Angie Stone

One look at the cover of Angie Stone’s new album and you know that this lady is old school. Even a guest spot by Snoop Dogg can’t distract from Stone Love’s supremely ‘70s soul vibe.

Stone’s always stood in the shadows of flashier neo-soul divas like Erykah Badu and Macy Gray, but with this disc, her third, that’s about to change. While Badu and Gray have never quite lived up to the promise of their debuts, Stone just keeps getting better. Stone Love is her most consistent set yet, overflowing with smoky ballads and groovy midtempo meditations on love and sex, all delivered from a refreshingly gangsta-free, grownup perspective.

Snoop’s entertaining turn on the lead single, “I Wanna Thank Ya,” will get Stone Love some much-deserved attention, but in many ways his “jazzifizzle” shtick is the least of the album’s charms. Even better are guest spots by the female R&B duo Floetry and the velvet-voiced Anthony Hamilton, who is a perfect foil to Stone’s sweetly seductive trills on “Stay For a While.” The time-warp production is top-notch throughout, especially on the horn-drenched “Lovers’ Ghetto” and “Come Home,” with its gorgeous harp figure. But the best part of Stone Love is Angie Stone herself, whose endlessly warm, flexible voice comfortably inhabits every nook and cranny of these 12 ultra-soulful songs. - Andy Hermann

With the success of her previous hit single, "Wish I Didn't Miss You," Angie Stone went from being trapped in a pack of neo-soul divas going straight to the bargain bin to being one of the first singers off the tip of the tongue when the word "neo-soul" was uttered. After nearly a two-year absence, Stone Love pleasantly picks up where Mahogany Soul left off, presenting a wiser, more even-keel Stone putting her best foot forward right from the album's onset. The useless guest appearance of the tired Snoop Dogg and his "izzle" façade does very little to improve the quality of the lead single, "I Wanna Thank Ya" -- if anything, it detracts from the song's overall atmosphere with constant interruptions that do nothing but serve as reminders that the Dogg is not having one of his better days (check out the version at the end without Snoop's rap for a contrast). That said, guest appearances by Floetry and Betty Wright help Stone Love pick up steam, and an exceptional performance by Anthony Hamilton on "Stay for a While" invokes muses present during the recording of D'Angelo's Voodoo and Stevie Wonder's Innervisions. The production crew is the most solid it's ever been on any of her records and the choice of sampling is premium (check the knockout sample of Dynasty's "Adventures in the Land of Music" used in "Lovers' Ghetto") but kept at a minimum, a tribute to the inventiveness of Stone and company behind the mixing console. And while there's no barnburning anthem of the type that fueled Mahogany Soul's longevity and despite some totally unnecessary interludes, this is her most focused and accomplished full-length to date. A delightful album for a summer day, and (save for the Snoop cameo) an enjoyable listen from start to finish. ~ Rob Theakston, All Music Guide