Colour Me Free (2009)

Image credit: Phil Knott

POP CHANTEUSE Joss Stone

Joss Stone has been publicly battling her label for some time, and she may not be done, with a first single that ends with her wailing ''Free me, EMI!'' Any tiffs mostly get translated into romantic tension, though, and the first half of her fourth album is the best set of music she's done — especially ''Could Have Been You,'' which throws an off-the-beat piano riff on top of a proto-
typical Al Green groove and Stone's controlled regret. The second half succumbs to R&B overproducers, unfortunately, but for a while, she's on the right freedom trail. B

Download This: Listen to the song Could Have Been You at last.fm

See all of this week's reviews