Mind Body & Soul is the second studio album by English singer and songwriter Joss Stone, released on 15 September 2004 by S-Curve Records. The album received generally favourable reviews from music critics and earned Stone three Grammy Award nominations, including Best New Artist and Best Pop Vocal Album.
Mind Body & Soul debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart with 75,000 copies sold in its first week, making Stone the youngest female singer to top the chart. It also performed strongly on international record charts, reaching number 11 on the Billboard 200 in the United States and charting within the top 10 in several countries across Europe and Oceania.
Critical reception
Mind Body & Soul received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 64, based on 11 reviews. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic noted that, compared to The Soul Sessions, "[c]ertain songs are a little brighter and a little more radio-ready than before, there's a more pronounced hip-hop vibe to some beats, and she sounds a little more like a diva this time around—not enough to alienate older fans, but enough to win some new ones. The album has a seductive, sultry feel; there's some genuine grit to the rhythms, yet it's all wrapped up in a production that's smooth as silk." John Murphy of musicOMH wrote that "[t]his is a terrific album, and on this basis Joss Stone is going to be a household name for years and years to come." Darryl Sterdan of Jam! wrote that "even if her contributions were limited to lyrics and melodies, she still comes through with flying colours, displaying a knack for sharp hooks and catchy choruses." Dan Gennoe of Yahoo! Music UK commented that songs like "Right to Be Wrong", "Jet Lag" and "Killing Time" "confirm that not only can she deliver pain and passion like a lover three times her age, she can write it like one too." He continued: "There's not a bad song here, but there are some that never make it out of the rootsy background."
Billboard critic Michael Paoletta stated that Stone "continues to reinvent soul music, injecting a very classic sound with contemporary sass and verve", while noting that "[t]hroughout, that voice reigns supreme." The Guardians Caroline Sullivan believed that "this record is best seen as a stepping stone by which she shouldn't be judged too exactingly." She also praised Stone's "ripening" voice, saying it is "foxier" than on The Soul Sessions. At Blender magazine, Robert Christgau opined that "this album's compromise with the teen-pop divahood she was groomed for will feel like a bid for authenticity. Stone's infatuation with band grooves provides relief from the radio-ready synthesizers and compressors." Dimitri Ehrlich of Vibe called the album "deeply refreshing", adding that "[t]here's nothing new here [...] but if your ears are inured to the dense, overly polished production of contemporary R&B, Stone's simplicity and rawness will come as a revelation." Laura Sinagra of Rolling Stone wrote, "As on her last album, tasteful retro organs and wah-wah dominate this batch of originals" and named "Spoiled" one of the album's "strongest moments", but felt that songs like "Don't Cha Wanna Ride" and "You Had Me" are "more Destiny's Child than yesterday's blues". In a mixed review, David Browne of Entertainment Weekly stated, "Save for a mild foray into reggae and a stab at power balladry, the tracks are monotonously midtempo, supper-club soul."
Accolades At the 2005 Brit Awards, Stone won the awards for British Female Solo Artist and British Urban Act, and was nominated for British Breakthrough Act, becoming the youngest recipient of a Brit Award at age 17. That same year, Stone received three nominations at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "You Had Me" and Best Pop Vocal Album for Mind Body & Soul. The album earned Stone a nomination for International Newcomer of the Year at Germany's Echo Awards in 2005.
Commercial performance Mind Body & Soul entered the UK Albums Chart at number one with first-week sales of 75,000 copies, making Stone the youngest female singer to top the chart at 17 years and five months old, a record previously held by Avril Lavigne with her album Let Go (2002). The record was eventually broken by Billie Eilish in April 2019, when her album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart while she was 17 years and three months old. It also became the first number-one album for Relentless Records. The album spent one week atop the UK Albums Chart, and was certified triple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on 9 September 2005. As of July 2012, Mind Body & Soul had sold 940,617 copies in the United Kingdom. The album debuted at number 11 on the Billboard 200 in the United States, selling 73,487 copies in its first week. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on 9 September 2005, and had sold 1.3 million copies in the US by July 2011.
Mind Body & Soul was successful in most European countries, peaking at number three on the European Top 100 Albums chart, while reaching the top five in Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands and Portugal, and the top 10 in France, Germany, Ireland, Norway and Switzerland. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) certified the album platinum, denoting sales in excess of one million copies across Europe. In Oceania, the album reached number five in New Zealand and number seven in Australia, and has been certified gold by both the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) and the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ).
Track listing
Notes signifies a vocal producer The actual duration of music on "Sleep Like a Child" is 5:19; the rest is filled with silence.
Sample credits "Don't Cha Wanna Ride" contains samples from "Soulful Strut" by Young-Holt Unlimited.
Personnel Credits adapted from the liner notes of Mind Body & Soul.
