JOSS STONE

The Soul Sessions, Vol. 2

2012-07-29

Nine years ago, 16-year-old Joss Stone took the music world by storm as a young Brit belting out American R&B with audacious authority. After a series of primarily self-written records, Stone finds herself eclipsed by Adele and a boatload of other new female singers, Brit and non-Brit. Maybe it is a search to get her bearings again, to mine the songs and the genre that she loves and suits her voice so well, that we have "Volume 2" now. Once again, she finds solid R&B tunes, mostly of them not smash hits at the time, and wrings every drop of emotion out of them. There are two from The Chi-Lites and stuff from Honey Cone, Sylvia, Eddie Floyd and others (check out "Teardrops" by Womack & Womack); Delbert McClinton and Ernie Isely of the Isley Brothers--and, just like volume one, she does a R&B take on a more recent number, this time Broken Bells' "The High Road." Regardless of what you think of the concept or the strategy behind it, there is a lot to enjoy here--the songs themselves and the talented vocal interpreter. 07/12 Michael J. B-Neo-Soul

Quick Links:

• Her home page
• Joss singing "Teardrops"