Leona Lewis – Spirit (2007) (Repost)

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Leona Lewis – Spirit (2007) (Repost)
R&B, Pop | 192 kbps mp3 | 79.9 mb

‘..Spirit is just the sound of a generic diva.’

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Leona Lewis Web Site

Leona Lewis on Wikipedia

Watch ‘Bleeding Love’ Video

Review:
(by Lyndsey Winship-02 November 2007)
When Leona Lewis slipped from the spotlight after last year’s Christmas Number One, there were whispers that maybe she didn’t have the x-factor after all. But in reality, Leona was one of the few people to come out of a TV talent show worth investing some time and money in. Not for her a rush-released covers album; instead it was off to the States to work with a host of big name producers like Dallas Austin and Jam and Lewis.
It’s almost a shame all that effort went into crafting a bland pop album strong on mid-tempo balladry and spiralling vocal gyrations, but short on hooks, innovation and personality.
With sights firmly set on the lucrative American market, single ‘Bleeding Love’ is an 80s throwback that even Mariah wouldn’t record these days. And the attempts at skittering r’n'b beats on tracks like “The Best You Never Had” and the Ne-Yo- produced “I’m You” are also fairly middle-of-the-road.
Elsewhere, “Take a Bow” is a slice of synthy melodrama, “Whatever it Takes” has singalong potential and big ballad “Footprints in the Sand” is a piano warbler that brings Leona’s voice to the forefront. It’s an amazing voice, no doubt, but if it wasn’t for those elastic vocal cords, this could be anyone.
Only on the Leona co-written “Here I Am” do we get a glimpse of the Hackney girl herself, thrown into the pop machine: “This is a crazy world/These can be lonely days…/Who can you really trust” she asks. Otherwise, Spirit is just the sound of a generic diva.

Amazon.co.uk Review:
Leona Louise Lewis is something of an anomaly. Not only is she pretty and endowed with a wonderfully elastic (four-octave) vocal range–she’s also a committed vegetarian and one of the few X Factor/TV talent show winners not to immediately try to capitalise on her success with an album of weak covers. Instead, her mentor Simon Cowell (and team) have coaxed Lewis into the studio with some of America’s biggest talents–Dallas Austin, Jam & Lewis–and come up with an album of weak originals. You couldn’t exactly call “Spirit” a bad album. It carries memorable melodies, some classic song-writing and, of course, Lewis’ seriously potent voice (she’s been compared to Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey already). But what the album lacks is personality. Songs like “Bleeding Love” (produced by Ryan Tedder and Jesse McCartney) are technically flawless, but you’re left thinking ‘is this all the sass and sparkle a bonafide Hackney gal can muster?’ “The Best You Never Had”, the Ne-Yo produced “I’m You” and many other songs here follow this play-it-safe formula, while the album’s ballads–”Footprints in the Sand”, for example–are so bland even Whitney and Mariah would wince. Still, there’s no doubt Lewis is a real talent. Perhaps if she ditches the overpaid ‘superstar’ producers next time and makes the album she wants to make, we might finally hear some of her real ‘spirit’. –Danny McKenna

Description:
2006 X-Factor winner Leona Lewis’s long-awaited debut LP ‘Spirit’ comes nearly a year after her first single, ‘A MomentLike This’. Preceded by ‘Bleeding Love’, this release sees Lewis collaborating with a wealth of different producers andwriters (as well as the ubiquitous Simon Cowell as executive producer) including Damon Dash and Ne-Yo. The sound rangesfrom slick R&B pop to power ballads, finding room as well for a delicate version of Ewan Macoll’s ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’. Lewis herself was heavily involved in the writing process, sharing credits on several of the songs on ‘Spirit’.

Tracks:
1 Bleeding Love
2 Whatever It Takes
3 Homeless
4 Better in Time
5 Yesterday
6 Take a Bow
7 I Will Be
8 Angel
9 Here I Am
10 I’m You
11 The Best You’ve Never Had
12 The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
13 Footprints in the Sand
14 A Moment Like This

Spirit by Leona Lewis

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