Leona Lewis - Spirit
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Artist: Leona LewisBrand: Columbia
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
Published: 2008-01-07
CD Release Date: 2008-04-08
Music Label: J-Records
Product features:
- LEWIS LEONA SPIRIT (U.S. VERSION)
- Bleeding Love
- Better In Time
- I Will Be
- I'm You
- Forgive Me
- Misses Glass
- Angel
- The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
- Yesterday
- Whatever It Takes
- Take A Bow
- Footprints In The Sand (UK bonus cut)
- Here I Am (UK bonus cut)
Music reviews of Spirit
Music Review: "Spirit" Lacks Soul
Rating: 3 Stars
Apparently not content with the success of many American Idol alumni, judge and mentor Simon Cowell set his sights on bringing X Factor winner Leona Lewis similar international success. Such a plan was only helped by the involvement of label exec Clive Davis, known for his work with other powerhouses such as Whitney Houston and Kelly Clarkson. Often helmed as this generation's Mariah Carey due to her vocal prowess, it seemed that Leona was given all the tools to create a classic debut that would cement her place as a new superstar. However, with such a voice, it often comes down to a fine line between showcasing vocal abilities and keeping the album from becoming ballad-heavy and monotonous. Unfortunately for Leona, her debut precariously straddles this line, and at times tips over into the latter category. When it was brought to the United States, it was re-vamped slightly, removing two of the ballads in favour of more uptempo tracks in attempt to appeal to American audiences, which does help to bring a little more variety to the album. That's not to say that the ballads themselves are weak, however, as they do suit Leona's voice very well.
Although it is currently on track to become one of the most overplayed songs in the past few years, the oddly titled lead single "Bleeding Love" proved to be a wise choice. The track features rather odd lyrics that seem to be telling of a new love "cutting open a vein" that was closed off due to past pain. Upon hearing it, the track sounds nice however reading through the lyrics themselves tends to reveal the awkwardness of the metaphor. Nevertheless, as a introductory single, this track serves its purpose as it showcases Leona's vocal abilities, particularly on the bridge. "Better in Time" is another song about recovery from heartbreak, featuring nice enough lyrics and a decent vocal performance. This track is an inexplicable fan favourite, considering there is very little really remarkable about it. It is far from the best this album has to offer. While the song talks about Leona moving forward, she hardly seems to be connected to the track, and the noticeable lack of passion prevents it from really shining. "I Will Be", on the other hand, features a much stronger performance. This track was originally penned by Avril Lavigne, and intended for her "The Best Damn Thing" album. However, it feels better suited to a more powerful voice like Leona's. The only slight problem is that although the song is intended to be a positive song about being with a loved one forever, Leona's vocals at times make it sound more like a sad song. Without really listening to the lyrics, it would be easy to mistake this for another track about heartbreak.
"I'm You" is one of the hidden gems of the album, featuring Leona singing over darker, more subdued production. The real strength of this track lies in how it is one performance where Leona sounds truly connected to the material, as she sings about giving oneself advice to be strong and move on. This is one of the songs that tends to be overlooked as filler in favour of the more well-known singles, however it stands out as one of the album's stronger offerings. "Forgive Me" is one of two tracks that was added to appeal to American audiences, and with it's "Sweet Escape" sound-alike production, it's easy to see why. While it sounds somewhat out of place amongst the other tracks, it does serve to demonstrate that Leona is as capable with more upbeat material as she is with ballads, making the decision to include only a sparse offering of faster songs a puzzling one. Luckily, Leona's voice does not become buried behind the production, so she still has ample room to showcase her talent. "Misses Glass" once again indicates her ability to aptly handle songs other than ballads. This is the second track that was added to the American version, and is the weaker of the two (although by no means a bad song). As a minor complaint, the title actually appears to be incorrectly spelled; in the lyrics, Leona sings "If you see me, you can call me Misses Glass", suggesting that what she meant was "Mrs. Glass." Where "Forgive Me" gave Leona space to showcase her vocals, her part seems to be inexplicably hidden more behind the production in this one. It is definitely a filler track, although it is a decent one.
"Angel" is quite a sweet track, featuring recognizable production from Stargate, and unfortunately weaker lyrics than most of the other tracks. The lyrics are simplistic, which can work to the advantage of some songs provided that the delivery is passionate or meaningful enough. Unfortunately, neither of these are true for this track. While Leona has already proved herself a capable singer elsewhere on the album, tracks like this really call for the singer to sound connected to the material. Without it, as is the case with this song, it becomes a nice listen while it lasts but ultimately forgettable. Ironically enough, the one track that receives the most passionate delivery is the cover of "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," which proves once again why Leona is often compared to past powerhouses. This track only helps to demonstrate exactly how a the delivery can either make or break a song. With minimal production and the beautiful lyrics to work with, Leona conveys enough emotion to bring the track to life once again, making it another capable rendition. "Yesterday" is another of the album's gems. Here Leona sings about how no one can take away memories of the past with a love who has left, with an implication that he's died. It would have been even better with slightly more of an emotional connection on Leona's part, however in this case the track is strong enough to get by without it. "Whatever It Takes" is a midtempo track that by this point is a welcome change of pace. Once again, this is not the strongest that the album has to offer but it is a solid track that makes a nice addition to break things up a little. Unfortunately, it also suffers somewhat from another seemingly disconnected performance.
