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.[2][3]
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."[4]
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.[5]Jon Caramanica of Rolling Stone stated that "Stone shines on this impressive covers set" and that "[s]he chooses songs wisely."[10]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."[1] 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."[7] 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."[9]
The Guardian's Dorian Lynskey described her singing as "rich, mature and agile but not showy".[8] 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."[6] 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."[14] At The A.V. Club, Keith Phipps remarked that "Sessions establishes Stone as a formidable interpreter."[15] 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."[16] 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".[12]
Commercial performanceedit
The Soul Sessions entered the UK Albums Chart at number 89 for the week ending 10 January 2004,[17] peaking at number four in its fifth week on the chart.[18] The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) certified the album triple platinum on 15 April 2005,[19] and by July 2012, it had sold 1,075,492 copies in the United Kingdom.[20] Additionally, it became the 16th best-selling album of 2004 in the UK.[21]
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,[22] 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.[23][24] Prior to that, the album topped the Top Heatseekers chart during the week of 21 February 2004.[25] Sales were high on the East Coast, especially in cities such as New York City, Philadelphia and Boston.[22] Within six months of its release, The Soul Sessions was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on 29 March 2004.[26] The album had sold 981,000 units in the US as of July 2011.[27]
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,[28] as well as number four on the European Top 100 Albums.[29] 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.[30] In Oceania, the album peaked at number 16 in Australia and number eight in New Zealand,[28] 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.[31][32]The Soul Sessions had sold five million copies worldwide as of June 2012.[33]
^ abcJurek, Thom. "The Soul Sessions – Joss Stone". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
^"Ferdinand win Mercury Music Prize". BBC News. 8 September 2004. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
^"Mobo Awards 2004: The nominees". BBC News. 24 August 2004. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
^D'Angelo, Joe; Paco, Matt (2004). "You Hear It First: Joss Stone". MTV News. Archived from the original on 5 November 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
^ ab"Reviews for The Soul Sessions by Joss Stone". Metacritic. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
^ abDuerden, Nick (16 September 2003). "Joss Stone – Soul Sessions". Blender. Archived from the original on 27 March 2004. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
^ abGreer, Jim (10 October 2003). "The Soul Sessions". Entertainment Weekly. p. 125. Retrieved 7 April 2015. Note: Archived B+ rating is not reprinted on the original website.
^ abLynskey, Dorian (16 January 2004). "Joss Stone, The Soul Sessions". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
^ abBaillie, Russell (25 August 2022). "Joss Stone: The Soul Sessions". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 26 October 2009.
^ abCaramanica, Jon (16 October 2003). "Joss Stone: The Soul Sessions". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 22 June 2008. Retrieved 29 May 2009.
^Passantino, Dom (6 February 2004). "Joss Stone – The Soul Sessions". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
^Batey, Angus (2 February 2004). "Joss Stone – 'The Soul Sessions'". Yahoo! Music UK. Archived from the original on 17 June 2004. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
^MacNeil, Jason (14 January 2003). "Joss Stone: The Soul Sessions". PopMatters. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
^Phipps, Keith (4 November 2003). "Joss Stone: The Soul Sessions". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
^McGregor, Andrew (23 February 2004). "Review of Joss Stone – The Soul Sessions". BBC Music. Retrieved 29 May 2009.
^"Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. 4–10 January 2004. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
^"Australiancharts.com – Joss Stone – The Soul Sessions". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
^"Austriancharts.at – Joss Stone – The Soul Sessions" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
^"Ultratop.be – Joss Stone – The Soul Sessions" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
^"Albums : Top 200". Jam!. 29 January 2004. Archived from the original on 22 October 2004. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
^"R&B : Top 50". Jam!. 29 January 2004. Archived from the original on 3 February 2004. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
^"Danishcharts.dk – Joss Stone – The Soul Sessions". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
^"Dutchcharts.nl – Joss Stone – The Soul Sessions" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
^"Lescharts.com – Joss Stone – The Soul Sessions". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
^"Offiziellecharts.de – Joss Stone – The Soul Sessions" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
^ ab"Top 50 Ξένων Άλμπουμ" [Top 50 Foreign Albums] (in Greek). IFPI Greece. 3–9 October 2004. Archived from the original on 10 October 2004. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
^"Italiancharts.com – Joss Stone – The Soul Sessions". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
^ザ・ソウル・セッションズ/ジョス・ストーン [The Soul Sessions / Joss Stone] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 12 January 2009. Retrieved 18 October 2008.
^"Charts.nz – Joss Stone – The Soul Sessions". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
^"Norwegiancharts.com – Joss Stone – The Soul Sessions". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
^"Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 2004" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
^"Classifica annuale 2004 (dal 29.12.2003 al 02.01.2005) – Album & Compilation" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
^"Top Selling Albums of 2004". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
^"Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2004". hitparade.ch (in German). Retrieved 7 March 2021.
^"2004 Year End Charts – Top Billboard 200 Albums". Billboard. 25 December 2004. Archived from the original on 25 September 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
^"Austrian album certifications – Joss Stone – The Soul Sessions" (in German). IFPI Austria. 29 November 2006. Retrieved 9 February 2008.
^"Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 2006". Ultratop. Hung Medien. 9 September 2006. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
^"Canadian album certifications – Joss Stone – The Soul Sessions". Music Canada. 28 April 2004. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
^ ab"Certifications Albums Or – année 2005" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. 14 April 2005. Archived from the original on 29 August 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
^"Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Joss Stone; 'The Soul Sessions')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
^"Musica: In radio 'You Had Me', nuovo singolo di Joss Stone" (in Italian). Adnkronos. 2 September 2004. Archived from the original on 29 October 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
^"IFPI Norsk platebransje Trofeer 1993–2011" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
^"Portuguese album certifications – Joss Stone – The Soul Sessions" (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Archived from the original on 20 November 2010. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
^"The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('The Soul Sessions')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
^"Soul Sessions: Joss Stone". Amazon. United States. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
^"Joss Stone : "The Soul Sessions"". ShopEMI. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2008.
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^"Soul Sessions, The – Stone, Joss". JB Hi-Fi. Archived from the original on 30 October 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
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^"Joss Stone // The Soul Sessions" (in German). EMI Music Switzerland. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2008.
^"Joss Stone – Soul Sessions". CD Point (in Portuguese). Retrieved 26 May 2010.