Happy 15th Anniversary to Joss Stone’s third studio album Introducing Joss Stone, originally released March 9, 2007.
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An uproarious blast of punk, “Fell in Love with a Girl” was served as the second single to The White Stripes’ third outing White Blood Cells (2001). It wasn’t a sizable charter domestically for the American garage rock act, but they did find themselves with a hit in the United Kingdom. Two years later, their brawny tune received an unexpectedly sensuous and bluesy reinterpretation courtesy of Joss Stone (born Joscelyn Eve Stoker).
Leading with a cover can be risky—the British teen went a step further with an entire covers album: The Soul Sessions (2003). “Fell in Love with a Boy,” as it was retitled, was the sole modern piece included; for the remainder of her debut on the S-Curve label she chose several rare stateside soul gems from the likes of Waylon Jennings, Carla Thomas, Aretha Franklin and the Isley Brothers. Stone’s voice—a magnetic instrument—stunned pundits and record buyers with how she read these selections. A commercial and critical nerve had been struck in the best way on both sides of the Atlantic.
However, by the time Stone, aged 17, revealed her sophomore set Mind, Body & Soul (2004), the vocal/visual “beyond your years” approach that won acclaim a year previously looked to already be wearing thin with the British public. Stone took the criticism in stride when she brainstormed a path ahead with her next long player, Introducing Joss Stone. It was also during this juncture that Stone transitioned from the S-Curve imprint to EMI/ Virgin Records.
The record’s creation cycle saw the English chanteuse visit studio locales in the Bahamas, California and New York over a ten-month span. Having scripted songs for Mind, Body & Soul, this trend carried over to her third album. Out of the sixteen songs drafted for Introducing Joss Stone—nineteen across its varying deluxe and international editions—Stone either wrote or co-wrote on fourteen of them. The only non-originals to appear on the deluxe version were solid renditions of Nat King Cole’s “L-O-V-E” and The Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter.” The latter cut was a bombastic duet between Stone and Angélique Kidjo and featured on the worldbeat firebrand’s eighth LP Djin Djin (2007).
Billy Mann, Glenn Stanbridge, Robert Ozuna, Alonzo Stevenson, Chalmers Alford, Diane Warren and Raphael Saadiq were some of the collaborative notables booked to workshop over or contribute to Stone’s project. But it was Saadiq—former Tony! Toni! Toné! frontman turned writer-producer-cum-solo act—who ended up as her chief writing partner and producer for the whole of Introducing. With a dynamic force like Saadiq in her corner, Stone finally had the support to find what had been elusive for her thus far: a bridge between classic and contemporary R&B elements.
Even though Introducing opens subtly with “Change,” a dapper spoken declaration of independence courtesy of footballer-actor Vinnie Jones, what follows is anything but reserved. Under the dual supervision of Stone and Saadiq, a swanky aesthetic is plotted that makes use of only the finest session musicians and tunesmithing technology. Sassy pieces like “Girl, They Won’t Believe It” and “Tell Me ‘Bout It”—which echo the salad days of Motown and Stax correspondingly via supple basslines, fleshy guitar licks, lush string passages and spicy drum work—are expertly rendered. Synchronal to that old school musicianship is modish R&B-hip-hop production sensibilities that come to bear through carefully placed synth textures, record deck scratches, and various digital/sample flourishes.
Stone dips further into that sampling method when she taps an eclectic string of established jams—from Otis Redding (“Respect”), The Fugees (“The Mask”) and Pretty Poison (“Catch Me (I’m Falling)”)—for interpolative purposes on “Headturner,” “Music” and “Proper Nice” respectively. By synthesizing vintage and vogue sonic ingredients, Stone crafts a sound with an enduringly fresh feel.
As a singer, Stone is undisputedly talented, but that doesn’t mean she’s incapable of growth in this area of her abilities. Whether she’s steamy (“My God”), bold (“Put Your Hands on Me”), or understated (“What Were We Thinking”), Stone balances evocativeness and nuance across the expanse of the record.
She maintains her vocal energy parallel to the guests asked to bring their gifts to Introducing. Aside from the cited Kidjo team-up on “Gimme Shelter,” hip-hop legends Common and Lauryn Hill lend their individual flows to the middle-eights of “Tell Me What We’re Gonna Do Now” and “Music”—they’re natural partnerships that complement Stone’s known soulful style. Regarding the narrative aspect of the LP, it’s “Music” that somewhat alludes to what will be broached in its writing.
In a behind-the-scenes interview spot for the CD/DVD pressing of Introducing, the lady herself elaborates further on what animates these song texts, “The theme of the album is music and—that’s very simple—but, to me, it’s more than that. When I say music, it’s really the love of my life.” Despite that statement, Stone uses the familiar lyrical thrust of romantic love as a proxy for her general feelings and expressions on life, art and all those assorted particulars. Flirtatious (“Bad Habit”), contemplative (“Bruised But Not Broken”) and coquette (“Baby, Baby, Baby”) topics aid Stone in embracing her youthful spark without shortchanging her evolving maturity.
Released in early March of 2007—with an eye-popping Brian Bowen Smith photographed cover—Introducing did meet with predominantly positive write-ups that cheered on Stone’s more relaxed, but no less ambitious designs enacted for the album; only jaundiced reviewers dismissed her obvious step forward as superfluous. Silver and gold certifications slowly started rolling in, yet the platinum-plus figures of The Soul Sessions and Mind, Body & Soul were noticeably absent for Introducing.
There have been those who have remarked that Stone’s hosting appearance at the BRITs on February 14, 2007 (a few weeks prior to her album’s release) impacted her sales. Supposedly guilty of adopting an “American” accent at that awards ceremony, a ruthless castigation in the English press ensued over this incidental cultural faux pas with some of her audience at home.
That EMI/Virgin seemingly took their foot off of the proverbial promotional gas for Introducing in the U.K. in response to the British media’s drubbing spoke to the severity of the moment. And that none of the singles—“Tell Me ‘Bout It,” “Tell Me What we’re Gonna Do Now,” “Baby, Baby, Baby”—managed nothing other than modest chart gains there or abroad was also disappointing. Keeping up a brave face, Stone kicked off her expected touring duties in between promotional obligations; her shows received unanimous praise as expected, still the potential of Introducing felt unrealized.
Fifteen years later, Stone has fielded challenges and triumphs—her commitment to her craft is what has gone unchanged. Five albums have come along, most recent among them her eighth effort, Never Forget My Love (2022). The clarity radiating from her current offering can be traced back to Introducing Joss Stone; that record not only had Stone taking hold of her artistic destiny in spite of any external pressures, it has held fast as a sensational, enthusiastic experience within her canon.
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