"Take a Bow," on the other hand, is easily one of the album highlights. Leona seems to shine on darker-sounding tracks such as this one and "I'm You", as they bring out the most connected deliveries. Here, Leona shows a little more attitude as she sings about a lover's deception, telling him to "take a bow" for his performance. This theme was also used in Rihanna's track by the same name, although Leona arguably handles it better. Tracks like this lead one to wonder what the album could have been had Leona experimented more with darker material like this. "Footprints in the Sand", which was co-written by Simon Cowell himself, stands out as another album highlight. It is another track where Leona seems to be more involved, and she has ample room to showcase her vocals amongst the simple yet effective lyrics. This track is clearly Leona at her best, showing off the nuances of her voice with strong lyrics and production to back her up. Luckily, she is a capable enough singer to not become lost in such a big song. "Here I Am" is an excellent ending to the album, and would not have felt out of place on an early Mariah Carey album. although this is somewhat unsurprising as it was written and produced by Mariah's longtime collaborator, Walter Afanasieff. In fact, one who heard this song without knowing who was singing could easily mistake her for Mariah. As it is, it stands as another track that showcases Leona at her best, making it a wise decision as an album closer.
OVerall Mark: 3/5
It is interesting that Leona has commented that the album is about things she's personally passionate about, and needing to put herself in the song so that it will be believeable. This is, in fact, the biggest problem the album has faced. There is no doubt that Leona is a talented vocalist who, with the right material, could easily make a powerful album. Unfortunately, much of the material featured here seems lacks the sense of a personal connection, and instead seems more like a collection of tracks to showcase the capabilities of her voice. While it is true that there is not a single truly weak song of the batch, the dispassionate performances render many of the songs forgettable and monotonous. It had also been noted in interviews that Leona was given the opportunity to work with numerous producers to allow for enough variety to keep the album fresh. However, with Cowell and Clive Davis playing a significant role in song selection, it seems that they were trying too hard to push Leona as a modern-day Celine or Mariah, leaving much of the album ballad-heavy despite Leona's capabilities with more upbeat material. As a result, she becomes bogged down with mostly lifeless, average ballads that do little to prove to audiences why Cowell was so keen to make her an international superstar. With the right material that allows her to show more personality, there is little doubt that Leona can only improve. However, when one's debut is so highly controlled by the label, it is difficult to showcase any real individuality. Nevertheless, what she has provided is a listenable debut that proves to be quite frustrating as one can't help but feel that Leona is capable of so much more.
Description of Spirit
UK singer and songwriter Leona Lewis will release her debut album, Spirit, in America on April 8, 2008. For the first time, Clive Davis and Simon Cowell teamed up to sign Lewis to J Records/SyCo Music (Cowell's joint venture with Sony BMG), and are both actively involved in the recording process for Spirit. Lewis, a 22-year-old London native and winner of the hit TV show the X Factor, a British talent show, has broken all-time sales records there with Spirit entering the album chart at Number One and becoming Britain's fastest-selling debut ever. Spirit has scanned more than two million copies worldwide since its release in November. In addition, Spirit's lead-off single "Bleeding Love" -- co-written and produced by OneRepublic frontman Ryan "Alias" Tedder -- was the U.K.'s best-selling single of 2007, claiming the Number One spot for seven weeks. Ushering in 2008, Leona received four prestigious Brit Award nominations, the UK equivalent of the Grammy Awards. Leona is currently in the studio recording two brand new tracks for the U.S. release of Spirit - "Forgive Me" by singer/songwriter superstar Akon and "Misses Glass" from the cutting edge producer/writers Madd Scientist and Rock City. Spirit is a mix of fresh pop and R&B, filled with "songs with a contemporary edge," as Lewis puts it, ranging from soulful up-tempo numbers ("I'm You," "The Best You Never Had," and "Whatever It Takes," which Lewis co-wrote) to ballads ("Better in Time," "I Will Be," and "The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face" -- a song that Roberta Flack made famous). Tracks were written and produced by an array of top-notch hit-makers, including Tedder, singer/songwriters Akon and Ne-Yo, songwriters Josh Alexander and Billy Steinberg, and songwriter/producers Dallas Austin, Stargate, J.R. Rotem, and Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald -- all of whom have worked with some of the biggest names in pop. In addition to gracing the covers of UK fashion publications like Harper's Bazaar, US media are touting Leona as the artist to watch in 2008: People Magazine labels her "the UK's hottest star in an "Introducing" piece," Vogue presents her in their "People Are Talking About - The Vogue 25 Cultural Highlights of 2008" and Entertainment Weekly declares her one of "8 To Watch in 2008."Winner of Britain?s "The X-Factor," Leona Lewis debuts with a mix of pop and R&B. She is blessed with a vocal range that?s so versatile, in songs like "Better In Time," that one may immediately compare her to Mariah Carey or Beyoncé Knowles, especially in "The First Time I Ever Saw You." It?s not Lewis?s fault that her voice doesn?t distinguish her from these stars, but her producer, Simon Cowell (American Idol), plays it safe, and doesn?t add anything new to what Tommy Mottola achieved with Mariah decades ago. That?s not to say that the album is bad, but let?s just hope Leona Lewis?s sophomore effort shakes things up a bit more. --Ernesto Sánchez (People en Español
) Ganadora del concurso de talento británico "The X-Factor," Leona Lewis debuta con una mezcla de pop y R&B aderezada de una tesitura de voz que en sus momentos más agudos ("Better In Time") no deja de recordar a Mariah Carey, o que en sus notas graves ("The First Time I Ever Saw You"), pareciera ser Beyoncé Knowles. No es su culpa que su voz no tenga distinción, pero su productor, Simon Cowell (American Idol), juega a lo seguro y no propone nada que Tommy Mottola no haya logrado décadas atrás con Mariah y que decenas de seguidores han intentado hacer sin cambiar el mundo de la música. Eso no quiere decir que el disco de Leona Lewis sea malo, pero por favor, esperemos que en su próximo disco proponga. --Ernesto Sánchez (People en Español )
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