Joss Stone – The Soul Sessions, Vol. 2 (Deluxe Edition) (2012) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Joss Stone – The Soul Sessions, Vol. 2 (Deluxe Edition) (2012)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:02:36 minutes | 1,33 GB | Genre: Pop
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © S-Curve Records

GRAMMY Award-winning vocalist Joss Stone has released the eagerly anticipated reprise to her massive selling debut, The Soul Sessions. The Soul Sessions, Volume 2 is a stellar exercise in vocal poise, precision and passion. At the height of her vocal powers, Stone covers soul standards including “(For God’s Sake) Give More Power To The People,” “The High Road,” “While You’re Out Looking For Sugar” and “Pillow Talk.” Stone is joined by an extraordinary cast of musicians including Ernie Isley, Delbert McClinton, Clayton Ivey and others. The album reached the top 10 on Billboard’s Top R&B Albums, the Billboard 200 and Billboard’s Top Digital Albums. A must have!

Joss Stone launched her career by singing soul standards so when it came time for a reboot she went back to the beginning, dusting off the old blueprint for The Soul Sessions and following it to a T, right down to replicating its title and giving a contemporary alt-rock hit a soul makeover. First time around, the intent was to prove that teenage Joss had soul bona fides, but in 2012 the purpose of The Soul Sessions, Vol. 2 is to signal how she’s done messing around with fleeting fashions and is getting back down to the real business. Stone doesn’t dig deep into the crates this time around, nor does she stick to deep soul; she chooses to mine hits from the early ’70s, favoring songs by the Dells, the Chi-Lites, and Sylvia, giving these smooth tunes a bit of a polished Southern spin. And “professional” is the operative word here: this is the work of seasoned veterans who play with every note falling neatly into place, stretching just enough to show off their chops but never enough to alter the DNA of a song. The exception to the rule is, of course, “The High Road,” a Broken Bells song refashioned to sound old, thereby occupying the same space as Joss’ White Stripes “Fell in Love with a Boy” cover did on the first Soul Sessions. This is the song to prove that Stone isn’t living in the past but rather she’s seeing the future through a retro prism that turns everything into something that feels classic. That Stone remains a bit too theatrical a singer, overemphasizing every phrase, is almost besides the point, as she’s a diva and is expected to sing with more gusto than the song requires just as long as the overall package feels right. And, for the most part, The Soul Sessions, Vol. 2 does feel right: it has the form and sound of classic soul while never acknowledging that R&B continued to develop past, say, 1972. For an audience that agrees with that thesis, this is fun.

Tracklist:

01. Joss Stone – I Got The… (04:59)
02. Joss Stone – (For God’s Sake) Give More Power To The People (03:44)
03. Joss Stone – While You’re Out Looking For Sugar (03:28)
04. Joss Stone – Sideway Shuffle (03:38)
05. Joss Stone – I Don’t Want To Be With Nobody But You (05:00)
06. Joss Stone – Teardrops (05:55)
07. Joss Stone – Stoned Out Of My Mind (03:12)
08. Joss Stone – The Love We Had (Stays On My Mind) (04:42)
09. Joss Stone – The High Road (04:40)
10. Joss Stone – Pillow Talk (04:42)
11. Joss Stone – Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye (03:51)
12. Joss Stone – First Taste Of Hurt (03:39)
13. Joss Stone – One Love In My Lifetime (03:49)
14. Joss Stone – Nothing Takes The Place Of You (03:25)
15. Joss Stone – (1-2-3-4-5-6-7) Count The Days (03:44)

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