Joss Stone - The Soul Sessions Vol. 2 (15/08/2012)
Nine years after her debut album The Soul Sessions, the 25 year old Joss Stone has once again set out to cover the songs of her inspirations with her sixth album, and sequel to her debut, Soul Sessions Vol. 2. This album takes the best moments of Stone’s previous albums and works them into a vocal-heavy compilation of R&B and soul tracks that stand to highlight Stone’s earthy and rather deep voice.
As a whole, the album primarily covers more obscure R&B songs from the 60s and 70s, with Stone going out of her way to dig up some of the forgotten treasures of the time including Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye (originally by Don Cherry) and a rowdy re-do of the Chi-Lites (For God’s Sake) Give More Power To The People. Stone also choses to expand the definition of soul songs, as she did in Soul Sessions Vol 1 with The White Stripes’ Fell In Love With A Boy, by including a spirited cover of the Broken Bells’ single The High Road. However, where The White Stripes cover played as a highlight of the first album, as the lead single, The High Road, doesn’t create the same highpoint of the album and instead plays as a rather out-of-place track that doesn’t blend with the R&B feel of the rest of the album.
Her throaty, bluesy vocals create a new texture to the songs that transform them from their original sound to a modern take on them. Stone shows her growth as a singer from her first The Soul Sessions, with the grit and heartache of the songs coming across as realistic and lived-in, a feeling lacking in both her own original songs and earlier covers. She also highlights her vocal control, which plays between soft and sweet melodies through to belted out choruses.
With her stripped down cover of the classic Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye, the simple strings and acoustic guitar backing create the soft tone of the track that is lifted with Stone’s gently sweeping vocals, building a wonderfully balanced and elegant track. In contrast, her cover of Stoned Out Of My Mind combines upbeat instrumentals with a strong swing beat and Stone’s sassy vocals that combine a funked-up, dancey track that highlights both her vocal range and strength.
In terms of showing off her growth as an artist, Joss Stone has hit the goldmine with returning to her teenage roots and proving that 9 years really does make a difference. In fact, if she were to release a new volume of The Soul Sessions every 10 years or so we would be set for new albums of strong soul tracks that show growth in both life experience and talent, for the foreseeable future.
Bethany Williams
As a whole, the album primarily covers more obscure R&B songs from the 60s and 70s, with Stone going out of her way to dig up some of the forgotten treasures of the time including Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye (originally by Don Cherry) and a rowdy re-do of the Chi-Lites (For God’s Sake) Give More Power To The People. Stone also choses to expand the definition of soul songs, as she did in Soul Sessions Vol 1 with The White Stripes’ Fell In Love With A Boy, by including a spirited cover of the Broken Bells’ single The High Road. However, where The White Stripes cover played as a highlight of the first album, as the lead single, The High Road, doesn’t create the same highpoint of the album and instead plays as a rather out-of-place track that doesn’t blend with the R&B feel of the rest of the album.
Her throaty, bluesy vocals create a new texture to the songs that transform them from their original sound to a modern take on them. Stone shows her growth as a singer from her first The Soul Sessions, with the grit and heartache of the songs coming across as realistic and lived-in, a feeling lacking in both her own original songs and earlier covers. She also highlights her vocal control, which plays between soft and sweet melodies through to belted out choruses.
With her stripped down cover of the classic Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye, the simple strings and acoustic guitar backing create the soft tone of the track that is lifted with Stone’s gently sweeping vocals, building a wonderfully balanced and elegant track. In contrast, her cover of Stoned Out Of My Mind combines upbeat instrumentals with a strong swing beat and Stone’s sassy vocals that combine a funked-up, dancey track that highlights both her vocal range and strength.
In terms of showing off her growth as an artist, Joss Stone has hit the goldmine with returning to her teenage roots and proving that 9 years really does make a difference. In fact, if she were to release a new volume of The Soul Sessions every 10 years or so we would be set for new albums of strong soul tracks that show growth in both life experience and talent, for the foreseeable future.
Bethany Williams