Pats of Winsley - www.patsofwinsley.co.uk

Back to MusicRant home

Joss Stone

The Soul Sessions.... an album made for Radio Two daytime schedules. Just a shame they missed the word "Arse" out of the title.

Joss Stone seems to have music critics fawning over her debut album, which is strange because normally critics hate albums full of lazy cover versions.

From the first moment i heard the appalling cover of the White Stripes 'Fell in Love with a Girl', i knew we were in for a painful journey through daytime radio schedules. How anybody can take an energetic garagey rock song and turn it into a painful dirge as Stone did, i don't know. The cover of 'Super Duper Love' was worse because it was picked up by both Radio 1 and Radio 2. There truly was no escape for over two months.

The icing on the cake for me was the shortlisting of this album for the 2004 Mercury Music Prize, a decision which raises important questions such as "When can we expect to see one of Westlife's albums on the list?" and "Why didn't you shortlist 'Check Out The Groove' by Undercover a few years back?"

Confused? Don't know who Undercover are? Allow me to enlighten you. Undercover has a brief spell in the charts in the early 90s when competent vocalist John Matthews and a number of producers worked together to produce poppy dance covers of (mostly) 70s pop songs, the most famous being the debut single, a cover of Gerry Rafferty's 'Baker Street'. They were ridiculed by the music press and subsequently disappeared off the mainstream radar. Joss Stone's album is no more credible that Undercover's offering and yet it received listing for the MMP, a sure fire sign of what a desperate state the music industry is in. Franz Ferdinand can't save it on their own.

The whole 'new jazz' phenomena is running out of steam as quickly as it began. Norah Jones' second album was almost identical to her first and for some strange reason, people were a bit upset by this. I look forward to everyone looking back at new jazz and laughing, like we do at Billy Ray Cyrus and the rest of the new country gang.

Footnotes:
The picture of Joss Stone above is her laughing at all the people who bought 'The ArseSoul Sessions'.
Undercover's John Matthews got together with 'Only Fools & Horses' writer John Sullivan to produce a single for Euro 2004 as a football anthem to the tune of 'the Only Fools & Horses' theme...

This site and its contents are the intellectual property of Andrew Fear, webmaster of this site. Any persons wishing to copy any material found on the server www.virusplanet.demon.co.uk should contact the webmaster at andy@virusplanet.demon.co.uk. Warning:We do not accept liability for any material which if found using a link from this site which is distasteful, pornographic, illegal in your area or unsuitable for your requirements. The rule that applies here is: If you click it, you are the one who wants to know what is at the other end and that is your responsibility. Press your face against some soil.