| Product: |
Biography - The Greatest Hits - Lisa Stansfield |
| Date: |
30/09/03 (440 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: a diverse range of songs, and surprisingly good quality control
Disadvantages: a couple of the ballads are a little bit on the poor side
There was always something strangely engaging about Lisa Stansfield, the Rochdale born singer who became one of the few truly global British female singers in the past 20 years. After a stint on TV as a presenter on ‘Razzmatazz’ and a failed bluesy-pop act, she made a breakthrough with her 1988 club hit ‘People Hold On’ with scene pioneers Coldcut, featured here.
A funky piece of house, it has stood the test of time much more strongly than the other acid tunes of the period. A ‘legal’ bootleg that spliced Stansfield’s vocal of ‘People Hold On’ with Armand Van Helden’s instrumental remix of Tori Amos’s ‘Professional Widow’ got back into the charts in 1997, ironically becoming one of her biggest hits of her career without even gaining her blessing. However, this version is not included here.
However, she rapidly departed from house to move into smooth soul territory and incredibly topped the American RnB charts three times, despite being both white and British, two very big barriers in that particular genre stateside.
She is best known for ‘All Around The World’, a superbly catchy pop song which encapsulates her unusual delivery and vocal range – smoky, but very precise and expressive. With strings and immaculate production, it did sound Americanised, but with a very British twang. Something of a surprise number one in the Autumn of 1989, it truly announced her arrival.
Her debut album ‘Affection’ sold by the bucketload, but only ‘This Is The Right Time’ and ‘Live Together’ is included on this collection. This is probably for the best as like many late 80’s albums, these tracks haven’t stood the test of time too well.
The bulk of this album concentrates on her early 90’s period, which spawned many hits, although she didn’t come close to matching the success of
‘All Around The World’ commercially. She only had one other number one in the UK, which came as part of the Freddie Mercury tribute, the Five Live EP. Her George Michael duet ‘These Are The Days Of Our Lives’, complete with crowd noise, sticks out somewhat like a sore thumb next to the sweet soul music that she is used to making, but is an interesting selection nonetheless.
Lisa Stansfield’s discography may have weaved a very different web indeed had she not rejected singing the theme tune to the 1991 hit film ‘Robin Hood: Prince Of Theives’. Instead, it was ageing Canadian rocker Bryan Adams who recorded ‘Everything I Do (I Do It For You)’ and Stansfield was left wondering what might have been as it topped the chart for 16 weeks and relaunched his career.
However, this period yielded some of her more memorable songs. ‘(Someday) I’m Coming Back’, taken from the soundtrack to Whitney Houston’s ‘The Bodyguard’, was a piece of funky pop that reminded people of her vocal talent, whilst ‘Time To Make You Mine’ was an unusual piece of sensual balladry whose unorthodox instrumentation made it rise above some of the other material she recorded. The album opener ‘Change’ is another great slice of sing-a-long pop that oozes class.
Unfortunately, it’s at the ballads where she perhaps came unstuck. Whilst the vocals are impressive, in songs like ‘So Natural’ she sexes-up a little bit too much to the point of embarrassment. Similarly, ‘In All The Right Places’ conjures up images of being the soundtrack to suburban thirty-somethings eating prawn cocktail and drinking Asti Spumante on February 14th before having a blazing row about whether to have laminate flooring or carpet in the hallway.
‘All Woman’ is regarded by many as one of her more memorable songs, although I can’t thin
k of the song any further than Doon MacKichan’s ‘Smack The Pony’ videodating rendition of ‘I’m no classy lady, but I’m all woman’. I can see where Stansfield was going with this, but lyrically it’s unintentionally hilarious.
Some of the newer tracks like ‘The Real Thing’ are well-rounded enough, but are a little bit too polished to be interesting and to offer anything more than being pleasant background music. Her Barry White cover ‘Never, Never Gonna Give You Up’ also seems to miss the mark somewhat, and only gives a glimpse of her potential.
Whilst her Greatest Hits does sound at time like a wine bar soundtrack and a tad dated in places, it is a reminder that she was much more than a one-trick pony and recorded more hits than most people remember. Whilst several failed comebacks indicate that she has lost her market in a time of guest rappers, boybands and bling-bling, her vocal performances on here leave a legacy that the Rochdale lass can be proud of.
Tracklist:
1. Change
2. Someday (I’m Coming Back)
3. This is The Right Time
4. The Real Thing
5. People Hold On (Featuring Coldcut)
6. In All The Right Places
7. So Natural
8. Time To Make You Mine
9. Live Together 10. Little Bit of Heaven
11. Set Your Loving Free
12. Let’s Just Call It Love
13. Never, Never Gonna Give You Up
14. These are the Days of Our Lives (with Queen/George Michael)
15. Down in the Depths
16. All Woman
17. All Around The World
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