Mind, Body & Soul
Joss Stone
Betty Wright, Angie Stone, Cindy Blackman, Timmy Thomas, Nile Rodgers
Engineer: Steve Greenwell,
Producer: Mike Mangini, Steve Greenberg, Betty Wright
S-Curve (USA), 2004
1 CD
Catalogue #: 94897
EAN: 0724359489728
UPC: 724359489728
You save: 25%
Personnel include: Joss Stone (vocals); Nile Rodgers, A.J. Nilo (guitar); Tom "Bones" Malone (flugelhorn); Timmy Thomas, Benny Latimore (piano); Nir Zidkyahu (Fender Rhodes piano, synthesizer); Angelo Morris, Angie Stone (Fender Rhodes piano); Raymond Angry (Clavinet, Hammond b-3 organ, Moog synthesizer); Jack Daley (bass guitar); Cindy Blackman, Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson (drums); Mike Mangini (programming); Betty Wright (background vocals).
Recording information: Mojo, New York, NY; Chung King, New York, NY; Right Track Studios, New York, New York; Hit Factory, Miami, Florida.
For MIND, BODY & SOUL, released only a year after her 2003 debut, THE SOUL SESSIONS, Joss Stone conveys an incredible degree of musical maturity that goes far beyond her 17 years. Wisely, Stone reunites with many of the same R&B/soul names that helped make her first recording such a success, including Betty Wright, Latimore, and Timmy Thomas.
This sophomore Stone disc presents a deep stack of all-original soul songs that finds the Devon, England vocalist and her crew sounding a bit more contemporary. "You Had Me" pairs Stone's powerful voice with a clavinet, a dash of strings, and a funky beat for a track that wouldn't be out of place on a Beyonce record. The down-tempo material also works well, whether it's the call-and response slow jam "Jet Lag" or "Right to Be Wrong," with its Muscle Shoals vibe of crisp guitar licks and laidback organ. The UK native also successfully dabbles in reggae (the loping "Less Is More") and more gospel-flavored fare (the uplifting "Security"), stretching her expressive pipes beyond the emotive R&B that made her famous. With confidence and class, Stone secures her star status on MIND, BODY & SOUL.
Tracklist
Joss Stone
Few expected that the best soul singer to emerge in 2003 would be a 16-year-old British girl, but that was exactly the case when Joss Stone released her debut album THE SOUL SESSIONS. Mentored by legendary R&B vocalist Betty Wright, Stone covered both classic soul tunes and more contemporary fare, giving it all a feel that seemed closer to vintage Stax than to anything current. Though she's equally comfortable tackling material by Aretha Franklin or the White Stripes (in her own soulful fashion), Stone also co-wrote much of the material on her 2004 follow-up, MIND, BODY & SOUL.
Betty Wright
A 1960s gospel prodigy who went secular at an early age, Wright had her first hit ("Girls Can't Do What the Guys Do") at age 15, and four years later followed it up with "Clean Up Woman," a proto-feminist smash with one of the all-time killer guitar riffs. A popular artist of the 1970s, her influence could be strongly felt on the empowered-female, hip-hop infused R&B of the '90s.
Angie Stone
It was Angie Stone's vocal talent that shot Vertical Hold's urban dance hit, "Seems You're Much Too Busy," to the upper reaches of the charts in 1993. But it wasn't until 1999 that Stone got around to issuing her first solo album, BLACK DIAMOND, which mixed elements of classic soul and funk to her already rich, smooth sound and followed Macy Gray's debut into the roots-R&B upper echelon. Stone continued to mature through a spate of acclaimed albums in the aughts.
