All great pop music, with its recurrent themes of love and loss, has one, indefatigable emotion – soul. ‘I think that’s absolutely right,’ laughs Lisa Stansfield. ‘You try to put everything into that song, or that album. Really feeling the song can mean everything. At least, that’s the way I’ve always approached music.’ Soul – that one, indefatigable emotion- is to be found in abundant supply on Lisa’s fifth album, ‘Face Up’. The 13-track collection of songs –this is her first record in n...
All great pop music, with its recurrent themes of love and loss, has one, indefatigable emotion – soul. ‘I think that’s absolutely right,’ laughs Lisa Stansfield. ‘You try to put everything into that song, or that album. Really feeling the song can mean everything. At least, that’s the way I’ve always approached music.’ Soul – that one, indefatigable emotion- is to be found in abundant supply on Lisa’s fifth album, ‘Face Up’. The 13-track collection of songs –this is her first record in nearly four years- again displays the timeless, almost ageless quality of the Lisa Stansfield voice. ‘I think people will be surprised when they hear the new album,’ she says. ‘It’s quite an upbeat record when you think about it. There are a lot of really happy songs on it. I think that had a lot to do with the way I felt when I was recording it. I just felt really, really happy –everything seemed to be going right. And I just wanted to put that across on the record. I wanted to have a good time.’ ‘Face Up’ consolidates an already accomplished career. Lisa is the winner of three previous BRIT awards –she was Promising Newcomer in 1990; and for the two successive years, she was voted Best British Female Artist. Furthermore, her 1990 hit, ‘All Around The World’, received the ultimate accolade of an Ivor Novello award. Her latest album, ‘Face Up’, however, while rigidly sticking to the proven Lisa track record of highlighting great, contemporary song-writing, marks a departure of sorts. ‘Like I said,’ she says. ‘This is much more of an upbeat album. Hopefully these are songs that will bring a smile to peoples faces.’ ‘Face Up’ takes in the gamut of contemporary styles –from the modern soul of the title track, via the gospel-tinged ‘8-3-1’, to the old-fashioned belter, ‘I’ve Got Something Better’. ‘I love songs,’ she says. And the more different they are, the better. I like to be able to sing all sorts.’ ‘Most of the songs were recorded within two or three takes,’ she says. ‘Because I think you can ruin a performance by rehearsing it too many times. I wanted a rich, kind of organic feel to this record. I wanted it to sound spontaneous: like all great records should be. It should just sound like people in the studio having fun. Hopefully that comes across when people listen to it.’ ‘I think people will get a kick of out ‘Didn’t I’,’ says Lisa. ‘Didn’t I’, by her own admission, stands as her favourite track on the album: a slow-paced and plaintive plea to love. ‘It’s not the kind of song I expect many people will associate me with,’ she continues. ‘But I just loved the words. And it was so easy to record. When you’ve been around as long as I have, people have these preconceptions of what kind of singer they think you are. I think ‘Didn’t I’ really will make people think twice about me: it’ll be a pleasant surprise for them.’ On this, her fifth album, Lisa allows herself to reflect, momentarily, on her ten year career. And songs like ‘You Can Do That’ and ‘Am Over Me’ perfectly encompass heartfelt balladry with that distinguished voice. Few artists have enjoyed the kind of career –one emblematic of success- as Lisa Stansfield. ‘I think I’ve been incredibly lucky,’ she says. ‘I have had a really fulfilling recording career –and I still seem to be going strong. People still seem to want to listen to my music. I’m always being asked as to when my next album is coming out.’ Yet Lisa, it seems, was always destined to sing. ‘I was always performing around the house,’ she recalls. ‘I was always keen to sing for people. Performing just came naturally to me –you know how some people are. But you can’t be sure how things are going to turn out: I mean, who thought I’d be into my fifth album by now?’ Born in Manchester, her family moved to Rochdale when she was 11 years old. Lisa Stansfield and her sisters were raised on a steady diet of Diana Ross and the Supremes, Marvin Gaye and Barry White. ‘I can always remember growing up around all those great singers,’ she remembers now. ‘They were always being played around the house.’ Aged 14, Lisa entered a talent contest sponsored by the Manchester Evening News –at a local venue, ‘The Talk of the Town’, she won a singing contest that eventually led to a steady stream of television appearance. She was signed to Arista Records in 1989 – after the success of ‘Big Thing’, her independently released single which sold 10,000 copies in one week. The rest, of course, has been well documented elsewhere. Her breakthrough hit, ‘All Around The World’ went to Number One in 1989 –and the subsequent album, ‘Affection’, launched her career as modern soul’s leading exponent. ‘Affection’ –still regarded as an Eighties musical highpoint- sold over 4.5 million records worldwide. ‘People are always asking me why I don’t put out more records,’ she says. ‘But I think it’s only fair to put a record out once you have a great collection of songs together: and that’s exactly what I felt with ‘Face Up’.’ She laughs: ‘This record contains some of the best songs I’ve recorded in my career. Some people might see me as a veteran –but I’ve got plenty to say yet.’
