Lisa Stansfield Albums (5)
What The Critics Say
Face Up is Lisa Stansfield's first offering for the new millennium, and on this disc she treads similar waters as on previous albums, except for a few more adventurous outings. The album's first single, "Let's Just Call It Love," incorporates the British garage 2step beats introduced to Americans and popularized earlier in 2001 by fellow Brit Craig David, and makes for an unusual but interesting leadoff single. The album's opener, "I've Got Something Better," is classic, funky Lisa Stansfield at her best, and the song gets more and more fun with each repeated listening. Other standouts include the Burt Bacharach-ish show-stopping ballad "How Could You?," the pleading "Don't Leave Now I'm in Love," and the set's most obvious hit, the breezy, disco-laced anthem "8-3-1." The title track is the album's requisite Barry White tribute, and the album's irresistibly funky closer, "All Over Me," is this set's answer to her previous album's "The Line." This disc does have its share of filler, including the Destiny's Child-sounding "Boyfriend," which is quite immature for a sophisticated gal like Lisa, and the silly ditty "Candy." Stansfield's pipes get quite gritty on the ballad "Didn't I," and "Wish on Me" is as sensitive and acoustic as the "Rochdale Queen" gets. Once again, this reliable singer, without straying too far from her signature formula, delivers a high-quality set, despite the presence of a few dull moments. ~ Jose F. Promis, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Lisa Stansfield's long-awaited eponymous fourth album finds the blue-eyed soul singer at the top of her game, turning in a stylish set of smooth, disco-inflected dance-pop. The songs, from a cover of Barry White's "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up" and "Never Gonna Fall" to the ballad "I Cried My Last Tear," are uniformly strong and Stansfield's voice is seductive and sexy, making the album a small gem in her catalog. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Expectations ran incredibly high when the time came for Lisa Stansfield to deliver a second album...Real Love, although far from a bad album, clearly falls short of Affection's unmitigated excellence. Nonetheless, there are some definite gems here, including the poigant and heartbreaking ballad "All Woman," the spunky "Soul Deep" and the sleek "Set Your Loving Free." While most of Real Love is at least decent and is far superior to most '90s R&B, Stansfield is a major talent who -- as the outstanding Affection quite clearly demonstrated -- can do better than "merely" good. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
After achieving minor success as the lead singer of the U.K. trio Blue Zone and providing vocals for Coldcut's dancefloor classic "People Hold On," Lisa Stansfield established herself as a solo artist with her immensely successful 1989 debut album Affection. The combination of lush, Barry White-influenced arrangements and Stansfield's soulful voice proved wildly popular, and Stansfield became one of the hottest new international artists of the late '80s. Unfortunately, Stansfield's popularity slipped a bit with the follow-up, 1991's Real Love, but the album was still a respectable seller. So Natural, from 1993, failed to reestablish Stansfield as a major commercial force, but since the album was never released in the U.S., it's easy to understand why. Though So Natural pales in comparison to Affection and even Real Love, it certainly isn't bad, and the lack of an American release remains a mystery. Stansfield almost abandons the R&B-flavored dance-pop of her debut with So Natural. The album is definitely consistent, but the ballad-heavy approach wears thin. So Natural also lacks a surefire hit single, like Affection's "All Around the World" and "This Is the Right Time" or Real Love's "Change." But So Natural still offers many pleasant moments. The steamy ballads "Never Set Me Free" and "Be Mine" rank with Stansfield's best work, and the album does offer a couple of sunny, up-tempo numbers with "Too Much Love Makin'" and "Marvelous and Mine." So Natural does flow along quite nicely -- the only real clunker here is the bland, dated-sounding synth pop throwback "Little Bit of Heaven" -- but the album fails to deliver the memorable hooks of her biggest hits. Still, So Natural could have easily found an American audience, considering the success of her previous work. So Natural is only available in America as an import release. The album is certainly a worthy find for Lisa Stansfield fans willing to search the import bins. The casual fan, however, is better off with the considerably easier to find Affection or her 1997 American comeback effort, simply titled Lisa Stansfield. ~ William Cooper, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
When Lisa Stansfield took the R&B world by storm with her melancholy, Barry White-influenced single "All Around the World," it was obvious that not since Teena Marie had a white female singer performed R&B so convincingly. Though she didn't shy away from hip-hop and house-music elements, Affection leaves no doubt where the British singer's heart lies -- sleek yet gritty '70s R&B. Though the retro leanings of such updated soul treasures as "You Can't Deny It" and "What Did I Do to You" are obvious, Stansfield's producer keeps things very fresh sounding by embracing a decidedly high-tech and very late-'80s/early-'90s production style. Though essentially a soul diva, Stansfield has a disco masterpiece in the love-and-togetherness anthem "This Is the Right Time." ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
