The Soul Sessions

Wisely avoiding i Joss Stone is blessed with a strong voice and a will to sing old-school soul and The Soul Sessions is worthy of more than novelty status. Not every 16-year-old Caucasian, English girl can hang with the likes of Betty Wright ("Clean Up Woman") and Angie Stone (no relation).

Wisely avoiding iconic songs by the genre's biggest names, Stone and a production team that includes Wright opt for lesser-known tunes by the likes of Laura Lee, Joe Simon and the Soul Brothers Six--not to mention their digging out (with guest coproducer ?uestlove from the Roots) the great soul lyric in the White Stripes' "Fell in Love with a (Boy)". Joss Stone occasionally misses a connection; her "Some Kind of Wonderful" is listless and when she develops a bit more subtlety, it'll be welcome. But The Soul Sessions has a spark beyond the album's obvious good taste. --Rickey Wright (Review copyright Amazon.co.uk)