Search - Duffy :: Rockferry

Gets better every time I hear it

A.M.Boughey | Rochester, MN | 08/06/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Likened to Dusty Springfield, and other great female vocalists seems like high praise, and it's richly deserved. But Duffy exudes a soulful charm, and individual style that's essentially all her own, despite a strange deja vous you get when listening to her range.

Powerful rich vocals, great acoustic and backing accompaniment and a soulful approach, put this diminutive Welsh singer almost in a league of her own.

I bought the album having heard only the title track, and the upbeat "Mercy" which for those who remember that far back, made me feel like I was in a scene from Our Man Flint, or more recently the spoof 60's flicks of Austin Powers.

As great as these two tracks are, they are but a taste of the other excellent songs on this album, all of which I loved, and which got better every time I heard them. The heartfelt almost begging of "Syrup & Honey", the gentle sway of "Stepping Stone" and the emotional depth of "I'm Scared" didn't just put me in mind of the aforementioned Dusty Springfield, but also Brenda Lee, Elkie Brooks, and even Etta James, and many more.

Another great power of the album is it's pure soul, and blues approach. To many it will evoke memories of simpler times, when singers sang, and musicians played without the need for mixing and synthesizers, but make no mistake, this is contemporary stuff, made for today.

It won't be to everyones taste, and one wonders in today's mass media pop culture whether it's target audience (assuming that it is aimed at the pop and top 40 crowd)may find it too slow, or not upbeat enough to keep pace with the marketplace. Whether that's the case or not, and Duffy's fan base get's marginalized out of the billboard charts, the album stand's on it's own merits. Too early to call it a modern "classic", but this is great stuff. I look forward to more from Duffy soon. 5 stars."