When in 1980, Steely Dan's Donald Fagen sang of the young lady who "don't remember the Queen of Soul," he surely wasn't singing of today's Joss Stone, who at nineteen years* of age (and with her third album under her belt) is most certainly familiar with Aretha Franklin. Joss cut her teeth on the soulful sounds of Aretha, under the tutelage of the amazing Betty Wright with her debut on 2003's The Soul Sessions debut.
Her newest release, Introducing Joss Stone, is titled to suggest a major departure from that first album built to wow a public in awe of a fifteen year old blonde Brit with a voice so capable of channeling the power of America's black soul singers who were belting out sorrow and empowerment so many decades before her very own birth. This is the release that Joss most wants us to know is all her own. Instead of Betty Wright and her guidance, we now have Tony! Toni! Toné!'s Raphael Saadiq in charge of all things sonic and groove related. Very frequently, from one track to the next, I hear beats and sounds that would not be out of place on the best of Prince's dance tracks. (My best compliment is this: It's the kind of record that makes me write down Raphael's name and make a note to listen to anything that he works on in the near future.)
Joss herself remains forceful and positive and sexy with confidence. The CD's title (and a few interviews I've read) indicate that she is trying to show the world that she is much more than a girl who can sound like Aretha, et al. She's writing and co-writing her own songs now and she's telling us that this should really be viewed as the first "real" Joss Stone album. While some are criticizing her lyrics as not being on par with the best in the biz (Hey, she's only nineteen! No need to force the metaphors just yet.), I think that she delivers some very strong and empowering words about love and self-confidence. The clever wordplay may be a bit lacking, but I defy you not to lose yourself in dance while playing "Put Your Hands On Me." My only concern is that she sometimes gets a bit close to sounding like Mariah Carey with some of her vocal acrobatics -- there is beauty in showing off without sounding like you are showing off -- but she gets a pass from me.
On one song**, Joss works in a beautiful interpolation of Joni Mitchell's "Catch Me I'm Falling" among a few other classics from back in the day on other tracks. I also noticed that the "turntablist" gets proper credit in the CD booklet for whatever it is that he does. This is not your father's recording studio.
Joss Stone has released yet another strong album. Whether this is her first "real" record, or her actual third one, I'm glad that I have it around to play loudly while I jog, drive, or pretend that I know how to dance. "She thinks I'm crazy / But I'm just growing old."
*At least I think she's still nineteen. If she's twenty now, then my Steely Dan reference falls somewhat flat.
**If the CD booklet was in front of me and not in my car, I could tell which song I'm thinking about. What? The website doesn't have room for all of the lyrics and credits found in the CD booklet? (I'd probably write a better review if I had the liner notes in front of me.)
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