The Soul Sessions
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The Soul Sessions is the debut studio album by English singer and songwriter Joss Stone, released on 16 September 2003 by S-Curve Records. The album consists of cover versions of soul songs from the 1960s and 1970s, in addition to a cover of the White Stripes' 2001 song "Fell in Love with a Girl" (renamed "Fell in Love with a Boy"). In 2004, The Soul Sessions was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize and was nominated for a MOBO Award for Best Album.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Background
The Soul Sessions was produced by Miami soul singer Betty Wright and S-Curve Records chief executive officer Steve Greenberg. Stone worked with veteran Miami soul musicians Benny Latimore, Little Beaver, Timmy Thomas and Wright herself. She also worked with contemporary musicians such as neo soul singer Angie Stone and the alternative hip hop group the Roots.
Stone told MTV News that she felt intimidated by the credentials of the musicians that worked on the album. "It was weird because they've worked with so many great, great singers. I'm talking the best. I kind of walked in, just like this little girl and started singing."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Critical reception
The Soul Sessions received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 74, based on 15 reviews.<ref name="MC">Template:Cite web</ref> Jon Caramanica of Rolling Stone stated that "Stone shines on this impressive covers set" and that "[s]he chooses songs wisely."<ref name="rollingstone">Template:Cite magazine</ref> AllMusic's Thom Jurek wrote that Stone "has unique phrasing and a huge voice that accents, dips, and slips, never overworking a song or trying to bring attention to itself via hollow acrobatics."<ref name="allmusic">Template:Cite web</ref> Jim Greer from Entertainment Weekly noted that Stone "does have an extraordinary voice", but added that "the only misguided ploy on The Soul Sessions is a Roots-produced slo-mo cover of a White Stripes tune."<ref name="ew">Template:Cite magazine Note: Archived B+ rating is not reprinted on the original website.</ref> Russell Baillie from The New Zealand Herald opined that "with her strong, emotive voice she nails it time and again, and with performances that aren't an excuse for the vocal acrobatic show you imagine this would have been had Stone been America's next bright young thing."<ref name="nzherald">Template:Cite web</ref>
The GuardianTemplate:'s Dorian Lynskey described her singing as "rich, mature and agile but not showy".<ref name="guardian">Template:Cite web</ref> Nick Duerden of Blender magazine commented that "Stone's voice is remarkably authentic, and the atmosphere she conjures is smoky and sleazy, pure mid-'60s Detroit."<ref name="blender">Template:Cite web</ref> Jason MacNeil wrote for PopMatters that her voice is "more of a soulful voice than those so-called soul divas out there today" and that it "oozes sex appeal as Benny Latimore's piano weaves some magic."<ref name="popmatters">Template:Cite web</ref> At The A.V. Club, Keith Phipps remarked that "Sessions establishes Stone as a formidable interpreter."<ref name="avclub">Template:Cite web</ref> Andrew McGregor of BBC Music felt that the album "seems a bit of an artistic compromise, music from the rule book rather than the heart."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Similarly, The Village Voice critic Robert Christgau viewed Stone's covers as "the kind of soul marginalia Brits have been overrating since Doris Troy was on Apple".<ref name="villagevoice">Template:Cite web</ref>
Commercial performance
The Soul Sessions entered the UK Albums Chart at number 89 for the week ending 10 January 2004,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> peaking at number four in its fifth week on the chart.<ref name="UKpeak"/> The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) certified the album triple platinum on 15 April 2005,<ref name="BPI"/> and by July 2012, it had sold 1,075,492 copies in the United Kingdom.<ref name="UKsales">Template:Cite web</ref> Additionally, it became the 16th best-selling album of 2004 in the UK.<ref name="UKyearend"/>
In the United States, The Soul Sessions was a sleeper hit. On the issue dated 4 October 2003, the album debuted at number 199 on the Billboard 200 and at number 76 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums,<ref name="breaking">Template:Cite magazine</ref> peaking at number 39 on the former and at number 38 on the latter in its 24th week on both charts, on the issue dated 8 May 2004.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Prior to that, the album topped the Top Heatseekers chart during the week of 21 February 2004.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Sales were high on the East Coast, especially in cities such as New York City, Philadelphia and Boston.<ref name="breaking"/> Within six months of its release, The Soul Sessions was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on 29 March 2004.<ref name="RIAA"/> The album had sold 981,000 units in the US as of July 2011.<ref name="USsales">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
The album was also commercially successful in the rest of Europe, where it reached number four in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and Norway, number five in Portugal, number seven in Belgium, number eight in Italy, number 12 in Sweden and number 14 in Switzerland,<ref name="ultratop"/> as well as number four on the European Top 100 Albums.<ref name="EuroTop100"/> In June 2004, The Soul Sessions was awarded a Platinum Europe Award by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) for sales in excess of one million copies across Europe.<ref name="IFPIeurope"/> In Oceania, the album peaked at number 16 in Australia and number eight in New Zealand,<ref name="ultratop"/> earning platinum accreditations from the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) and the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) for sales in excess of 70,000 and 15,000 copies, respectively.<ref name="ARIA"/><ref name="RIANZ"/> The Soul Sessions had sold five million copies worldwide as of June 2012.<ref name="WW sales">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Track listing
All tracks are produced by Betty Wright, Steve Greenberg and Michael Mangini, except "Fell in Love with a Boy" and "The Player", produced by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, Wright, Greenberg and Mangini, and "I've Fallen in Love with You", produced by Greenberg and Mangini.
