Colour Me Free!
Colour Me Free! | ||||
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Studio album by Joss Stone | ||||
Released | 20 October 2009 | |||
Recorded | 2008 | |||
Studio |
Various
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Genre | ||||
Length | 52:29 | |||
Label | Virgin | |||
Producer |
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Joss Stone chronology | ||||
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US and Canadian cover | ||||
Singles from Colour Me Free! | ||||
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Colour Me Free! is the fourth studio album by English singer and songwriter Joss Stone, released on 20 October 2009 by Virgin Records. The album was originally scheduled to be released in April 2009. However, Stone's label, EMI, delayed it to July and again to 20 October. "Free Me" was released on 22 September 2009 as the only single from the album. In the United States, the album's physical and digital releases were made available exclusively through Target and iTunes, respectively.[1] Colour Me Free! features guest appearances by Raphael Saadiq, Nas, Jeff Beck, Sheila E., David Sanborn and Jamie Hartman from Ben's Brother.
Despite some criticism towards its ballads, the album was met with generally positive reviews from music critics, who lauded its sonic direction and Stone's vocals. Colour Me Free! peaked at number 75 on the UK Albums Chart, becoming Stone's lowest-peaking album in the United Kingdom. It debuted at number 10 on the US Billboard 200, selling 27,000 units in its first week. However, it underperformed where it only spent one week before dropping out. The song "4 and 20" was included on the soundtrack to the 2010 romantic comedy film Valentine's Day.[2]
Background and recording
Stone began writing songs with Jonathan Shorten and Conner Reeves in Devon in early 2008.[3][4] Since they did not have a studio or any musicians, she paid a visit to Mama Stone's, a music venue that her mother was building at an old house in Wellington, Somerset, using the downstairs level as a performance space and the upstairs portion as writing rooms and a recording studio.[4][5] After noticing a vocal booth recently finished by construction crews, Stone was inspired to record an album. "I woke up the next day and it was like, 'I want to make an album and I don't want to think about it, I don't want to collect songs. I want to make it—now!'", Stone said.[5]
Stone called her assistant and asked for her touring musicians, who flew from the United States to Devon the following day.[4][5] Along with Reeves, Shorten and her band, Stone spent "an intense week of creation" at Mama Stone's. "We wrote the song and then we rehearsed it for, like, a little minute, and then we recorded it and then we wrote another one and recorded it. We didn't sit down and say, 'OK, how would we want this album to represent Joss? What songs are we going to choose? and blah, blah, blah ...' It wasn't any of that", Stone explained.[5] She also enlisted guest musicians such as rapper Nas, guitarist Jeff Beck, percussionist Sheila E. and saxophonist David Sanborn.[5]
Release and promotion
Stone performed the song "Governmentalist" during voter registration group HeadCount's "Get Out the Vote Party" at the Highline Ballroom in New York City on 3 November 2008.[3][6] The track was released as a free download on Stone's and HeadCount's respective websites.[6] On 19 February 2009, Stone kicked off a promotional tour across the United Kingdom at Mama Stone's. The tour included concerts in Darlington, Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester and Dover, and concluded on 4 March.[7]
In the United States, Stone supported the album with performances at the 2009 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on 18 April 2009, at Club Nokia in Los Angeles on 23 April and at the Beach Rescue Concert in Asbury Park, New Jersey on 29 August.[8][9] She later announced European tour dates, visiting countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Sweden, Poland, Portugal and Greece between June and September 2009.[10][11] From 21 to 23 November 2009, she performed three shows in the Brazilian cities of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Porto Alegre, respectively.[12] Stone then returned to Europe in February and March 2010 for an additional run of tour dates.[13]
