Search - Joss Stone :: Introducing Joss Stone

My girl Joss...

R. Campbell | Queens | 02/08/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Ever since i heard "You Had Me" I've been a Joss Stone fan. As soon as I heard the song i went straight to the store to buy her cd, problem was I didnt know off what album the song came from so I bought Soul Sessions by mistake. One thing about Joss Stone is she has that one song on each album that stands out more than any song on the whole album. On Soul Session it was "The Chokin Kind" on Mind, Body, & Soul there was a couple but my favorite was "Spoiled". On Introducing...Joss Stone it was "What Were We Thinking". But on Color Me Free I'm finding it hard to find that stand out song. I read the other reviews and listen to there opinion and I dont hear it. Governmentalist with Nas is cool but I dont think this CD is better than Mind,Body,& Soul, but its a quality cd."

Catch me, catch me I'm falling in love

rmcrae | Houston, Texas | 06/03/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Joss Stone isn't the first young starlet to re-invent herself and she won't be the last. Truth be told, her image hasn't changed that much. She's still the same free spirited British hippy chick as before except her hair has changed from blonde to fiery red and she's wearing shoes. Not to mention this is the first album where Joss is more hands-on in the songwriting with the help of former Tony! Toni! Toné! and Lucy Pearl member/producer Raphael Saadiq.



Skip the silly intro (why she didn't speak on it herself rather than the mumbly Vinnie Jones is beyond me) and the Motown inspired opener Girl, They Won't Believe It proves that the "real" Miss Stone is sassier and more confident than ever. Headturner and Tell Me 'Bout It find her more sexually free, but not graphically so. The former is an attitude laden challenge to a guy letting him know that if he's into her he'd better "come and take my hand/Cuz I'll find another man!" The latter lets the men know "I need a little lovin' at least two times a day/So when I call ya boy, you better run here right away!" Her sass soaked vocals and call and response bit with the backup singers are highlights.



The "down for whatever" Tell Me What We're Gonna Do Now features a playful guest rap from Common and the smoothly low-key ode to Music gives hope that Lauryn Hill just might finally make a proper follow-up to her solo debut. Put Your Hands On Me has this early 70s sultry vibe that recalls Ike and Tina. "Baby I'm hungry/I want and I need/Bring me your sugar/And pour it all over me baby!" Joss wants nothing more to be back in the Arms Of My Baby ("Living on the road is so damn tough/Talking on the phone is never enough/I gotta get back to the place that I'm used to"), although he's her Bad Habit ("It's obvious to me your kiss is lethal/Your drug of choice is love and I can't come down").



I love everything about Proper Nice from the title to the shimmery, high on love production. You'll relate if you've ever fallen so deep in love it feels euphoric. "Found a love, proper nice/It makes me fly/When I'm all alone in my world/I can feel you touching me/In my thoughts/In my mind/You come carry me/Ooh I'm falling!" The centerpiece of the record is the old school ballad Bruised But Not Broken. Although breaking up has torn her heart to shreds, Joss refuses to give up on giving love another shot. "Gonna pick my heart up/Take my life back/Shake the hurt away/Pull myself together, put the pieces back in place/I learned love's so hard/Love left my soul scarred/I was shattered inside!" She attacks the song like a pro and tears it up!



Baby Baby Baby isn't a cover of the TLC classic. Instead it's a sunny Jackson 5 styled jam about love and all that jazz. "Baby, baby, baby/Tell me do you really love me?/Baby, baby, baby/Will you always be there for me?/I can't live without your lovin'/Baby can't you see?/Baby, baby, baby/Tell me do you love me now?" Infectious and fun to sing along to. Joss channels Ms. Aretha Franklin on the "fire in the belly" slow jam What Were We Thinking. "Times were good/I wish you were around more/I can feel you at my door/But it's not you/It's someone else/What can I do/Ooh, what did we do?" she agonizes. It's so beautiful and raw.



The songs on Introducing feel more lived-in since the lyrics were penned by Joss herself and walk the line between adult and young adult with pure ease. Although it's throwback feel of the 60s and 70s is comparable to Amy Winehouse's Back To Black and Christina Aguilera's Back To Basics, it's even better. I'd liken it to Amy's debut Frank in that it pulls from the past while remaining flawlessly modern. Sometimes letting an artist take more control over their sound isn't a bad thing."