Introducing Joss Stone : Joss Stone : Review : Rolling Stone

Joss Stone is a nineteen-year-old Brit with a huge voice that packs grit and diva-tude beyond its years. There are a couple of moments on Stone's third album when she clobbers a melody with enough showy vocal oomph to make even Christina Aguilera fans squirm. But for the most part, Stone employs her remarkable instrument with focus and nuance on Introducing, and the result is an album full of solid pop-wise R&B. Warm acoustic funk grooves and strong melodies are all over classic-soul-infused cuts like "Baby Baby Baby" and big, bright stuff like "Put Your Hands on Me." Getting cameos from Common and Lauryn Hill on an album like this is like inviting Barbra Streisand to sing at the Democratic National Convention: pretty frigging obvious. But those two songs are pretty good, too.