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In the run-up to this, her third album, Joss Stone told a phalanx of glossy magazines that the difference between this disc and the two that preceded it was a newfound clarity of vision. Whereas the other records--their gold status notwithstanding--represented the fumblings of a huge-voiced kid being bossed around by experienced music-biz types, this one, she promised, would reveal the real her. Thus, the titular "introduction." To which anybody who spins the 14 groovy and fully unbuttoned tracks herein will wish to reply not "nice to meet you"--far too lame a sentiment for so fully realized a disc--but "Where have you been all my life?" As good as Joss Stone's previous efforts are, Introducing Joss Stone represents a giant step forward: there's a freshness to these songs that suits her age (19 as of the album's release) and a funkiness that suits modern pop sensibilities. There's also a cross-hatching of visions with artists like Lauryn Hill and Common that will rightly advance her reputation as an artist who can sling disco, R&B, and rock almost as convincingly as soul. Splicing girl-group harmonies with blaxploitation-style funk with Joplin-esque and, at times, Shelby Lynne-reminiscent vocals, Stone works these Raphael Saadiq-produced beats with the stealth and steadiness of a '70s-era legend who's still going strong. "Girl They Won't Believe It," she wails against the tight hoo-hoo harmonizing of talented backup singers on the opening track; get a load of how much she's accomplished in the space of three albums, and you won't believe it, either. --Tammy La Gorce
About the Artist
British soul singer and songwriter Joss Stone's third album, "Introducing Joss Stone," is an electrifying mix of warm vintage soul, '70s-style R&B, Motown girl-group harmonies, and hip-hop grooves. The album is the one that Stone describes as "truly me. That's why I'm calling it Introducing Joss Stone," she says. "These are my words, and this is who I am as an artist." Knowing she wanted to write the album alone, Stone decamped to Barbados in April to come up with lyrics. She stayed for several months before flying to the Bahamas to hook up with her main musical collaborator and producer Raphael Saadiq (known for his work with D'Angelo, The Roots, and Macy Gray). Stone and Saadiq spent two months recording in the Bahamas, and then mixed it at the legendary Electric Lady Studios in New York City.
Other musical collaborators include rapper/singer/songwriter and producer Novel, who is the grandson of soul legend Solomon Burke and has written songs for Kelis and India.Arie, as well as Beau Dozier, son of Motown legend Lamont Dozier, whom she wrote with on her last album, 2004's gold-certified Mind, Body & Soul. The album also features guest vocal appearances by the rapper Common on "Tell Me What We're Going to Do," and reclusive singer Lauryn Hill, who lends a rap to the languid Fugees-inspired track "Music."
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