"Free Me" was released as the only single from Colour Me Free! on 22 September 2009.[14] Stone performed "Free Me" and a cover of Dusty Springfield's "Son of a Preacher Man" on Dancing with the Stars on 29 September 2009.[15] She also performed "Free Me" on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on 1 October 2009 and on Live! with Regis and Kelly on 9 October.[16][17] Stone appeared live on Later... with Jools Holland on 10 November 2009, performing "Free Me" and "Incredible".[18] On 13 November, she performed "Free Me", "I Believe It to My Soul" and "Parallel Lines" on the hour-long, pre-recorded edition of Later... with Jools Holland.[19]
On 16 November 2009, Stone appeared on the German late-night talk show TV total, where she performed "Free Me", as well as a duet with Swiss singer Stefanie Heinzmann on the latter's single "Unbreakable".[20] She later performed "Big Ol' Game" with Raphael Saadiq on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien on 20 January 2010.[21] Stone performed "Stalemate" with Jamie Hartman of Ben's Brother on The Wendy Williams Show on 24 March 2010, on The Early Show on 25 March, on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on 29 March and on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on 2 April.[22][23][24][25]
Conflict with EMI
In May 2009, it was reported that Stone was willing to forfeit £2 million to terminate her four-album deal with EMI due to her dissatisfaction with the label after it was taken over by private equity firm Terra Firma in 2007. EMI refused to release her from her contract and took legal action in return, claiming she was in breach of contract by failing to deliver the master tapes for Colour Me Free![26] According to Stone, the album was set to be released in April 2009, but EMI postponed it to July. "I just don't know what's happening with it. They really need to pull their finger out. I've worked very hard on this record and I don't know what the plans are until EMI confirm a release date", she told the Daily Mail in March 2009.[27] Colour Me Free! was delayed once again until 20 October 2009.[28] By January 2010, Stone's dispute with EMI had been settled.[29]
The original cover art for Colour Me Free! features a black-and-white shot of Stone in a cage, which, according to Stone, her record label found offensive.[29] An alternative cover, containing Stone's name and the album title against a purple background, was used for the North American release of the album. A rep for Stone said EMI insisted on switching the album art, while an EMI spokesperson claimed that Stone agreed to the purple text-only cover.[30]
Critical reception
Professional ratings | |
---|---|
Aggregate scores | |
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 67/100[31] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [32] |
Chicago Sun-Times | [33] |
Entertainment Weekly | B[34] |
Los Angeles Times | [35] |
Metro News Canada | [36] |
New York Post | [37] |
NY Daily News | [38] |
PopMatters | 6/10[39] |
USA Today | [40] |
Yahoo! Music UK | [41] |
Colour Me Free! received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 67, based on seven reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[31] Angus Batey of Yahoo! Music UK wrote that Stone "delivers a string of superlative performances full of technique, character and [...] heart-pounding, raw, emotive soul", concluding that despite its "moments of bonkers excess", the album "proves, again, Joss Stone's considerable worth."[41] Graham Rockingham of Metro News Canada raved that the album has "a sonic depth that you can reach in and caress, which is something you can usually only find on old Stax or Muscle Shoals LPs. Yet Stone manages to merge her '60s leanings with more contemporary sounds".[36] Dan Aquilante of the New York Post opined that on Colour Me Free!, Stone is "at her bluesy, soul-singer best", stating that her voice is "powerful" and "reminiscent of the energy Aretha [Franklin] brought to many of her early recordings".[37] Steve Jones of USA Today commented that Stone "sings with more grit and gusto than a battalion of R&B princesses while taking a sledgehammer to pop conventions" and concluded that "[s]he's assertive, sassy and lets lovers know that they play with her heart at their own risk."[40]
