Joss Stone: Colour Me Free!
Joss Stone: Colour Me Free!
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By Michael Younger. |  |
Wednesday, 04, Nov 2009 02:46
EMI, out now.
What's it all about?
With its 12 tracks, Colour Me Free! creates a comforting and relaxing experience not too far out of the ordinary. The album opens with the single Free Me, which promises also what the album finally delivers: a semi-raw recording of a collection of songs performed by a great voice that, unfortunately, in these songs leaves me slightly unsatisfied; a voice that seems to have yet more to give in future recordings.
Who's it by?
Joss Stone is a well talented English artist (and nowadays also actress, featuring in for example Eragon and The Tudors) who debuted with the highly acclaimed multi-platinum album The Soul Sessions in the fall of 2003. Following that debut success of debut, the second album Mind Body and Soul, containing her biggest hit to date You Had Me, was also a multi-platinum success definitely putting Joss on the map of the British music industry. With an extraordinarily strong voice, casting shadows not far from the memories of the great vocal abyss of Janis Joplin, Joss Stone has sold over ten million copies worldwidet o date: more than any other female British soul artist in the 2000s.
As an example...
"Don't you dare/Interrupt the White House ball/We're living scared!/It's in foreign lands the soldiers fall/... Snatch 'em in their pride/Go ahead, that's fine, that's fine!" - Govermentalist
"In the beginning you came on strong/You were so polite and full of charm/You got what you wanted/Then it wasn't long/Before you dropped the act and/Hot became luke warm... " - Girlfriend On Demand
What the others say
"This is a decent comeback, however, which eschews her last LP's hip-hop leanings for more straightforward retro soul funk." - Guardian
"On first listen, you might think that the album is only about positive things - but a closer listen quickly determines that this is far from being a superficial feel good type of album, despite the mostly upbeat tempos features on it." - Blog Critics
So is it any good?
Her voice is better than the album. That's the first thought that surfaces when I asked myself this question, having listened to the album for the first time. I get the sensation that an extremely promising singer is given a semi-great space for her voice: too great a space to seem bored to the listener, and yet too small a space to be able to put in that final gear which is so vital for the creation of a musical experience beyond the usual.
From what I've read and heard of Joss Stone, it seems, though, she's closing in on her true element, still searching for that specific sound and feel in which her voice will be able to grow and develop into the quality of the "great" artists. It's an interesting search to follow, considering the potential of the singer, but even so, the album in itself leaves me only semi-satisfied.
The peak of the album in my opinion is the eleventh track: Stalemate, a duet featuring Jamie Hartman. As Hartman is given the opening verse of the song, the track surprises me and contributes to a temporary increase in my engagement in the album. But over all it must be admitted that the album works better in the periphery of some friend's get-together than in the headphones of a music lover, as it unwinds rather than engages: it fills out rather than excites.
5/10
Rasmus Thofte