While 1995's Relish proved Joan Osborne was a smart and idiosyncratic
lyricist with a big, strong and soulful voice, the unexpected success
of the album (and the single "One Of Us") proved to be as much
of a burden as a blessing. Touring kept Osborne out on the road for the
next few years, and troubles with her record company prevented her follow-up,
Righteous Love, from arriving in stores until 2000, after which it died
quickly on the vine (though the album deserved a better fate). As Osborne
was blocking out plans for her next album in the fall of 2001, the terrorist
attacks of September 11 upended her musical priorities, and for How Sweet
It Is, Osborne has indulged herself in the musical equivalent of comfort
food by cutting covers of a dozen classic soul and R&B tunes from
the 1960s and '70s, with the exception of three reworked rock numbers
(Dave Mason's "Only You Know and I Know," the Band's "The
Weight," and Jimi Hendrix's "Axis: Bold As Love"). While
Osborne devotes herself to vintage material here, for the most part she
avoids a retro vibe and, thankfully, avoids the contemporary failing of
proving one's soulfulness by bending vocal lines into uncontrollable spasms
of melisma. Here, Osborne merges passion with simplicity, while most of
the tunes are recast in clean, spare arrangements which capture the classic
lines of their melodies without sounding like retreads. And in a season
of loss, fear, and mistrust, "Smiling Faces Sometime," "Why
Can't We Live Together," and "Love's in Need of Love Today"
sound potent and almost painfully relevant in this context, while the
bluesy pleasures of "These Arms of Mine" and "I'll Be Around"
feel as comforting as a hug and a cup of cocoa. How Sweet It Is is a rare
example of an album of covers that doesn't sound like a holding action,
and makes clear Joan Osborne is still an artist well worth watching.
(by Mark Deming, All
Music Guide)
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