Joss Stone-Mind Body and Soul Sessions: Live in New York City (2004)

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General		Extras
Category	Music	Menu Animation & Audio Music Video-Fell In Love With A Boy, Super Duper Love, You Had Me Featurette-Joss On The Road 2004 Outtakes
Rating
Year Of Production	2004
Running Time	76:35
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (52:40)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Russell Thomas
Studio Distributor	EMI Music	Starring	Joss Stone
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$29.95	Music	Joss Stone

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (256Kb/s) English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English dts 5.1 (768Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Just where did this women's voice come from? Try to remember the first time you heard Joss Stone sing. If you had no idea what she looked like, I can well understand an image of a middle-aged, soulful, African-American diva much like Aretha Franklin performing soul classics with ease forming in your mind. Such is the power, the depth, and the very essence of soul that is found in Joss Stone's voice.

    In reality the very English Joss Stone could not be further from that image. When the very white and very blonde native of Devon, England first sang it was only for the pure enjoyment it brought to her and her mother. But in 2002, she took a gamble and left home, heading for a record company audition in New York. She blew S-Curve records boss away with her rendition of Donna Summer's On The Radio, and the rest they say is history. Oh...and she is still only 17.

    Soul pioneer Betty Wright was brought in to help Stone record her first album, The Soul Sessions EP, a set of 1970s covers. The Soul Sessions was a huge success, selling over two million copies. Stone's follow up album was Mind, Body & Soul, released in 2004. This album featured 14 original tracks, 12 of which were written or co-written by Stone.

    This is the first Joss Stone DVD available and features a concert performance recorded live at her sold out show at the Irving Plaza in New York on September 9 2004. A full band is there for backing, but this woman's voice simply makes everything pale into insignificance. She belts her way through 13 tracks, including her well known Super Duper Love (Are You Digging' Me). Stone performs tracks from both of her albums, with many highlights. Her rendition of The White Stripes' Fell In Love With A Boy is sublime, while her effort on You Had Me, Super Duper Love, and Right To Be Wrong prove that this is a talent that is going to be around for a long, long time.

    Overall this is an enjoyable show, spoiled only  by some silly giggling and on-stage banter with the audience that can barely be heard. The former can be excused for the sheer amount of fun and enjoyment that Stone seems to get from performing. The latter is just poor recording equipment, something highlighted in one of the extras when Stone's microphone blows up during a song.

Video

    This is a high quality widescreen transfer that looks superb, though is at times overly dominated by a couple of colours.

    It is presented in an aspect of 1.78:1 and is also 16x9 enhanced.

    This is an above average concert in terms of clarity and detail. There is no trace of any edge enhancement and there is not a single problem with shadow detail. Grain is absent and there is no low level noise.

    Colours during the concert are dominated by red and blue. While they do not become as troublesome as some concerts I have seen, they can be a little over-the-top at times lending a flat and one-dimensional look to the performers. There is no obvious bleeding or cross-colouration, just a lack of depth at times.

    There are no compression artefacts present, and no video artefacts of any sort. Given the nature and youth of the source material, this is not unexpected.

    No subtitles are available on this disc, which is a bit of a shame.

    This disc is a dual layered disc with RSDL formatting. The layer change occurs at 52:40 and is nicely placed.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There are three audio tracks available for your listening pleasure. Two are Dolby Digital efforts, in 5.1 and 2.0 stereo respectively. The other is a dts 5.1 track.

    The Dolby Digital and dts tracks are similar in terms of quality. Both tracks offer a lovely enveloping and immersive surround experience. The listener is placed directly in the front row with heaps of crowd sounds behind. While the level of instrument separation and the clarity of the music is excellent, the vocals and in particular the dialogue whenever Joss Stone speaks to the audience is not quite as precise or as clear as I would have liked. In fact, at times I could not work out a single thing she was saying.

    There is plenty of surround channel use from both 5.1 soundtracks. The usual sounds of audience clapping and cheering from the rears emanate throughout the performance to impart that 'front-row' feeling.

    The sub is nicely integrated into both 5.1 soundtracks.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu Animation & Audio

Music Video - Fell In Love With A Boy, Super Duper Love, You Had Me

    Three music videos played in full. Included here are Fell In Love With A Boy (2:57), Super Duper Love (3:49) and You Had Me (3:55).

Featurette - Joss On The Road 2004

    This is the sort of featurette that should be included on all concert DVDs. It is quite a decent behind the scenes look at time with Joss on the road. Miss Stone explains what her new album is all about, how it differs from her debut release, her live performances and a look at her time in the US. Runs for 19:05.

Outtakes

    Another take on the song Right To Be Wrong. There is a little pre-song banter from Joss before she launches into it. When her microphone inadvertently packs up she takes it all in her stride, laughing with the crowd, before continuing on. Runs for 7:25.

    The Region 1 disc is specified exactly the same as the Region 4 title.

    Joss Stone - The Mind Body and Soul Sessions is an excellent disc showcasing a fine musical talent with an amazing voice. For the diehard fan or someone who wants to sample a little of what Joss Stone is all about, this DVD is the perfect answer.

    The video transfer is very good, without being top shelf material. It is clear and colourful, though a little dominated by highly saturated reds and blues on occasions.

    The audio during the songs is excellent, though the spoken dialogue between songs is very difficult to hear at times. The stereo track is excellent, while the Dolby Digital 5.1 and dts 5.1 surround tracks are superb.

    The extras are worthy inclusions. The longer featurette with Joss on the road is particularly good.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall