Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #629 in Digital Music Album
• Published on: 2008-05-13
• Released on: 2008-05-13
• Running time: 0 seconds

Customer Reviews

Despite the huge marketing hype, it shows undoubted talent and 60's Soul atmospherics.
"Rockferry" is the most gorgeous evocation of classic pop-soul for years, and make no mistake, this is an album which wears its nostalgic credentials with no apology, only the new single "Mercy" betraying a hint of the 21st century about it.
"Warwick Avenue" lopes into action with a hint of The Temptations' "My Girl", "Stepping Stone'" s pensive intro seems to scream "Walk On By" and "Syrup And Honey" has more than a whiff of the Stax sound about it.
And then there are all the production nods towards Motown and Phil Spector - the tambourines set in cavernous reverb, the searing strings, the tremolo guitars.
All of this would be so much stylistic dressing-up were it not for the quality of the songs and the allure of Duffy's voice - a full-throated expressive wail which is never less than equal to the big arrangements.
The comparisons with Dusty Springfield are so wide of the mark.
Dusty was a much lustier performer.
Yes Duffy has the same look and works in the same pop landscape Dusty strode, but Duffy's voice is much more steeped in the tone of the poppier Motown songstrels.
If Duffy is the new anybody, she is the new Amy Winehouse, which makes it particularly ironic that the Welsh girl's missing forename is also Amy/Aimee.
For Duffy, like Winehouse, is utterly immersed in classic soul music, but where Winehouse now seems blurry and damaged, Duffy is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Duffy is the sweet to Winehouse's sour, the blonde to Amy's tattered brunette.
This is an album every bit as solid as "Back To Black", with tracks that sound like dusty soul standards.
The result is mighty good pop.

Back to Black
Always
19
The Very Best of Dusty Springfield
Dusty in Memphis

Wonderfully soaked in chic, retro soul.
This debut by the 23-year-old Welsh singer Aimee (Amy) Rockferry has been more than three years in the making.
She's been hailed as the sound of 2008 but really she's the sound of 1964, or thereabouts - Rockferry is all saucer-eyed, glossy soul-pop in the style of Sandie Shaw, Dusty Springfield and even Lulu.
The album showcases ten self-written tracks that certainly validate the hype, with support from industry veterans Bernard Butler (of Suede, her mentor), Jimmy Hogarth, Eg White and Steve Booker.
But Butler's sonic fingerprints are certainly all over her songs, and his presence gives "Rockferry" a maturity that's lacking from the slew of wannabe Amy Winehouses.
With a distinctive sound that at times seems to belong to another era, the album is a diligently produced record that looks set for a very sharp chart ascendancy. You would think that Duffy is one of those artists spawned from Amy Winehouse's transatlantic success.
With the current appetite for classic-sounding soul and old-school R&B established, and sold out shows this new Welsh talent looks set to clean up.
Most of its songs are slower and grander than the fizzy Number One single "Mercy": the best examples are the mellifluous "Warwick Avenue" and the lung-busting "Distant Dreamer".
But while her voice is technically unimpeachable, it isn't always very moving. It doesn't sound as if there's any heartbreak behind it - too pretty for pain, too sweet for sadness.
The comparisons between Duffy and Dusty Springfield - as well as more recent contemporaries Amy Winehouse and Joss Stone - are certainly justified, but on first listening the album at times feels like little more than a showcase for her vocal abilities, with tracks like "Syrup & Honey" lacking the soul and sorrow that made similar songs by Dusty so endearing and timeless.
Anyone who had a heart could hear the similarities between Duffy and the sound of Dusty Springfield - and even Cilla Black - copping American 60s soul. Her voice is a pleasure, raw and soulful.
And there have, of course, been other comp­arisons - Duffy has perhaps inevitably been likened to that other popular young soul singer of recentyears,theincreasingly troubled Amy Winehouse.
Duffy has dropped her first name Aimee in what appears to be an attempt to shy away from being likened to such a controversial artist. While they might be singing in the same genre, they're clearly not humming along to quite the same tune.
Winehouse's troubles are as much etched into her music as they are her body with her endless tattoos but while Duffy does indeed sing of heartbreak, there's a discernibly more optimistic tone to her tunes.
IndieLondon writes: "It's a moody, atmospheric effort built around Duffy's powerhouse vocal delivery and some genuinely thrilling background drum loops and strings".
"Rockferry is almost a very good album, but, for all the classic soul hallmarks, there's little insight into the actual soul of Duffy herself". John Lewis

Collection
Straight From The Heart The Very best Of
The Essential Cilla Black 1963-1978
Ultimate Collection
The Greatest Hits
Always
Back to Black

Girlfriend can SING!
I'm sure a lot of people are going out and buying Duffy's debut album, "Rockferry," after hearing the single "Mercy." I am one of those people, and when I listened to the CD in its entirety, I was blown away because "Mercy" is probably the weakest song on the whole album, which says a lot because "Mercy" is such an amazing song. However, the rest of the album is even better! Duffy's voice is out of this world. It's soulful, powerful, and absolutely beautiful. People who compare her to the likes of Nina Simone and Dusty Springfield are not exaggerating, but Duffy is really in a league of her own, as she brings a youthful panache to every song.

As for the album itself, I don't even know where to begin. All the songs are incredible. If I have to pick a favorite, it's probably the title track, "Rockferry," which is amazing. My jaw literally dropped when I listened to it for the first time. Other highlights include the wistful "Warwick Avenue," the soulful ballad "Stepping Stone," the blues infused "Syrup & Honey," and the inspiring "Distant Dreamer."

My one complaint about this CD is that it's too short...there are only 10 songs, but they are OUTSTANDING songs. Duffy has an amazing career ahead of her, and if you only buy one CD this year, make it "Rockferry."