Mind Body & Soul

1	Right to Be Wrong 4:40
2	Jet Lag 4:00
3	You Had Me 3:59
4	Spoiled 4:03
5	Don't Cha Wanna Ride 3:31
6	Less Is More 4:17
7	Security 4:30
8	Young at Heart 4:10
9	Snakes and Ladders 3:35
10	Understand 3:46
11	Don't Know How 4:01
12	Torn and Tattered 3:58
13	Killing Time 5:11
14	Sleep Like a Child 15:27
15	[Untitled Track] 2:46
16	[CD-Rom Track] Multimedia

Barnes & Noble

Joss Stone, the British teen with a voice straight out of Memphis circa 1973, has big shoes to fill - her own. Stone's debut, an all-covers set conceived as a side-project to Mind Body & Soul, was a surprise smash, thanks to her beyond-credible vocalizing and the enthusiastic support of soul veterans -- including her mentor, Betty Wright. Somehow, the then-15 year old got to the meat of songs such as "The Choking Kind" and "All the King's Horses," crafting a retro set that went deeper than shag-carpet and naugahyde. Mind Body & Soul is a fine follow-up, powered by Stone's indelible, Dusty Springfield-inspired vocals. On tracks such as "Torn and Tattered" - where even her ad-libs feel essential -- you can hear the increasing maturity of her delivery. Wright and much of the same crew behind The Soul Sessions return to swaddle this golden child in plush grooves; Salaam Remi and Lamont Dozier help with production and write a few songs. That leaves Stone to handle the bulk of the songwriting, and that's the only chink in this supremely crafted effort. While there's much to be said for the honesty and passion that teens feel - the euphoria of first love and the lows of first heartbreak and betrayal - Stone's writing doesn't flow as naturally as her voice. While nothing's embarrassing (the worst clunker: "I keep our song / On repeat / On my I-pod / Even when I sleep"); there's nothing revelatory, either. But the deliciousness of Stone's voice and the guileless way in which she shares it with the world make it easy to overlook her inexperience. Sometimes it's the singer, not the song. Mark Schwartz

All Music Guide

On the cover of her debut, The Soul Sessions, Joss Stone's face is obscured by a vintage microphone, a deliberate move that emphasized the retro-soul vibe of the LP while hiding the youthful face that would have given away that Stone was a mere 16 years old at the time of the album's release. The point was to put the music before the image and it worked, selling the album to an older audience that might have stayed away, thinking that the teenager sang teen pop. If the debut was designed to give Stone credibility, her second album, Mind, Body & Soul, delivered almost exactly a year after its predecessor, is designed to make her a superstar, broadening her appeal without losing sight of the smooth, funky, stylish soul at the core of her sound. There's no radical revision here -- she still works with many of the same musicians she did on The Soul Sessions, including Betty Wright and Little Beaver -- but there are some subtle shifts in tone scattered throughout the record. Certain songs are a little brighter and a little more radio-ready than before, there's a more pronounced hip-hop vibe to some beats, and she sounds a little more like a diva this time around -- not enough to alienate older fans, but enough to win some new ones. The album has a seductive, sultry feel; there's some genuine grit to the rhythms, yet it's all wrapped up in a production that's smooth as silk. By and large, the songs are good, too, sturdily written and hooky, growing in stature with each play. While Stone has developed a tendency to over-sing ever so slightly -- she doesn't grandstand like the post-Mariah divas, but she'll fit more notes than necessary into the simplest phrases -- she nevertheless possesses a rich, resonant voice that's a joy to hear. She may not yet have the set of skills, or the experience, to give a nuanced, textured performance -- one that feels truly lived-in, not just sung -- but she's a compelling singer and Mind, Body & Soul lives up to her promise. Stephen Thomas Erlewine