Musicians
Joss Stone – lead vocals ; backing vocals AJ Nilo – guitar Jack Daley – bass Cindy Blackman – drums Benny Latimore – piano ; Wurlitzer Raymond Angry – B3 ; clavinet, Moog ; piano ; organ Tom "Bones" Malone – flugelhorn ; trumpet, trombone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone Angelo Morris – Fender Rhodes ; bass ; guitar Betty Wright – background vocals Bombshell – background vocals Pete Iannacone – bass Jonathan Joseph – drums Nir Zidkyahu – percussion Jonathan Shorten – Rhodes ; synthesiser, drum programming ; programming ; keyboards ; string arrangement John Angier – string arrangement Tracey Moore – background vocals Mercedes Martinez – background vocals Mike Mangini – programming ; bass ; keyboards Steve Greenwell – programming ; bass Nile Rodgers – guitar David "Jody" Hill – drums Willie "Little Beaver" Hale – guitar Timmy Thomas – B3 ; organ Thom Bell – string arrangement, horn arrangement Delroy "Chris" Cooper – bass Earl "Chinna" Smith – guitar Astor "Crusty" Campbell – drums Willburn "Squidley" Cole – additional drums Commissioner Gordon – percussion, programming Teodross Avery – saxophone Tanya Darby – trumpet Stafford Hunter – trombone Conner Reeves – backing vocal arrangement, background vocals Danny P. – guitar ; bass, Rhodes ; piano Angie Stone – Rhodes Margaret Reynolds – background vocals Ellison Kendrick – background vocals Veronica Sanchez – background vocals Ruby Baker – background vocals Clovette Danzy – background vocals Jeanette Wright – background vocals William "Kooly" Scott – background vocals Salaam Remi – bass, Wurlitzer, organ, strings Troy Auxilly-Wilson – drums Van Gibbs – guitar Vincent Henry – clarinet, alto saxophone, soprano saxophone Bruce Purse – trumpet, flugelhorn Jeni Fujita – background vocals Carl Vandenbosche – percussion Alan Weekes – electric guitar Ignacio Nuñez – percussion Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson – drums
Orchestra
Sandra Park – violin Sharon Yamada – violin Lisa Kim – violin Tom Carney Myung-Hi Kim – violin Sarah Kim – violin Fiona Simon – violin Soo Hyun Kwon – violin Laura Seaton – violin Liz Lim – violin Jung Sun Yoo – violin Matt Lehmann – violin Matt Milewski – violin Krzysztof Kuznik – violin Jessica Lee – violin Dawn Hannay – viola Carol Cook – viola Vivek Kamath – viola Dan Panner – viola Kevin Mirkin – viola Brian Chen – viola Elizabeth Dyson – cello Jeanne LeBlan – cello Sarah Seiver – cello Eileen Moon – cello Phil Myers – French horn Pat Milando – French horn Dave Smith – French horn
Technical Michael Mangini – production ; mixing Steve Greenberg – production ; executive production Betty Wright – production ; vocal production Jonathan Shorten – production Conner Reeves – production Commissioner Gordon – production, engineering Salaam Remi – production Danny P. – production The Boilerhouse Boys – production Steve Greenwell – recording ; engineering ; mixing Jamie Siegel – engineering Gary "Mon" Noble – engineering Shomoni "Sho" Dylan – engineering assistance Chris Gehringer – mastering
Artwork David Gorman – art direction, design Bryan Lasley – art direction, design Aleeta Mayo – art direction, design Roger Moenks – photography Amy Touma – additional photography
Charts
Weekly charts + Weekly chart performance for Mind Body & Soul Chart (2004–2005) Peakposition Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan) 13Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)4 European Albums (Billboard) 3 Greek International Albums (IFPI) 3 Japanese Albums (Oricon) 23 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) 59
Year-end charts + 2004 year-end chart performance for Mind Body & Soul Chart (2004) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) 39 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) 33 French Albums (SNEP) 169 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) 58 UK Albums (OCC) 33 Worldwide Albums (IFPI) 50
+ 2005 year-end chart performance for Mind Body & Soul Chart (2005) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) 27 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) 21 European Albums (Billboard) 35 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) 41 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) 52 UK Albums (OCC) 49 US Billboard 200 73 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) 55
Certifications
Release history + Release dates and formats for Mind Body & Soul Region Date Format Edition Label Japan 15 September 2004 CD Standard EMI Australia 24 September 2004 Germany Netherlands 27 September 2004 United Kingdom Canada 28 September 2004 EMI United States S-Curve Netherlands 8 July 2005 CD + DVD Limited EMI Germany 11 November 2005 Special United Kingdom 14 November 2005 Canada 15 November 2005 EMI Netherlands 18 November 2005 Australia 21 November 2005 United States 22 November 2005 S-Curve Japan 14 December 2005 EMI Spain 16 January 2006
Notes
References