The Observer's Hugh Montgomery called the album a "decent comeback" that "eschews [Stone's] last LP's hip-hop leanings for more straightforward retro soul funk", adding that "what most impresses is her voice, which has acquired emotional resonance to match its size."[42] Jim Farber of the NY Daily News found that "the material on Free far outperforms that on earlier CDs" and noted that the album showcases "a far more stripped-down sound than before, which leaves more room for Stone's newly grounded vocals to shine."[38] At Entertainment Weekly, Chris Willman viewed the first half of the album as "the best set of music [Stone has] done", while remaking that the second half "succumbs to R&B overproducers".[34] Despite comparing Colour Me Free!'s theme of "breaking free" to that of Introducing Joss Stone (2007), Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic stated that Stone's "raw vocal skills remain impressive, as does her taste in soul, and even if this feels off-kilter, not quite achieving a balance between retro and modernity, it does beat with a messy human heart, one that was subdued on Introducing".[32] PopMatters' Colin McGuire praised opening track "Free Me" as "easily one of the best songs [Stone has] ever written", but expressed that "setting the bar that high that early on [...] create[s] a level of expectation that the rest of the album's tracks simply don't live up to."[39] Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times opined that "Colour Me Free succeeds about as well as Stone's other records: It's quite good in the up-tempo bits [...] and a little soggy in the ballads."[35] Jim DeRogatis of the Chicago Sun-Times felt that "the problem is that Stone doesn't really have a master plan, or the discerning ear to tell her best moments [...] from her worst".[33]
Commercial performance
Colour Me Free! debuted at number 75 on the UK Albums Chart with first-week sales of 2,960 copies, becoming Stone's lowest-peaking album in the United Kingdom to date.[43][44] As of July 2011, it had sold 14,071 copies in the UK.[43] The album debuted at number 10 on the Billboard 200 with 27,000 copies sold in its first week.[45] The album had sold 93,000 copies in the US by July 2011.[46] Elsewhere, Colour Me Free! performed moderately on the charts, reaching number five in Switzerland, number 16 in the Netherlands, number 17 in Austria, number 25 in Portugal, and number 26 in Canada and Germany.[47][48]
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Free Me" |
|
|
3:53 |
2. | "Could Have Been You" |
|
|
4:52 |
3. | "Parallel Lines" (featuring Jeff Beck and Sheila E.) |
|
|
4:26 |
4. | "Lady" |
|
|
4:22 |
5. | "4 and 20" |
|
|
5:06 |
6. | "Big Ol' Game" (featuring Raphael Saadiq) |
|
|
4:30 |
7. | "Governmentalist" (featuring Nas) |
| 5:42 | |
8. | "Incredible" |
| 2:46 | |
9. | "You Got the Love" |
| 3:35 | |
10. | "I Believe It to My Soul" (featuring David Sanborn) | Ray Charles | Phil Ramone | 4:29 |
11. | "Stalemate" (with Jamie Hartman) |
|
|
4:18 |
12. | "Girlfriend on Demand" |
| Mackenzie | 4:30 |
13. | "Mr Wankerman" (hidden track) (not featured on US and Canadian pressings) |
| 13:44 |
iTunes Store bonus tracks[49] | |||
---|---|---|---|
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
13. | "Every Time I Turn Around" |
|
4:24 |
14. | "Mr Wankerman" |
|
13:44 |
Japanese edition bonus track[50] | |||
---|---|---|---|
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
13. | "I Get High" |
|
3:14 |
- Sampling credits
- "Free Me" embodies portions of "Do the Dirt" by The Meters.
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Colour Me Free![51]
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Charts
Chart (2009–10) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Digital Albums Chart[52] | 36 |
Austrian Albums Chart[53] | 17 |
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[47] | 50 |
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[54] | 56 |
Canadian Albums Chart[48] | 26 |
Croatian Foreign Albums Chart[55] | 37 |
Dutch Albums Chart[56] | 16 |
French Albums Chart[57] | 63 |
German Albums Chart[58] | 26 |
Italian Albums Chart[59] | 53 |
Japanese Albums Chart[60] | 102 |
Portuguese Albums Chart[61] | 25 |
Swiss Albums Chart[62] | 5 |
UK Albums Chart[44] | 75 |
UK R&B Albums Chart[63] | 10 |
US Billboard 200[64] | 10 |
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[65] | 9 |
Release history
Region | Date | Label | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
Canada | 20 October 2009 | EMI | [66] |
United States | Virgin | [32] | |
Germany | 30 October 2009 | EMI | [67] |
Italy | [68] | ||
France | 2 November 2009 | [69] | |
United Kingdom | Virgin | [70] | |
Australia | 6 November 2009 | EMI | [71] |
Japan | 18 November 2009 | [72] |
References
- ↑ "Joss Stone 'Colours' With Nas, Virgin For October Release". Singersroom. 9 September 2009. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ↑ "Valentine's Day: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
- 1 2 Peters, Mitchell (4 November 2008). "Joss Stone Rocks The Vote With New Song". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 22 November 2009.
