Product Description

Debut album from India.Arie who has been compared to ErykahBadu and Jill Scott. Melodic R&B and soul with influences of roots, blues and hip hop. Includes her debut single 'Video' and the follow up 'Brown Skin'.

Track Listing

1. Intro (India.Arie/Acoustic Soul)
2. Video
3. Promises
4. Brown Skin
5. Strength Courage & Wisdom
6. Nature
7. Back To The Middle
8. Ready For Love
9. Interlude (India.Arie/Acoustic Soul)
10. Always In My Head
11. I See God In You
12. Simple
13. Part Of My Life
14. Beautiful
15. Outro (India.Arie/Acoustic Soul)
16. Wonderful
17. Strength Courage & Wisdom
18. Video

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24538 in Music
• Released on: 2001-10-22
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Running time: 71 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
India.Arie's Acoustic Soul is just as advertised: grooving soul music with an acoustic bent. Arie herself plays guitar, supplemented by strings (instead of synthesizers) and drums (instead of drum machines). The first single, "Video", is a calm, confident ode to self-love, comparing the dreadlocked, petite Arie to the average girl in a video. Arie is indeed anything but average: her debut marks the auspicious return of the black female singer-songwriter, in the vein of Me'Shell Ndegeocello, Tracy Chapman and Dionne Farris. If you like their music, with thoughtful lyrics and layers of instrumentation, you'll love this album. "Video" is fabulous, but other high points include "Ready for Love", a lament that smoulders before slowly building to a crescendo, with tinkling piano, guitar and cello swelling beneath the vocal. "Strength, Courage And Wisdom" is an optimistic anthem that'll have you clapping your hands and swaying from side to side, and the best track on the album, "Simple", is a straightforward love song with a pulsating beat. Acoustic Soul may not be full of radio-friendly tracks, but every track is strong, and the disc improves each time you press play. --Courtney Kemp

Customer Reviews

Great album
It's a nicely produced album, very easy listening with some beautiful tracks.

India Arie is another one who has a great deep quality in her voice and the way she sings, it's a sound soul album with acoustic tones (probably the most prominently the guitar). The tracks are intricate yet they can fall into easy listening at the same time like a bonus.

I'd recommend this album to music fans, including listeners of R'n'B, folk, soft-rock, acoustic, easy-listening, jazz, soul, pop, and aspiring singer/songwriters too.

Unforgettable
This album is one of my all time favourites because it honest and also just plain pleasant to listen to. It clearly comes from the soul there is nothing manufactured or contrived about her music so you really relate to it in a powerful way. In a world of "Big pimpin'" and "Bling" it is such a breath of fresh air to hear an artist not being afraid to be herself and ask timeless questions (In Part of my life")or the epiphanous moment that the soul feels when it comes of age and suddenly finds "Strength, Courage and Wisdom....which is inside of all along".

I loved her celebration of Stevie the Wonder and clearly he has been a great influence to her music. Apart from one or 2 tracks I find it hard to fault this piece of work it is harmonious and inspirational!!!. Highly recommend it!

Soulful and poetic
I've had this CD for several years now and still listen to it quite often. Its soulfulness is mesmerizing, and the songs reflect a strong spirit that I find refreshing. This artist is comfortable in her own skin and encourages us all to be the same. I found the songs "Beautiful" "Video" "Brown Skin" "Promises" and "Ready for Love" especially heartfelt and inspiring.

I get a lift every time I listen to this one, and you will too.

From the author of The Difference Now.