Customer Reviews

Face Up

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

That's right ladies and gentlemen, she's back and she hasn't lost a thing! After the enormous success of her previous outing, "Lisa Stansfield", Lisa comes back with a bang. "Face Up" is perhaps the most cohesive and adventurous of her albums to date.

The first track, "I've Got Something Better", makes a natural transition from the sound established on previous Stansfield albums, building on the trademark Lisa Stansfield smooth-pop sound. This is standard Lisa Stansfield fare and it hits the mark beautifully. It opens the album like a comfortable old friend with soothing memories of the past.

Then, like a storm out of nowhere, Lisa drops a bomb on us with "Let's Just Call It Love," the albums first single. In what can best be described as trance-disco, Lisa gives us what we never expected- a smooth, hot, sexy club hit that beckons our heads to bob, our hips to move and our bodies groove. This track will surprise Stansfield fans and have them yearning for more.

On "You Can Do That," Lisa gets back to music's `Ol School roots and creates this summers ultimate cruisin' song. Think Kool and the Gang's "Summer Madness" with a baseline right out of Lakeside's "Fantastic Voyage." The song makes you want to sit back, relax, get your lean on and ride around with the top off.

The next three songs do very little to excite the ear, especially after the tasty sampling we've been given so far. "How Could You" is a slow, mediocre track reminiscent of Ms. Stansfield's "Real Love" album, complete with horns straight out of a Broadway tune. If the "Affection" album were recorded today, "Candy" would surely be on it. This is vintage Stansfield magic, given just enough of a millennium touch to keep it from sounding like a rehashed melody. "I'm Coming To Get You" is a typical Stansfield track, with a piano romp right out of a Basia tune.

"8-3-1" is, in my opinion, this albums' standout track and my personal favorite. I must admit that when I first saw this unusual title, my mind ran the gamut of explanations for exactly what "8-3-1" could refer to. Then I got the CD and was treated to one of the most original song ideas to date. 19 seconds into the song's intro I heard "8 letters, 3 words, 1 meaning," and fell in love with this interpretation of the 3 words we all long to hear, "I Love You." This song is a high flying dance groove a la Lisa's remake of "You Know How To Love Me" from the "Lisa Stansfield" album. This is an all out, feel-good rollercoaster of a song that takes us soaring, only stopping briefly halfway through the song for a musical breakdown which had me in mind of Depeche Mode's "Strangelove." I dare you to listen to this track and not love it. Just one taste of this track and you'll be moving to the beat.

Another standout track is "Wish On Me," a beautiful love song that has Lisa telling her lover that, yes, it's time for us to part, but let's remember the best of our time together and wish each other only the best. It's a song of lost love, no regrets, and true emotion, complete with ethereal background vocals that will have you sighing and remembering past relationships. This, I believe, should be the next single.

Next we're treated to more standard Stansfield fare. "Boyfriend", a mid-tempo track with a slight hip-hop beat and funky strings chronicles Lisa's struggle with trying not to "borrow" her best friend's boyfriend while she's out of town.

Listening to the opening of "Don't Leave Now I'm In Love" I would swear that Brian McKnight had a hand in writing it. Then, just as soon as that thought crosses my mind, the track takes a turn and builds with a combination of trance break-beats, melodic background vocals, and great keyboards. A somber, yet upbeat track that I feel will surely be one of my favorites.

"Didn't I", this albums' melodramatic song of unrequited love offers little interest in comparison to previous tracks.

The title track, "Face Up," takes us back into the Barry White territory previously visited by Stansfield. This is a refreshing , welcome drink of water that comes straight from that smooth-pop well that Lisa lets us drink from on occasion.

The final two tracks, "When the Last Sun Goes Down," a lovely song reminiscent of "Tenderly," and the sexy "All Over Me" round out this album nicely. The latter has Lisa begging for more of what she needs from her man, begging "I don't need no money/No uptown time/I just want you to put your hands all over me tonight." It ends the album with a slick groove that cements this album as the most playful, adventurous and consistent Lisa Stansfield offering so far.

The final verdict: Lisa's getting her groove on and I'm grooving right along with her!

I will never forget my teen days plugging up my walkman earphone and turned on the radio loud when ALL AROUND THE WORLD came into the air of the local stations...

Even I was 15 I knew and I could tell Stansfield was going to be the new Best Brit Pop Diva, she will only get better and classier than her peers Dina Carroll, Cathy Dennis and Kylie Minogue. (Check out the scene in her latest video LET'S JUST CALL IT LOVE as she steps out of the dark limo in a scarlet evening lace dress and sashays down the street to meet her "Lover in Crime"!)

FACE UP is the 5th full-length studio record and effort in 4 years from Stansfield and her long musical companion/love in life/husband/buddy Ian Devaney, with a few tracks co-written and produced by their musical partner Richard Darbyshire.

The Love Duo proves once again at best with their typical upbeat tempo, outrospectively soulful live jazz dance music in the great opener I'VE GOT SOMETHING BETTER. "Open up show me love turn up the music..." Stansfield pronounces in her deep Rochdale accent with a veteran diva vocal that exudes that kind of energy which makes you jump up straight and tap your feet along every beat as she sings...

YOU CAN DO THAT is a pretty funky number in contrast right after the contemporary upbeat exciting sound of the first 2 tracks.

And yes, the most probably biggest smash hit from this album, EIGHT-THREE-ONE, is the indeniably best classic Stansfield trademark disco rhythm (check out the David Morales mix in the new single) after her self-titled 4th album's single NEVER NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP. Sound as if we haven't got enough of great stuff from Stansfield, the follow-up title track FACE UP continues to encho her much Barry-White-defined disco sound.

