Track Listing

1. I'll Be Around
2. Think
3. How Sweet It Is
4. Smiling Faces Sometimes
5. Love's In Need Of Love Today
6. These Arms Of Mine
7. Only You Know And I Know
8. War
9. Why Can't We Live Together
10. Axis: Bold As Love
11. The Weight
12. Everybody Is A Star

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #27541 in Music
• Released on: 2002-09-17
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Amazon.com
With the proliferation of earthy rock chicks such as Vanessa Carlton and Michelle Branch, it might seem like an opportune time for Joan Osborne, who gathered Grammy nominations for her triple-platinum 1995 debut Relish and its breakthrough single "One of Us," to revive her flowing blues-and-folk roots. Rather than take the anticipated path, however, he New York singer offers a twist. Taking a page from Ally McBeal's resident torch singer Vonda Shepard, Osborne turns in an album of stylish covers of contemporary R&B classics. She wraps her husky voice around a supper-club version of Otis Redding's "These Arms of Mine," underscores the message behind Edwin Starr's "War" at a funeral pace, and gives James Taylor a shudder with her lush, Eastern-tinged take on Marvin Gaye's "How Sweet It Is." Most unexpected. --Aidin Vaziri

Customer Reviews

Loved it on the first listen, and still do. A classic.
I'm surprised to see such negative reviews here. I got this when it first came out, and I was stunned by the first listen of the CD (a rare occurrence for me). I go by the expression "expectations die hard"--I don't have expectations in life anymore. I think the people that panned this do, and they're expecting a "Relish 3". So of course they're going to be disappointed; even if it were a "Relish 3", they'd probably still complain because they're stuck on a single success in the past that obviously cannot be duplicated. It's too bad people limit themselves like that. But back to the album...

I think these are all excellent readings of songs we mostly already know.

* "I'll Be Around" is mellow, like the original. She carefully executes the vocals throughout.
* "Think" of course cannot be improved from Aretha's original, but it is nonetheless so well done here. She doesn't soar on it Aretha style--but would you want her to? And the backup singers add great effect as well. Backup singers can sound too forced or too calculated; here they do not.
* "How Sweet It Is" is also mellow, yet still subtly smoldering.
* The infectious "Smiling Faces" features a smooth Isaac Hayes harmony vocal, and it's irresistable.
* "Love's In Need Of Love Today" isn't particularly distinguished, but that doesn't mean it's bad by any means.
* "These Arms Of Mine" is one of the standouts. Again, no one could ever touch Otis' original, but you'll definitely enjoy this one without even thinking of his. It's gorgeous!
* "Only You Know And I Know" is probably the kind of track the naysayers of this album were looking for. It's a great rocker.
* "War" is another standout. It is nothing at all like the original--but that's a big part of its success. I think it's a brilliant, incredibly soulful interpretation. She brings to light lines that are probably becoming relevant once again today--"war has laid waste to a whole generation, induction and destruction, who wants to die?". It's a knockout.
* "Why Can't We Live Together" is stunning and is pure soul, no doubt about that.
* "Axis: Bold As Love" is a surprising choice, but it's beautiful with wonderful harmonies throughout.
* "The Weight" is a smart (and a little sassy) retelling, again with great usage of backup vocalists.
* "Everybody Is A Star" isn't a standout, but it's still a good listen.

So all in all, as far as cover albums are concerned, I think this is a great album. I think the best cover album ever is Laura Nyro & Labelle's 1971 classic "Gonna Take A Miracle", so for me that can never be outdone. But this is up there!

Forget your expectations of Joan, and you will love it.

Motown from Osborne
Joan Osborne has suffered from a tumultuous career ever since she reached her biggest mainstream success with the one hit people remember - "(What If God Was) One Of Us."

Being nominated five times at the Grammys for her "Relish" release and walking away with none was only a snippet of what was to come.

Right after the Lilith Fair phenomenon faded, Polygram Records dropped her, predicting that the market for female singer-songwriters was long gone and pop was the coming wave.

Osborne, surprised by this sudden and unexpected loss, took five years off to recuperate and sign onto the Interscope Records roster - releasing her most accomplished effort musically, "Righteous Love," amid the healthiest days of Napster.

Again, her record company dropped her.

This whole ordeal left Osborne as an unsigned one-hit wonder with two highly impressive albums under her belt.

However, most people remember her as the curly-haired pierced-nosed crooner with that song about god being a slob like one of us.

Fazed by all of this, the soulful folkie went indie with a new record company named Womanly Hips with the help of Compedia Music Group.

Osborne then released her latest LP, "How Sweet it Is," which is an album of cover versions from soul artists, citing most of her influences one by one. This might not be a good decision after a long break. It's also not a clever idea to generate airplay - since all of the tracks are cover versions, and these rarely make their way onto the airwaves.

Soul classics appear from start to finish, with a heavy '60s ambience. The track that will stand out the most is "Think," a remake of Aretha Franklin's legendary theme.

Although this version does not capture an ounce of the pizzazz it had, it still serves as a refreshing resurfacing of a timeless classic. The title track is a Marvin Gaye cover with strong emotional flow and simple, yet solid lyrics.

What would a soul collection be without Stevie Wonder? Osborne speaks for many music lovers when she covers "Love's in Need of Love Today" from the monumental "Songs In The Key Of Life."

This album merges with a bell-ringing chain of ditties. Otis Redding's "These Arms Of Mine" shines, while Edwin Starr's "War" is an aptly-timed number, that was previously covered by Bruce Springsteen during the Gulf War.

No legend is left uncovered by Osborne. Jimi Hendrix's "Axis: Bold as Love" is a sweet stretch, and a Sly & The Family Stone number, "Everybody's A Star," closes the set.

"Sweet" is made of carefully handpicked tunes, lined up in the smoothest way possible, both lyrically and musically - note that "Why Can't We Live Together" immediately follows "War."

This is a good album of unoriginal material. No new material after a long wait can kill a fan base, but this album has the ability to muster curiousity of what is to come out of this white girl with a whole lot of soul.

Destined to be a classic
This is one of the most immediately impressive albums I've heard in a long time. It remains to be seen how it will hold up over time, but my guess is that it will become a classic.

This album is primarily a tribute to black songwriters. One caveat: Not surprisingly, Dave Mason's "Only You Know and I Know" and The Band's "The Weight" don't fit in, as good as those songs are.

Most of the arrangements here are shockingly different from the familiar hit versions, and in re-thinking each song, Osborne has come up with interpretations that make me appreciate the songwriting more than the originals did. For instance, "Think" is one of my favorite Aretha Franklin songs, but until I heard Joan Osborne do it, I didn't realize how clever the song is. In fact, I had the same revelatory experience with many of the cuts here, including "Axis Bold As Love," "Smiling Faces Sometimes," and "I'll Be Around." Stevie Wonder's "Love's in Need of Love Today" is simply sensational. This song has been covered several times (Whitney Houston, George Michael), but Joan Osborne does by far the most effective version yet.

I've only played "How Sweet It Is" a few times, but it would now make my list of top ten desert island discs. And the production quality is killer -- you'll want to turn the volume up and up and up still higher.