Joss Stone: nubile, well-geared and regular

Some 300 female artists are launched yearly on unsuspected public but only a handful are ever allowed to remain in the pop vestibule. We have no idea what Joss Stone hoped it would happen, or how quickly, but her debut album ‘The Soul Sessions’ simply exploded - even The White Stripes, whose ‘Fell in Love with a Boy’ she splendidly covered, adopted her version for live shows - and she’s 2.5 million copies better off.

Now, ‘Mind, Body & Soul’ brings us original material that is done in the style of the old songs. Joss - Joscelyn Stoker, to give her full/real name - is only 17 but she sounds like she’s lived as many lives as Aretha Franklin. Yeah, she possesses an ancient voice, an instrument that sounds well-stained by life’s lashing, but she needs to sing songs that sound more her age while allowing her to make them her own, rather than trying to follow some formula.

But, being this age and a female in the business where men know what sells to other males and how to tickle interest of under-agers, she’ll have to swallow a lot of frustration. Whether due to ‘guidance’, or something else - like not enough quality control - there are several songs that are unfortunate choices and first to mind is her take on reggae, ‘Less is More’.

Generally, this is a decent album by an artist who finds herself in a position that may be a tad too much to handle. Suspecting it all being done by encumbrance of some kidult, vocal acrobatics are performed during power ballads, ‘Killing Time’ and ‘Jet Lag’, with happier rides over horns of ‘Don’t Cha Wanna Ride’.

Here are fodders for heart, somewhat body, ocular gratification surely but sweet soul music… This material echoes too much of the past, arrangements and production appear to aspire to be late 1960s, or the 1970s: ‘Spoiled’ was co-written by Lamont Dozier, ‘Killing Time’ with Beth Gibson of Portishead - retro per se. Still, ‘MB&S’ will probably sell more than its predecessor. At least, she’s not at that end of showbiz that appears to be an extraordinary silly exploitation!

But, in the sense Graham Greene, the late British author, considered himself to be a b-grade writer, is Jess a Jade Goody of b-music? No, we do not suggest she is of fastfood variety but this album leaves a fair load to be desired… And, looking like Stevie Nicks on the cover ain’t cool… [But, most of her fans would have no idea who the weird woman is.]

300 female hopefuls a year decanted upon us by the culpable industry… Still, the virus of taste shall survive.

7/10