Track Listing

1. Change - Stone, Joss & Vinnie Jones
2. Girl They Won't Believe It
3. Headturner
4. Tell Me 'Bout It
5. Tell Me What We're Gonna Do Now
6. Put Your Hands On Me
7. Music
8. Arms Of My Baby
9. Bad Habit
10. Proper Nice
11. Bruised But Not Broken
12. Baby Baby Baby
13. What Were We Thinking
14. Music

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14611 in Music
• Released on: 2007-03-12
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
In the run-up to this, her third album, Joss Stone told a phalanx of glossy magazines that the difference between this disc and the two that preceded it was a newfound clarity of vision. Whereas the other records--their gold status notwithstanding--represented the fumblings of a huge-voiced kid being bossed around by experienced music-biz types, this one, she promised, would reveal the real her. Thus, the titular "introduction." To which anybody who spins the 14 groovy and fully unbuttoned tracks herein will wish to reply not "nice to meet you"--far too lame a sentiment for so fully realized a disc--but "Where have you been all my life?" As good as Joss Stone's previous efforts are, Introducing Joss Stone represents a giant step forward: there's a freshness to these songs that suits her age (19 as of the album's release) and a funkiness that suits modern pop sensibilities. There's also a cross-hatching of visions with artists like Lauryn Hill and Common that will rightly advance her reputation as an artist who can sling disco, R&B, and rock almost as convincingly as soul. Splicing girl-group harmonies with blaxploitation-style funk with Joplin-esque and, at times, Shelby Lynne-reminiscent vocals, Stone works these Raphael Saadiq-produced beats with the stealth and steadiness of a '70s-era legend who's still going strong. "Girl They Won't Believe It," she wails against the tight hoo-hoo harmonizing of talented backup singers on the opening track; get a load of how much she's accomplished in the space of three albums, and you won't believe it, either. --Tammy La Gorce

CD Description
The third album from the West Country's favourite soulstress is the long-awaited follow up to 2004's 'Mind Body And Soul'. 'Introducing Joss Stone' is a deeply personal album, which features more of Stone's trademark mix of soul, jazz and Motown with a 21st century twist. Recorded in the Bahamas and produced by Raphael Saadiq (The Roots, Macy Gray), the album also features guest appearances from Common and Lauren Hill and includes the single 'Tell Me 'Bout It.'

Customer Reviews

An album of 2 halves
I held off buying this album after the bad press it got, but eventualyy gave in to my curiosity. It's true to say that this is definately not as good as her previous 2 albums. From the very first track you know that it's different to the previous 2 albums. Sometimes, it's different for the better. Tell Me Bout It, Girl They Won't Believe It and Put Your Hands On Me are really upbeat songs that are a joy to listen too. Likewise, Tell Me What We're Gonna Do Now is absolutely fantastic, and never has Stone sounded so sexy and convincing. Arms of My Baby is ok too. But thats where nicely different ends, halfway through the album. After that the tracks are just totally forgettable, and don't really inspire, excite or move you in any way. I think the problem is that Stone has tried to become more mainstream. The vintage soul has been largely ditched, replaced by more pop and R&B style tracks. Apart from the tracks mentioned above , nothing seems original or genuine.Bad Habit has potential, but for some reason it just sounds dated, like something done by a Beyonce wannabe back in the early 2000s.

I would recommend you buy this album, if only for the first 5 or 6 tracks. The rest arne't bad, but they are just very forgettable and been there seen it done it. Hopefully her fourth attempt will be back to classic Stone.

Very disappointing.
You could forgive an artist's 3rd album being called "Introducing" if what was delivered was something special.

You could forgive an artist from making a fool of herself at the Brits if her new album proved to be something worth listening to.

You could forgive the "this is who I am as an artist" advertisements if the subsequent album showed any real signs of originality.

You could even, at a push, forgive the laughable, lamentable Vinnie Jones spoken word intro, as pathetically embarrassing as it is, if what followed it was anything even approaching decent.

As you might have guessed though, I'm not in a forgiving mood.

Let's be clear about one thing; Joss Stone can sing. That's not in doubt. And there is also no doubt that she's a good enough singer to save this album from being the absolute disaster it would be in less capable hands. But not even her superb voice can save songs as dull and as identikit as these.

And lyrically the situation is as bad. Much has been made (by the lady herself I might add) that this marks the first time that Stone has written most of her own lyrics and if we're being unfair you can tell. Yes she's still only 19 and there is nothing wrong with her writing from that level as such, but she's merely full of cliche's that would have been better off left unsaid.

Rapheal Saadiq is the main collaborator on the album and at times it seems like a shrewd move. Put Your Hands On Me is probably the highlight of the album, mixing, as it does, modern beats with a decidedly retro sound. Sadly most of his other production on the album seems intent on watering Miss Stone down to the lowest common denominator.

Which is a shame. There are enough numbers to get your toes dancing, but little that will stick in the memory once the CD is taken out of the machine and put back on the shelf. And that in itself is a huge sense of disappointment. Whilst her first two albums were hardly all-time-classics they showcased a great singer who would surely improve with age. Introducing seems to suggest that she's actually getting worse with age.

Joss Stone seems to be coming in for quite a bit of stick these days, at least some of which is undeserved. Sadly I can't see this dog of an album helping matters any. Perhaps that "classic" album which I once felt confident she could deliver isn't coming after all.

More hit and miss than the previous two
I absolutely love Joss' older stuff, but this just doesn't quite match up to their standard. It's not a bad album, it does contain some good songs, and Joss' voice is gorgeous as ever. But i found it more hit and miss than the other two albums, when i bought Soul Sessions and Mind, Body & Soul i instantly loved every track on both. With this one there a handful of tracks that I do really like, but the others are just ok in comparison.
Tell Me Bout It is a catchy single, but its not the best song on here. The second half of the album is definitely closer to the Joss Stone stuff we know and love, Bruised But Not Broken and What Were We Thinking wouldn't sound out of place on the other albums.
If you're a Joss Stone fan, I don't think you'll love this the same way you did the others, but its not a complete waste of money (unless you're after something exactly the same as the first two).