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Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of The Soul Sessions.<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref>
Musicians
- Joss Stone – vocals
- Willie "Little Beaver" Hale – guitar Template:Small
- Timmy Thomas – organ Template:Small
- Benny Latimore – piano Template:Small
- Jack Daley – bass Template:Small
- Cindy Blackman – drums Template:Small
- Angelo Morris – acoustic guitar Template:Small; guitar Template:Small; organ Template:Small; keyboards Template:Small
- Betty Wright – background vocals Template:Small
- Jeanette Wright – background vocals Template:Small
- Namphuyo Aisha McCray – background vocals Template:Small
- Ignacio Nunez – percussion Template:Small
- Mike Mangini – tambourine Template:Small
- Angie Stone – background vocals Template:Small
- Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson – drums Template:Small
- Kirk Douglas – guitar Template:Small
- Adam Blackstone – bass Template:Small
- James Poyser – keyboards Template:Small
- Kamal – keyboards Template:Small
- Jimmy Farkus – acoustic guitar Template:Small
- John Angier – string arrangement Template:Small
- Danny Pierre – keyboards Template:Small
- Mark Ciprit – guitar Template:Small
- Sam Furnace – saxophone Template:Small
- Steve Greenwell – bass Template:Small
- Taneka Duggan – background vocals Template:Small
- Deanna Carroll – background vocals Template:Small
- Sandra Park – violin Template:Small
- Lisa Kim – violin Template:Small
- Sharon Yamada – violin Template:Small
- Myung Hi Kim – violin Template:Small
- Fiona Simon – violin Template:Small
- Sarah Kim – violin Template:Small
- Laura Seaton – violin Template:Small
- Liz Lim – violin Template:Small
- Soo Hyun Kwon – violin Template:Small
- Jenny Strenger – violin Template:Small
- Jung Sun Yoo – violin Template:Small
- Rob Shaw – violin Template:Small
- Karen Dreyfus – viola Template:Small
- Robert Rinehart – viola Template:Small
- Dawn Hannay – viola Template:Small
- Tom Rosenfeld – viola Template:Small
- Alan Stepansky – cello Template:Small
- Sarah Seiver – cello Template:Small
- Jeremy Turner – cello Template:Small
- Leanne LeBlanc – cello Template:Small
Technical
- Betty Wright – production Template:Small
- Steve Greenberg – production, executive production
- Michael Mangini – production
- Steve Greenwell – engineering, mixing
- Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson – production Template:Small
- Chris Gehringer – mastering at Sterling Sound (New York City)
Artwork
- David Gorman – art direction, design
- Bryan Lasley – art direction, design
- Charles Allen Smith – photography
- Karen Fuchs – photography
Charts
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Weekly charts
| Chart (2003–2004) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 19 |
| Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 5 |
| European Albums (Billboard)<ref name="EuroTop100">Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 4 |
| Greek International Albums (IFPI)<ref name="greece">Template:Cite web</ref> | 1 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 91 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (2004) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 48 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 55 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 32 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 23 |
| French Albums (SNEP)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 106 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 45 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 70 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 20 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 62 |
| UK Albums (OCC)<ref name="UKyearend">Template:Cite web</ref> | 16 |
| US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 156 |
| Worldwide Albums (IFPI)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 39 |
| Chart (2005) | Position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums (OCC)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 95 |
Certifications and sales
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Release history
| Region | Date | Format | Edition | Label | Template:Abbr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 16 September 2003 | CD | Standard | S-Curve | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| Canada | 28 October 2003 | EMI | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | ||
| United Kingdom | 24 November 2003 | Template:Hlist | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | ||
| Japan | 16 January 2004 | EMI | <ref name="emi_japan">Template:Cite web</ref> | ||
| Netherlands | 23 January 2004 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |||
| France | 6 February 2004 | <ref name="snep"/> | |||
| Australia | 13 February 2004 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |||
| Austria | 20 February 2004 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |||
| Germany | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | ||||
| Switzerland | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | ||||
| Brazil | 12 March 2004 | <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |||
| France | 8 June 2004 | CD + DVD | Limited | <ref name="FR-limited">Template:Cite web</ref> |