| | |  | Best Sellers | Home » » Rockferry | | | | | | | Product Promotions: | | | | | Description: | | The most hotly anticipated album release of this New Year comes not from someone rammed into the collective consciousness by their media ubiquity. Duffy is an unknown quantity at this point, having performed but a small number of gigs, mostly in support of The Magic Numbers, and having only just begun to be seen on TV, most notably with recent appearances on Jools Holland's Later and New Year Hootenanny.
Yet her soulful voice has already beguiled many of the nation's musical tastemakers and news of its beauty and of the strength of her songs is spreading by word of mouth even as you read these words. Radio One's Jo Whiley chose Duffy's title track and album taster `Rockferry' as her Single of the Week in late November, further adding to the momentum. Now, as the comparisons fly (Dusty Springfield has emerged as the favourite), it's time to discover her for yourself.
Duffy was born and spent her childhood years in the north Wales coastal community of Nefyn, a place too remote to be driven by style wars or opposing music factions (the nearest record counter was a bus ride away and only stocked the Top 40). The upbringing she describes is one in which everyone had to rub along together, making do and mending, accepting each other and their tastes without prejudice.
Having no CD collection of her own, her first real musical memory is of walking into the kitchen unannounced to find her mother and stepfather dancing to Rod Stewart. The first steps she took towards defining her own personal identity came when she borrowed one of her dad's VHS tapes of the `60s TV show `Ready, Steady, Go!'. "It had The Beatles, the Stones, the Walker Brothers, Sandie Shaw and Millie singing `My Boy Lollipop'. So sexy and exciting! I played it again and again until finally it disintegrated." Says former Suede guitarist and record producer Bernard Butler of this artlessness, "Duffy managed to grow up without any concept of what was cool or current, what she should or shouldn't like, how to behave or even how to sing. For her, coming to London at all was the stuff of fairytales."
"And to come here to write songs with some random bloke who'd been recommended to her, me? It meant taking two buses and then two trains and took all day. Then she'd do the same in reverse to get home, playing the music she'd just made to old ladies she encountered on the journey. It's hard for cynical music industry types to get their heads around just how far removed she was from our world, geographically and in every other way. But what you've got as a result is someone who acts and sings completely and unselfconsciously from the heart. That's a rare and magical thing."
Butler was introduced to Duffy by Rough Trade's Jeannette Lee who,in August 2004 and after hearing demos recorded in this or that mate's home, became the singer's mentor and manager. For Duffy, to have not just a friend but also point of both safety and reference in the strange new world she found herself in was crucial to her own musical development and sense of self.
"People keep saying to me, `You've made a great record' but I can't take that in because I didn't do it on my own. Jeannette and I made `Rockferry' together and she's been with me every step of the way, broadening my horizons, introducing me to people I can trust." Butler was just one of them: having written the glorious, chorus-free, utterly hypnotic `Rockferry' together at the beginning of the project, they then worked on a further three of the ten tracks on what is already being talked about as 2008's most important debut release. Jimmy Hogarth & Steve Booker are the other collaborators on this classic-in-waiting.
What can you expect to hear? The title track and album opener, as atmospheric, slow-building and idiosyncratic song as you could hope for, leads into a collection of original material that some might call retro in feel (those Dusty flavours, that girl group vibe) but which Duffy herself prefers to identify as classic. You'll find arrangements as sparsely effective as those against which Dionne Warwick told her Bacharach & David-wrought tales of heartbreak in the early 1960s. You'll find lush choruses and swooning hooks (as perfected by the late Miss Springfield and various distinguished others). But this is far from pastiche.
