Face Up (Lisa Stansfield album)

Infobox Album
Name = Face Up
Type = studio
Artist = Lisa Stansfield


Released = 2001
Recorded = 2001
(except "You Get Me", 1997)
Genre = R&B / pop / soul / ballad / disco / dance / funk
Length = 58:14 (original 2001 album)
78:32 (remastered CD - 2003)
Label = BMG/Arista
Producer = Ian Devaney
Reviews = *"Amazon.com"
[http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005KKAK original album review link]
[http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000094PWK remastered CD review link]
Last album = "Swing - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack"
(1999)
This album = "Face Up"
(2001)
Next album = "Biography - The Greatest Hits"
(2003)

"Face Up" is the fifth solo album by British pop / soul singer Lisa Stansfield, released in 2001, on BMG/Arista label, being the very last studio work realized by the singer for the major, before signing with ZTT Records, though BMG/Arista does issue "Biography - The Greatest Hits", Lisa's first collection of successful songs, and re-issues all of her five solo albums, from 1989 debut "Affection" to "Face Up" itself (also including her own 1999 film "Swing - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack"), in digipak remastered editions, with multiple bonus tracks added onto each, before letting her go for good.

This last studio album by Lisa Stansfield for major label was again produced by husband and collaborator Ian Devaney (who had already produced her two previous works, "So Natural" in 1993, and the self-titled "Lisa Stansfield" in 1997, here playing guitar and keyboards, and programming). All tracks on the 2001 long playing were written by Lisa and Ian themselves along with faithful Richard Darbyshire (who replaced Andy Morris since 1993, and also plays guitar and does background vocals here), except "You Can Do That" and "When the Last Sun Goes Down", also co-written by Musker, the withdrawn UK second single "8-3-1" and the "Can't Wait To" bonus track, also co-written instead by Kelly, and finally contemporary R&B track "Boyfriend", only composed by Stansfield and Devaney.

Achievements and Nigel Williamson review

On the whole, "Face Up" was a commercial failure, peaking at Number 38 in Great Britain, where it left the charts after only two weeks, and not entering the U.S. Billboard Hot 200 at all (it was also her only one album which did not chart in Italy), but it was a hit in German-speaking countries of central Europe: it made the Top 20 in Switzerland, and the Top 30 either in Germany and Austria - it was also a big radio hit there. Of the two singles taken from the LP, only the first, "Let's Just Call It Love", a contemporary urban-rhythmed modern R&B track, occasionally reminding the jungle genre beat, was a minor hit, this time reaching its highest position in Lisa's own home country, where it got to Number 48 in the UK Singles Chart, however representing her worst achievement ever. The second single was supposed to be the disco-sounding anthem entitled "8-3-1" (the numbers come from the chorus, which goes: '8 letters, 3 words, 1 meaning/feeling', referring to the phrase 'I love you', a linguistic unit, which is in fact made up of eight letters and three words), but it was withdrawn, due to lack of interest for the artist at the time. Anyway, the singer and the album both got an enthusiastic review by Nigel Williamson (who took part himself to the remastered albums project, writing all of the new sleeve notes for the artist), some excerpts of which follow here below, where, in a detailed track-by-track description of the work, Stansfield and Devaney's songwriting abilities are compared to Burt Bacharach's, and Lisa's own favourite song on the album is clearly indicated, while reminding her legendary soul hero of all time, Barry White, who even dueted with her on a re-issue of her first UK Number One hit "All Around the World", and pointing out that no Alicia Keys, Macy Gray or Destiny's Child have ever overshadowed the girl from Roachdale's own untouchable natural talent.

"Since she first entered our consciousness back in 1989 (...), Lisa Stansfield soulful voice has (...) become a part of the soundtrack of our lives. She has won almost every honour the music industry can bestow and successfully launched a parallel acting career. But her first album of the new millennium presented her with a new test. With the emergence of a new egeneration of fine young soul singers such as Alicia Keys and Macy Gray, was there still room for Lisa Stansfield? We need not have worried, of course. (...) "Face Up", released in 2001, (...) impresses not only for the way it showcased her timeless approach to classic funk and soul but for the adventurous way in which she embraced every facet of modern R&B and made it her own. (...) The opener, "I've Got Something Better", is an old-fashioned soul-better of the kind that has become Lisa Stansfield's trademark. But then "Let's Just Call It Love" finds her trying out the contemporary urban beats of modern R&B. The show-stopping ballad "How Could You?" has a melody so powerful it might have come from the pen of Burt Bacharach, but is another composition from the hit-writing team of Lisa and husband Ian Devaney. The sensitive "Wish on Me" and the plaintive "Didn't I" (her own personal favourite) further illustrate Lisa's emotional range. The breezy, disco-laced anthem is "8-3-1" owes a debt to the seventies funk on which LIsa grew up, while the sweet soul of the title track pays tribute to her early hero, Barry White. On the other hand, "Boyfriend" is the sort of contemporary R&B number that Destiny's Child might have recorded. Finally, the album closes on a high with the irresistible funk work-out, "All over Me". The stylistic diversity was a conscious decision (...). "Face Up" is as polished and sophisticated as we have come to expect from Lisa Stansfield. Yet the album also has a remarkable freshness - which, she reveals, derives from the fact that most of her vocals were recorded in one or two takes." (...)

Track listing

Original 2001 album

# "I've Got Something Better" - 4:24
# "Let's Just Call It Love" - 4:17
# "You Can Do That" - 4:30
# "How Could You?" - 4:34
# "Candy" - 5:05
# "I'm Coming to Get You" - 3:54
# "8-3-1" - 4:30
# "Wish on Me" - 4:49
# "Boyfriend" - 4:44
# "Don't Leave Now I'm in Love" - 4:17
# "Didn't I" - 4:51
# "Face Up" - 4:52
# "When the Last Sun Goes Down" - 3:57

=Bonus tracks on 2003 remastered edition only=

* (14) "All over Me" - 5:08
* (15) "Can't Wait to" - 4:26
* (16) "You Get Me" - 5:36

ingles taken from the album

*"Let's Just Call It Love"
*"8-3-1" (withdrawn UK single)

Chart positions

Album

ingles

External links

* [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005KKAK Amazon.com] : track listing, product details, samples & MP3s, editorial & customer reviews of "Face Up" 2001 original edition plus special offers.
* [http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000094PWK Amazon.com] : track listing, product details, customer reviews of "Face Up" 2003 remastered edition plus perfect partner product.