Yahoo! Music Review

Released on 12/03/07
Label: Relentless/EMI

Looking for a detailed explanation of the term backlash? Just ask Joss Stone. One minute Devon's favourite soul sister can do no wrong and is being applauded for her sexy new look and stunning performance at November's UK Music Hall Of Fame Awards. Next, thanks to an equally memorable appearance at the Brits - where sporting insane hair and that bizarre 'LA' accent, she delivered an excruciating heap of la-la 'big love' for the rehab bound Robbie Williams - she's being branded a mentalist.

Unfortunately for poor old Joss, it doesn't end there. As if actively plotting her own downfall, she uses her third album to arm her new found legion of detractors with ammunition enough to brand her potty at best and at worst affected and delusional. Of course, she's neither. She's 19 with seven million album sales and one too many yes men around her, but that doesn't make Vinnie Jones spouting philosophical guff on the intro, 7,000 words of barking thank yous and news that she harassed Lauryn Hill's mum every day for a month and a half until her daughter agreed to appear on the album, any less laughable.

What's probably frustrating Joss's 'people' most though is that her new tabloid baiting ways threaten to bury what is, Vinnie's contribution aside, her best album to date. As the name suggests, it's her coming of age record. The one where she stops singing what everyone else thinks she should and rises above being the precociously talented mouthpiece for her musical mentor, '70s R&B singer Betty Wright. It's her chance to say what Joss Stone sounds like, and for the most part that's a distinct, independent and undeniably capable nu-soul artist who's more than just a pretty voice.

If not a beginning to end classic album, it's full of potential classic tracks. From the obvious winners, the sunshine ghetto soul of "Girl They Won't Believe It" and summers day cruising of "Headturner", through to "Arms Of My Baby"'s downplayed cool, there's no shortage of rootsy grooves and infectious melodies. Meanwhile, in underrated R&B singer, songwriter and serial collaborator Raphael Saadiq, she's found a co-writer who knows how to make soul feel fresh and alive without resorting to gimmicks, allowing her to neatly sidestep both Wright's retro fixation and the ill-fitting pop of her 2004 single "You Had Me".

Collaborations with Common on "Tell Me What You're Gonna Do Now" (a highlight) and Lauryn Hill on "Music" (not worth all the phone calls) bolster her standing, but she doesn't really need them. The cute funk likes of "Bad Habit" confirm that, intelligent and intuitive, a grown-up Joss Stone might yet be the real thing, a natural born soul sensation. That's if anyone still wants her.

    by Dan Gennoe