- 1 2 3 Levine, Nick (6 November 2009). "Joss Stone – Music Interview". Digital Spy. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "'I choose to be free through art'". Khaleej Times. 3 January 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
- 1 2 "U.K.'s Joss Stone part of in American vote drive". USA Today. Gannett Company. 30 October 2008. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ↑ "Joss Stone : Home". jossstone.echoconnect.com. Archived from the original on 7 March 2009. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
- ↑ Roberts, Randall (10 April 2009). "Coachella Adds Joss Stone to Saturday Line-Up". LA Weekly. Voice Media Group. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ↑ "A Free Beach Rescue Concert To Benefit The Surfrider Foundation Presented By Barefoot Wine" (Press release). Modesto, California: Barefoot Wine. PR Newswire. 11 August 2009. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
- ↑ "Joss Stone : Home". jossstone.echoconnect.com. Archived from the original on 19 May 2009. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
- ↑ "Joss Stone : Home". jossstone.echoconnect.com. Archived from the original on 28 July 2009. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
- ↑ "Tour Dates". jossstone.com. Archived from the original on 27 October 2009. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
- ↑ "Joss Announces New International Tour Dates". jossstone.com. 9 November 2009. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
- ↑ "Free Me: Joss Stone: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.com. Retrieved 10 October 2009.
- ↑ Barrett, Annie (29 September 2009). "Dancing with the Stars recap: On a Roll". Entertainment Weekly. Time. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
- ↑ "Hayden Panettiere, Matthew Rhys, Joss Stone". Jimmy Kimmel Live!. Season 7. Episode 127. 1 October 2009. ABC.
- ↑ Live! with Regis and Kelly. Season 22. Episode 24. 9 October 2009.
- ↑ "Later... with Jools Holland, Series 35 Live, Episode 9". BBC Two. 10 November 2009. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
- ↑ "Later... with Jools Holland, Series 35, Episode 9". BBC Two. 13 November 2009. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
- ↑ "Check Out These Videos of Joss on TV Total!". jossstone.com. 20 November 2009. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
- ↑ Oakes, M. Gosho (21 January 2010). "Joss Stone & Raphael Saadiq perform "Big Ol' Game" on the Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (Watch)". SoulCulture. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
- ↑ The Wendy Williams Show. Season 1. Episode 162. 24 March 2010.
- ↑ "Joss Stone's Soulful Style". CBS News. 25 March 2010. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
- ↑ "Lauren Graham, Karl Rove, Joss Stone". The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Season 18. Episode 21. 29 March 2010. NBC.
- ↑ "John Corbett, Joss Stone". The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Season 6. Episode 58. 2 April 2010. CBS.
- ↑ Tapper, James (31 May 2009). "Joss Stone to sacrifice £2m to free herself from EMI album deal". Daily Mail. Retrieved 1 June 2009.
- ↑ Nicholl, Katie (7 March 2009). "So cool Joss Stone blows her top over mystery album delay". Daily Mail. Retrieved 8 March 2009.
- ↑ Collis, Clark (29 September 2009). "Joss Stone's new single, 'Free Me': Hear it now!". Entertainment Weekly. Time. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
- 1 2 Gannon, Louise (23 January 2010). "Joss Stone: 'A lot of people in Britain hate me'". Daily Mail. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
- ↑ Vozick-Levinson, Simon (23 October 2009). "Joss Stone: Did her label make her change her provocative album-cover art?". Entertainment Weekly. Time. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
- 1 2 "Reviews for Colour Me Free by Joss Stone". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
- 1 2 3 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Colour Me Free! – Joss Stone". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- 1 2 DeRogatis, Jim (21 October 2009). "Joss Stone, "Colour Me Free" (Virgin)". Chicago Sun-Times. Sun-Times Media Group. Retrieved 22 October 2009.
