Joss Stone “Colour Me Free!”
Standouts - “Governmentalist,” “Free Me,” “I Believe It To My Soul”

Last year, Joss Stone got a group of musicians together and put together a fine but raw recording. Her record label didn’t necessarily like what the young soul singer had put together. One listen to “Colour Me Free,” released a year after it was recorded, makes you wonder why there was any hesitation. The 12 tracks are warm and vital, ranging from vintage ‘60s soul to contemporary R&B, finger-snapping up-tempo numbers, some tinges of funk and sultry ballads. A blue-eyed soul heir to the great Dusty Springfield, Stone is powerful and vulnerable, smart and sexy, growling and pure.