Joss Stone - LP1 Review

Posted by Adam Hill on 07.28.2011

Joss Stone returns with her first album for her own label. After a largely hit and miss career so far, does LP1 represent a return to form? 411’s Adam Hill checks in with his full review.




1) Newborn
2) Karma
3) Don’t Start Lying To Me Now
4) Last One To Know
5) Drive All Night
6) Cry Myself To Sleep
7) Somehow
8) Landlord
9) Boat Yard
10) Take Good Care



”Karma”


After bursting onto the scene as a prodigiously gifted 16 year old, Joss Stone’s career has been one of largely diminishing returns, culminating in the 2009 debacle, Colour Me Free!. Written and recorded in a week, the album was an incoherent mess and perhaps unsurprisingly, Stone left her label EMI the following year. Undeterred, she set up her own label (Stone’d Records) and with her Super Heavy band mate and ex-Eurythmic Dave Stewart at the helm, proceeded to press reset and start again.

Worryingly, Stone has followed a similar model to Colour Me Free! and recorded LP1 in just six days, the difference now though is that Stone feels she finally has full creative freedom to express herself rather than the label. The result is a veritable melting pot of styles and influences, a jambalaya stuffed with all manner of musical ingredients, some of which taste great, but many of which add nothing to the flavour or texture of the dish.

When it is good, it is very good. “Karma” has the sass and swagger of a 70’s Tina Turner strutting down the street turning heads as she goes. Turner’s vocal rasp also features heavily as the attitude ramps up towards this blues-funk heavy jam’s climax. In fact, it is the upbeat funk-soul tracks that really showcase Stone’s still impressive vocals and her previously diluted personality. “Don’t Start Lying To Me Now” is another toe-tapping, free flowing blues riot of a track but that sense of fun doesn’t feature enough.

Stone appears to want to show off her emotive and powerful soul diva side and the majority of the songs are geared to that aim. Rather than parental advisory, any sticker on the cover should simply proclaim ‘Here Be Ballads’. That Stone can sing has never been in question but too often she mistakes constipated warbling for emoting, the best divas free form because it comes from their heart and soul, not because they think they really should. Where she does get it right though, is on “Boat Yard”. Egged on by a gentle yet persuasive southern blues backing, she lets her voice go and sound is entirely natural and the power of her vocals is beautifully juxtaposed with the soft instrumentals.

The forced nature of its sound is the main issue with LP1, what little focus it has is seemingly on re-establishing Stone as a great artist with a wonderful earthy voice, rather than just being a good album. Too many songs slip away into nothing, mundane and easily forgotten. At least she can point to the fact that, for the first time in her career so far, she has managed to make an album that was better than its predecessor, that’s got to count for something, right?

The 411: Joss Stone can sing, of that there is no doubt. What she doesn’t do is genuine emotion, or focus. LP1 represents some upward movement compared to the quality of her previous album but it still something of a mess with ideas scattered all over the place. She may now have full creative freedom but that is not always a good thing when you have no-one to rein you back in. Dave Stewart’s production is good but you are left wondering just how much influence he was able to exert in a six day recording period. There are good moments, “Karma” and “Don’t Start Lying To Me Now” standout, but too much of LP1 is forgettable, dull filler.

Final Score:  6.0   [ Average ]