- 1 2 Willman, Chris (14 October 2009). "Colour Me Free". Entertainment Weekly. Time. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
- 1 2 Wood, Mikael (19 October 2009). "Album review: Joss Stone's 'Colour Me Free'". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Media. Retrieved 22 October 2009.
- 1 2 Rockingham, Graham (22 October 2009). "Colour Me Free by Joss Stone". Metro News Canada. Free Daily News Group. Archived from the original on 27 December 2009. Retrieved 22 October 2009.
- 1 2 Aquilante, Dan (20 October 2009). "Soul power a Stone's throw away". New York Post. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
- 1 2 Farber, Jim (20 October 2009). "On Joss Stone's 'Colour Me Free,' she's starting to find her own soul". NY Daily News. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
- 1 2 McGuire, Colin (9 December 2009). "Joss Stone: Colour Me Free". PopMatters. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
- 1 2 Jones, Steve (21 October 2009). "Listen Up: Tim McGraw turns reflective in 'Southern Voice'". USA Today. Gannett Company. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
- 1 2 Batey, Angus (16 November 2009). "Joss Stone – Colour Me Free". Yahoo! Music UK. Archived from the original on 24 November 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
- ↑ Montgomery, Hugh (1 November 2009). "Joss Stone: Colour Me Free!". The Observer. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- 1 2 "Key Releases – 30.07.11.". Music Week. HighBeam Research. 12 July 2011. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
- 1 2 "Joss Stone" (select "Albums" tab). Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
- ↑ Caulfield, Keith; Herrera, Monica (28 October 2009). "'New Moon' Rises To No. 1 on Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
- ↑ Cantor, Paul (22 July 2011). "Joss Stone Enjoys New Freedom on 'LP1'". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
- 1 2 "Joss Stone – Colour Me Free!" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
- 1 2 "Albums : Top 100". Jam!. 1 November 2009. Archived from the original on 11 November 2009. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ↑ "Colour Me Free! by Joss Stone". iTunes Store (GB). Apple. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
- ↑ "Colour Me Free! : Joss Stone". HMV Japan. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ↑ Colour Me Free! (CD liner notes). Joss Stone. Virgin Records. 2009. 509994 58018 2 2.
- ↑ "ARIA Digital Albums – Week Commencing 16th November 2009" (PDF). ARIA Charts. Pandora Archive. p. 11. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
- ↑ "Joss Stone – Colour Me Free!" (in German). austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
- ↑ "Joss Stone – Colour Me Free!" (in French). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 November 2009.
- ↑ "Top Stranih – Tjedan 2. 2010." [Top Foreign – Week 2. 2010.] (in Croatian). Hrvatska diskografska udruga. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ↑ "Joss Stone – Colour Me Free!" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
- ↑ "Joss Stone – Colour Me Free!" (in French). lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
- ↑ "Joss Stone – Colour Me Free!" (in German). Offizielle Deutsche Charts. GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
- ↑ "Joss Stone – Colour Me Free!". italiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ↑ カラー・ミー・フリー! | ジョス・ストーン [Colour Me Free! | Joss Stone] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ↑ "Joss Stone – Colour Me Free!". portuguesecharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
- ↑ "Joss Stone – Colour Me Free!". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
- ↑ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. 8–14 November 2009. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
- ↑ "Joss Stone – Chart history: Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ↑ "Joss Stone – Chart history: Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ↑ "Joss Stone : Colour Me Free". ShopEMI. EMI Music Canada. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2009.
- ↑ "Joss Stone // Colour Me Free" (in German). EMI Music Germany. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 31 October 2009.
- ↑ "Joss Stone – Colour Me Free" (in Italian). Internet Bookshop Italia. Retrieved 24 November 2009.
- ↑ "Colour me free – Joss Stone – CD album" (in French). Fnac. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ↑ "Joss Stone: Colour Me Free". HMV. Archived from the original on 27 May 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2009.
- ↑ "Colour Me Free". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ↑ ジョス・ストーン / カラー・ミー・フリー! [Joss Stone / Colour Me Free!] (in Japanese). EMI Music Japan. Archived from the original on 2 November 2010. Retrieved 24 November 2009.
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