What you'll find instead is irrefutable evidence of a significant new talent, and one that has developed in splendid isolation, not in reaction to market forces or the input of focus groups and industry experts. Duffy is the real, unspoiled original deal. "People keep asking me where my voice comes from and the fact is I don't know," says the brightest new star of 2008. "Why are your eyes the colour they are? It's no answer at all but it's the only one I have." Duffy Photos | | | Features: | |
• DUFFY ROCKFERRY (F)
| | | Product Details: | | | Audio CD Release Date:
| May 13, 2008 | | Studio:
| Mercury | | Number Of Discs:
| 1 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 277 reviews |
| | | Track Listing: | | | 1. | Rockferry | | 2. | Warwick Avenue | | 3. | Serious | | 4. | Stepping Stone | | 5. | Syrup & Honey | | 6. | Hanging On Too Long | | 7. | Mercy | | 8. | Delayed Devotion | | 9. | Scared | | 10. | Distant Dreamer | |
| | | Used and New: | | | |
| All | |
| $2.34+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $2.35+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Good | | | $2.46+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Acceptable | | | $2.47+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Good | | | $2.58+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Good | | | $2.78+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $2.79+ $4.62 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $2.80+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $2.99+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Good | | | $2.99+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Good | | | $3.44+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $3.48+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $3.50+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $3.99+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $4.00+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $4.08+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $4.38+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $4.50+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $4.99+ $4.62 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $5.00+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $5.02+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $5.07+ $2.98 *Shipping This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | Used
- Mint | | | $5.16+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $5.19+ $6.95 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $5.30+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $5.84+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $5.95+ $4.62 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $5.98+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $5.98+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $6.05+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $6.29+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $6.53+ $2.98 *Shipping This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | Used
- Acceptable | | | $6.71+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $6.79+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $6.79+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $6.79+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $6.98+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $6.99+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $6.99+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $6.99+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $7.00+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $7.00+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $7.46+ $2.98 *Shipping This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | Used
- Acceptable | | | $7.49+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $7.54+ $2.98 *Shipping This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | Used
- Good | | | $7.96+ $2.98 *Shipping This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | Used
- Mint | | | $8.00+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $8.00+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $9.00+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $9.75+ $2.98 *Shipping This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | Used
- Good | | | $9.83+ $4.62 *Shipping | New | | | $9.84+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $9.95+ $2.98 *Shipping This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | Used
- VeryGood | | | $9.98+ $2.98 *Shipping This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | Used
- Mint | | | $9.99+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $9.99+ $4.62 *Shipping | New | | | $10.00+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $10.00+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $10.00+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $10.00+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $10.48+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $10.88+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $10.93+ $7.98 *Shipping | New | | | $10.99+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $11.00+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $11.39+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $11.52+ $4.62 *Shipping | New | | | $11.52+ $4.62 *Shipping | New | | | $11.97+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $11.97+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $12.30+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $12.34+ $3.99 *Shipping | New | | | $12.37+ $4.62 *Shipping | New | | | $12.59+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $12.62+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $12.99+ $2.98 *Shipping This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | New | | | $13.09+ $4.62 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $13.10+ $2.98 *Shipping This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | New | | | $13.34+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $13.39+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $13.71+ $2.98 *Shipping This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | New | | | $13.95+ $8.13 *Shipping | New | | | $14.32+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $14.32+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $14.61+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $14.89+ $4.62 *Shipping | New | | | $14.99+ $4.62 *Shipping | New | | | $14.99+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $15.55+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $15.82+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $15.99+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $16.01+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $16.12+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $17.00+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $19.55+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $25.00+ $4.62 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $39.39+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $2,000.00+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Good | |
| New | |
| $4.00+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $5.02+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $9.00+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $9.83+ $4.62 *Shipping | New | | | $9.84+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $9.99+ $4.62 *Shipping | New | | | $10.00+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $10.00+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $10.48+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $10.88+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $10.93+ $7.98 *Shipping | New | | | $10.99+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $11.00+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $11.39+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $11.52+ $4.62 *Shipping | New | | | $11.52+ $4.62 *Shipping | New | | | $11.97+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $12.30+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $12.34+ $3.99 *Shipping | New | | | $12.37+ $4.62 *Shipping | New | | | $12.59+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $12.62+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $12.99+ $2.98 *Shipping This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | New | | | $13.10+ $2.98 *Shipping This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | New | | | $13.34+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $13.39+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $13.71+ $2.98 *Shipping This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | New | | | $13.95+ $8.13 *Shipping | New | | | $14.32+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $14.61+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $14.89+ $4.62 *Shipping | New | | | $14.99+ $4.62 *Shipping | New | | | $14.99+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $15.82+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $15.99+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $16.12+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $19.55+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $39.39+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | |
| Used | |
| $2.34+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $2.35+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Good | | | $2.46+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Acceptable | | | $2.47+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Good | | | $2.58+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Good | | | $2.78+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $2.79+ $4.62 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $2.80+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $2.99+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Good | | | $2.99+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Good | | | $3.44+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $3.48+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $3.50+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $3.99+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $4.08+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $4.38+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $4.50+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $4.99+ $4.62 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $5.00+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $5.07+ $2.98 *Shipping This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | Used
- Mint | | | $5.16+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $5.19+ $6.95 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $5.30+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $5.84+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $5.95+ $4.62 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $5.98+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $5.98+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $6.05+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $6.29+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $6.53+ $2.98 *Shipping This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | Used
- Acceptable | | | $6.71+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $6.79+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $6.79+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $6.79+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $6.98+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $6.99+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $6.99+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $6.99+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $7.00+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $7.00+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $7.46+ $2.98 *Shipping This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | Used
- Acceptable | | | $7.49+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $7.54+ $2.98 *Shipping This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | Used
- Good | | | $7.96+ $2.98 *Shipping This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | Used
- Mint | | | $8.00+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $8.00+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $9.75+ $2.98 *Shipping This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | Used
- Good | | | $9.95+ $2.98 *Shipping This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | Used
- VeryGood | | | $9.98+ $2.98 *Shipping This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | Used
- Mint | | | $9.99+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $10.00+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $10.00+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $11.97+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $13.09+ $4.62 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $14.32+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $15.55+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $16.01+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $17.00+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Mint | | | $25.00+ $4.62 *Shipping | Used
- VeryGood | | | $2,000.00+ $4.99 *Shipping | Used
- Good | |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 277 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
70 of 75 found the following review helpful:
Despite the huge marketing hype, it shows undoubted talent and 60's Soul atmospherics.May 13, 2008
By jazz4thenight
"Rockferry" is the most gorgeous evocation of classic pop-soul for years, and make no mistake, this is an album which wears its nostalgic credentials with no apology, only the new single "Mercy" betraying a hint of the 21st century about it.
