I know Eartha won a grammy for best contemporary soul album a few years back but this album is total rock. I really didn’t expect it but I gave it a shot because shes a very talented musician and composer....hearts of stone really stands out from the album and its a really unique sound that I don’t think anyone is putting out there. Has anyone else listened to this? Heres a link to the listening party while its still up:
http://www.spinner.com/new-releases#/17

Clearly this woman can really write music. The problem I have with it is the sound. It's the same thing which puts me off later Dylan and stop me from loving Rumours unreservedly.

She gets the rock elements into the album through the song structures and interesting transitions within certain tracks. You can still hear the soul (mainly through her voice, which is underused), but what kills a potential genuine feel to the album somewhat is the bland studio musician-style drums and guitar.

I really like most of the songs, but the accompanying instrumentation fails to convince me that's it's not just a merry Jools Holland dabble in someone else's niche or a contrived change of image (even though I know it's neither).