Rating: NNN
Faced with the difficult task of topping the phenomenal success of Joss Stone’s Soul Sessions debut – essentially a demos set – hands-on S-Curve label boss and co-producer Steve Greenberg takes a bigger-is- better strategy in aiming for a more conventional contemporary R&B sound for the follow-up. Mind, Body & Soul finds the husky voice of the talented Devon teen still the feature attraction but the songwriting is often mediocre while the arrangements are rife with mainstream clichés from the generic shuffle beats right up to the corny wind chimes. There are a few catchy tunes but the charming sense of understatement and “first-take” roughness that made the Soul Sessions so unique and appealing is now gone.