Water for Your Soul

The result is a great effort from a still-striving free spirit.

She dives into world music on this album, with interesting results. [No. 123, p.61]

Water mixes sweet Caribbean soul, Spanish guitars, and other worldly sounds with Stone’s intoxicating pipes. But over 14 tracks, all that jetsetting becomes too much of a good thing.

It may have taken a few years, a couple of misfires and a different stylistic approach, but Joss Stone has re-asserted herself with this fine effort.

Water for Your Soul is Stone’s seventh album and reveals her willingness to experiment and try new things. She may not be always successful, but risking failure allows her to grow.

The pro-weed track Sensimilla will prompt mass eye-rolling because of her decision to sing part of it in patois, and Harry’s Symphony likewise.... The latter song--an 80s reggae throwback that broodingly warns against being taken in by “bad boys”--is more than listenable, and other moments on this reggae/African-influenced album are fine, too.

Heavy on reggae, with strong funk and grooves. [Aug 2015, p.98]

The weed doesn't seem to have dented Stone's vocal prowess, however, and the pop-reggae vibe isn't necessarily unpleasant. [Aug 2015, p.80]

While one can always sense the pain and joy in the mere sound of Stone's voice, some of the songs' lines provoke head scratching rather than knowing nods. Through deep, repeated listening, the album increasingly resembles ragtag emoting. Heard passively, it's all pleasant summertime listening.

It contains flashes of her former glories--This Ain’t Love’s soft R&B lilt; The Answer’s joyful chorus--but the rest is proficient, if hackneyed.

Stone is clearly still finding her sound and, if Water is any indication, herself, too.

Too many of these grooves are efficient but forgettable, and her vocal contributions likewise somewhat generic.