The European Union edition of this album I owe is a deleted copy which only features up to track 13, WHEN THE LAST SUN GOES DOWN. Ironically, this track is the ultimately sentimental ballad that is rather appropriate to round up the album at last and best for a romantic evening you have shared with your love partner.

You know we lovers or fans love this album and only expect you to do even better, thank you Lady Lisa Stansfield.

Come on get with it! This is definitely one of "Mrs." Stansfield's best albums to date. This is one of my absolute favorites from Lisa, there are so many of her best, most recent, songs on this album. Lisa's albums only get better with age, and thank goodness for that! Lisa has said that she thought to be one of her best albums, and I agree. Get this CD and be thrilled with the superb vocals(from the one and only Lisa Stanfield) and wonderful songs, you will not be disappointed!

I'm very surprised at the critical nature of most of the reviews here. No artist that has been around as long as the great Lisa Stansfield is going to put out a five star album every time. Yes, her classics are "Real Love" "Affection" and the incredible "So Natural" but "Face Up" is a really good cd. It's more stripped down than several of her other releases, but "Face Up" features excellent vocals, arrangements and her trademark themes of self empowerment and positivity.

You'll love it.

This Diva doesn't get her props at all. She can out sing some of the best out there. They love her in her home England and we should too. I've been a fan since the early 90's. Her voice can carry R&B, house, jazz tunes, you name it. TALENTED!!!

I've loved Lisa since the first time I heard her voice years ago... and THAT style... WOW! Some say that she sounds similar on several albums, but trust me, this is a GREAT thing here! This album, which I whipped out a walloping 30 dollars for at Virgin Megastore for. Thanks Arista for being MORONS(once more) and not giving it a U.S. release! Since Clive left, it has obviously gone downhill! Thanks for giving us a great album Lisa. You're one-of-a-kind !

....what a music, what a voice!!
Beautiful, sexy she is and a brilliant album she produced. I had the honour to see her in Hamburg and Cologne. She performed all hits of the last 10 years. Especially the new songs 8-3-1, Face Up, and Didn't I the audience loved. It was so emotional.
I cannot understand, that this music didn't come into the German charts. I think my people in Germany are a bit simple-minded. Germany, why do you ignore this fantastic woman????
Her voice and the serious way, she performes the songs is unique.
Hi American and English friends of good music, buy this CD. You will love it. She is definitive the best white female R&B and Soul singer in the world.

That the divine Ms. S could not get this CD released is strong testimony to the decline of the US music market. The women has pipes that put 90% of the popular divas to shame! while I continue to lament her production team (this kind of voice deserves more than a keyboard equivalent of drums, bass, string and horns, get this woman together with a real producer!) which, I feel, lowers the aural enjoyability of her CDs (thump thump bass drum, not a natural sound to be heard other than her marvelous vocal interpretations) I continue to find myself listening intently, eyes closed, to her singing. 3 or 4 really goods songs per CD is fine with me, almost everything here is worth listening to and, as I said, 3 or 4 are reall keepers. long live Lisa Stansfield, and someone hear my plea for a record company to grab her and raise her up where she belongs; at the pinnacle of the music business, giving enjoyment to millions.

Lisa Stansfield's career has been based on wonderfully crafted and sung soul songs. For over more than 12 years and 6 official releases, she has captivated purveyors of dance, swing, ballads, and funk ("The Line"). Though some albums were better received than others (if you even had access to "So Natural" and "Face Up"), the most significant element of her recordings has been THAT VOICE, that vehicle of emotion and soul that is not easily found anywhere. It is a mixture of depth and buoyancy, happiness, tragedy, and self-empowerment, all in one recording. "Face Up" continues LisaÕs tradition. Tradition shouldnÕt be confused with stagnancy; Lisa and her producers have updated her sound, but have retained the focus on her voice and incredible harmonies. (Oh, those harmonies!)

The title song is a mellow funk groove closest to her earlier hits. With LisaÕs trademark strings, real or synthesized, this song works. As does that bass. Damn.

"IÕve Got Something Better," the opening song, is reminiscent of Teena MarieÕs "I Need Your LovinÕ" Both songsÕ chords ring of falling in love and both contain (count Ôem!) TWO hooks to keep you singing. If this song doesnÕt have you smiling and thrusting your hips, youÕre dead. "Turn up the music/We got the bomb/Baby letÕs use it"

"Candy," with a stride full of sweetness, is all that and a bag of bon-bons. " I got my three wishes"

In a summer full of hip/pop confection, LisaÕs old-skool simplicity satisfies.

I stake my claim as her biggest fan since I am featured in her home video as her biggest fan! The first time I listened to this CD I was disappointed as well, I'm afraid. I worried that this material would not resurrect her career because it wasnt enough of a "new sound" or a different direction for Lisa apart from the rhythm track of the single, Lets Just Call It Love. If I forget about my worries about her career this is actually a strong album. I, like many of you, thought her last self-titled CD was hard to beat. Its a shame it never caught on because it was truly amazing. I started listening to Face Up again a few months ago and I really love it now. In fact Don't Leave Me Now I'm In Love is now in my top 7 favorite songs shes ever done. It is simply gorgeous. And whereas at first I disliked Didn't I, now that I can TOTALLY relate to this song, it brings tears to my eyes now. I've always liked Wish On Me. I'm surprised that some of you thought she has changed so much. The song Face Up could have easily been on So Natural or Real Love. I thought it sounded kind of dated for that reason. The only song I dislike is All Over Me-the extra track at the end. Up until then I can REALLY listen to it all the way through. I enjoy the songs that much!Give it a listen again guys! Lisa, I love you work.