country-pop guitars accentuating her huskiness. It'd be an ideal closer but sadly such duties are left to the boring 'Cutting the Breeze' with its Lennykravitzish (coined by me, watch out, it'll be everywhere soon) "guitars" that really aren't guitars but lies. Oh well.

With the portrayal of Stone this side of the pond in our media, you'd expect another carcrash in this album. Certainly the UK reviewing press has been a little harsh and that's even with an abduction conspiracy earlier in the year in her favour. But in amongst all of the pantomime that is Joss Stone's love/hate affair with the British press I think her vocal talents are forgotten too often. LP1 I think suffers a little bit from attempting to bridge too many genres in a way that only Janis Joplin could - and a lot of the stylistic choices (particularly the album sleeve) give this a bit of a farcical feel. However, musically there are great pop songs here. Give her a chance, United Kingdom.

Rating: 6/10
Highlights: Somehow, Karma, Take Good Care, Last One to Know, Newborn
Avoid: Landlord, Boat Yard, Drive All Night, Cutting the Breeze

Artwork Watch: Oooh, I've got a nosering, how fucking hardcore am I?