LP1 is Joss Stone’s fifth studio album and her fifth attempt at reinventing herself. Having sold 11 million albums by the age of 24 it should be evident at this point just how talented she is and just what to expect when purchasing it. However, as ever, the album is a medley of styles and genres, unsure where to begin or where to take it.
Some people may know Natalie Williams from her earlier self-written solo albums Yours Truly and Secret Garden, some may even recognise her vocals on a few underground drum'n'bass hits but what they might not know is that Natalie been in the music industry for quite a few years, having worked with the likes of Goldie, John Legend, Amy Winehouse, Lemar, Jamie Cullum, Babyface and many more.
Prompting Natalie's 2010 MOBO Awards nomination for Best R&B/Soul Act [alongside Sade and Corinne Bailey Rae - but pipped to the post by Brit rapper-turned-singer Plan B], Natalie's current album My Oh My [released in late 2010] is a smooth blend of pop-inspired jazz and soul mixed in with a hint of R&B and makes for a perfect Sunday afternoon soundtrack.
“Well I can’t speak about Paloma Faith because I haven’t heard of her, but as far as comparisons to Amy Winehouse and Joss Stone are concerned... those artists are pop singers, not R&B singers; they don’t sing R&B like I do” says US soul legend Teena Marie, dismissing the UK’s two biggest white skinned soul exports of the last decade. Singers who like Ms. Marie have achieved record buying success with black American punters and UK authentic soul music fans, “crossing over” despite the colour of their skin (in Teena’s case pinkie white).
Had Teena (aka 'Lady T' aka 'The Queen of Ivory Soul') not blazed a trail, it’s arguable that the UK-led white soul invasion wouldn't have occurred on the scale it has. It’s a debt not lost on Winehouse in particular, who thanked Teena Marie in the sleeve notes to her debut album Frank. Teena, who is sitting comfortably on a settee, situated in a penthouse suite of a swanky St. Paul’s based London Hotel, elaborates...