Angie Stone : Releases >>
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Stone Hits Very Best Of >>
Art Of Love And War >>
Angie Stone has soul to burn, as hordes of breathless fans who stand by the excellence of 2004's Stone Love know, and despite a change in record labels and hairdos, her mighty reserves haven't dwindled--The Art of Love and War, on the re-launched Stax label, is as full-bodied an affair as this old-school-leaning, incessantly self-exploring diva has delivered. The comparisons to Jill Scott should dead-end here: Songs like "Baby," with the gospel great Betty Wright, and "Sometimes," with backing singers who strut right through the beat and into the part of the brain that makes swaying happen, are all Angie. Which is to say their edges are never going to need sharpening, but they're also porous enough to let in softness and a sense of hard-won maturity. A couple of late-disc numbers pull off the excellent feat of also letting the funk in--"Play Wit It" captures a Lauryn Hill kind of cool, groovy but substantial, and "Pop Pop" goes for (and achieves) full-on fizziness with an undercurrent of sophistication. --Tammy La Gorce
Black Diamond >>
There's been a lot of attention given to the so-called neo-soul sound, most of it focused on male artists. So how come the folks making the best records are women? One spin of ex-Vertical Hold leader Angie Stone's solo debut and it's clear you are listening to a grown-up woman, not some kid with stars in her eyes who's dictated to by a producer or three. No, the deeply felt grooves and offhand sexiness that make Black Diamond sparkle are things that can only come when you've lived a little. Like Macy Gray's On How Life Is and N'dea Davenport's (criminally ignored) self-titled disc, this is the wondrous sound a woman makes when she's free to create her own music but smart enough to keep the status quo satisfied. On tracks like the smoky "Green Grass Vapors" and "Everyday", Stone, with her rich Gladys Knight-like voice and finger-popping élan, conjures up soul's past without making herself a prisoner of it. Not surprisingly for this key collaborator on D'Angelo's Brown Sugar, Stone kicks a laid-back, fluid vibe, but her clear tone and off-kilter way with a melody make you sit up and pay attention. --Amy Linden END
No More Rain >>
U Make My Sun Shine >>
Everyday >>
Black Diamond >>
There has been a lot of attention given to the so-called neo-soul sound, most of it focused on male artists. So how come the folks making the best records are women? One spin of ex-Vertical Hold leader Angie Stone's solo debut and it is clear you are listening to a grown-up woman, not some kid with stars in her eyes who is dictated to by a producer or three. No, the deeply felt grooves and offhand sexiness that make Black Diamond sparkle are things that can only come when you've lived a little. Like Macy Gray's On How Life Is and N'dea Davenport's (criminally ignored) self-titled disc, this is the wondrous sound a woman makes when she's free to create her own music but smart enough to keep the status quo satisfied. On tracks like the smoky "Green Grass Vapors" and "Everyday", Stone, with her rich Gladys Knight-like voice and finger-popping élan, conjures up soul's past without making herself a prisoner of it. Not surprisingly for this key collaborator on D'Angelo's Brown Sugar, Stone kicks a laid-back, fluid vibe, but her clear tone and off-kilter way with a melody make you sit up and pay attention. --Amy Linden
Stone Hits Very Best Of (W/2 >>
Wish I Didn't Miss You >>
Signed Sealed & Delivered Pt.1 >>
