Music truly is color blind. It speaks to something undefinable (the soul perhaps?) that is present in all human beings. Sometimes, however, the difference between what your ears hear and your eyes see can make your head hurt.
Third to last day of freedom on my sabbatical and I hauled myself downtown for a free concert at Borders Books & Music near the White House to hear Joss Stone do a few songs from her first album The Soul Sessions. I admit I was curious. How could I not be curious?
The Soul Sessions is an album of covers that was meant to be an EP (four or five tracks), to get her out and start some buzz before the release of her first album of original music was released around Christmas. What it turned out to be was a ten track recording of some of the most gritty and arousing interpretations of tunes recorded live style (no overdubs, no editing) and featuring authentic soul musicians such as Latimore and Betty Wright. Not such a big deal, you say? Yeah it is when a voice like silk that’s able to make you feel the pain of rejection and imply the myriad shades of the wonder that is being in love comes out of a 5’6″ little blonde bit of a 16 year-old from the UK.
So, go listen to some samples from the album and then go buy the album (don’t be a jerk and get it off Kazaa even though someone has already put it out there).