"Warwick Avenue" lopes into action with a hint of The Temptations' "My Girl", "Stepping Stone'" s pensive intro seems to scream "Walk On By" and "Syrup And Honey" has more than a whiff of the Stax sound about it.
And then there are all the production nods towards Motown and Phil Spector - the tambourines set in cavernous reverb, the searing strings, the tremolo guitars.
All of this would be so much stylistic dressing-up were it not for the quality of the songs and the allure of Duffy's voice - a full-throated expressive wail which is never less than equal to the big arrangements.
The comparisons with Dusty Springfield are so wide of the mark.
Dusty was a much lustier performer.
Yes Duffy has the same look and works in the same pop landscape Dusty strode, but Duffy's voice is much more steeped in the tone of the poppier Motown songstrels.
If Duffy is the new anybody, she is the new Amy Winehouse, which makes it particularly ironic that the Welsh girl's missing forename is also Amy/Aimee.
For Duffy, like Winehouse, is utterly immersed in classic soul music, but where Winehouse now seems blurry and damaged, Duffy is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Duffy is the sweet to Winehouse's sour, the blonde to Amy's tattered brunette.
This is an album every bit as solid as "Back To Black", with tracks that sound like dusty soul standards.
The result is mighty good pop.
Back to Black
Always
19
The Very Best of Dusty Springfield
Dusty in Memphis
82 of 93 found the following review helpful:
 Girlfriend can SING!May 20, 2008
By Melissa Niksic
I'm sure a lot of people are going out and buying Duffy's debut album, "Rockferry," after hearing the single "Mercy." I am one of those people, and when I listened to the CD in its entirety, I was blown away because "Mercy" is probably the weakest song on the whole album, which says a lot because "Mercy" is such an amazing song. However, the rest of the album is even better! Duffy's voice is out of this world. It's soulful, powerful, and absolutely beautiful. People who compare her to the likes of Nina Simone and Dusty Springfield are not exaggerating, but Duffy is really in a league of her own, as she brings a youthful panache to every song.
As for the album itself, I don't even know where to begin. All the songs are incredible. If I have to pick a favorite, it's probably the title track, "Rockferry," which is amazing. My jaw literally dropped when I listened to it for the first time. Other highlights include the wistful "Warwick Avenue," the soulful ballad "Stepping Stone," the blues infused "Syrup & Honey," and the inspiring "Distant Dreamer."
My one complaint about this CD is that it's too short...there are only 10 songs, but they are OUTSTANDING songs. Duffy has an amazing career ahead of her, and if you only buy one CD this year, make it "Rockferry."
30 of 33 found the following review helpful:
RockferryMay 20, 2008
By Morton
Duffy-Rockferry ****1/2
Listen, good tunes is good tunes. Those naysayers who are calling this just a trendy, marketed album that wouldn't sell if it weren't for the advertising, well I must argue that untrue as I have never seen, nor heard an add for the album. I heard the voice on the radio and bought the album. So there ya go. She is apparently Welsh which must be where the charm in her looks and vocals come from. The smokey feel of her voice and the martini lounge attitude of the instrumentation make Rockferry a very rewarding debut album. On that note, this sounds very advanced for a debut.
Songs like the sultry lead single (destined to be a massive hit) 'Mercy' and the defiant 'Stepping Stone' so a heavier more intense side to Duffy, while others like the elegant 'Warwick Avenue' and the Dusty Springfield-ish 'Serious' show a more refined, but none the less soulful side of her.
While I do see that yes, there could be improvement but, not much, and for a debut, this is a damn good one. Duffy is destined to be a big star and rightfully so. The girls got soul!
32 of 36 found the following review helpful:
A commendable debut albumMay 14, 2008
By Olukayode Balogun
This debut from sultry Welsh chanteuse Duffy is yet another wonderful trip back in time. A Dusty Springfield for our time, Duffy evokes memories of the simple, carefree and optimistic 60s in easy-going songs of love, both longed for and lost. I find her voice and style of delivery totally endearing and the music, some produced by Bernard Butler (formerly of McAlmont & Butler; David McAlmont actually sings backing vocals on a couple of tracks), some by Jimmy Hogarth, some by Steve Booker and all co-written by Duffy and her aforementioned producers, is absolutely top notch.
That's the good news. The not so good news is that once again, I feel like I'm listening to a singer I'm not so sure I believe. In fairness, she gets by and takes me with her on most of the songs but when she sings on "Mercy", just for instance - a wonderfully breezy song that made it to #1 on the UK singles chart with ease and stayed there for four weeks or so - though the song is all about pleading and desperation but she just doesn't sound at all desperate. I don't hear any angst. It's the music that makes the tune for me, not so much her singing.
I remember the first time I heard Mary J Blige's "Be Happy" and being reduced to tears. I genuinely believed that she wasn't (happy, that is). My heart went out to her and I remember questioning my own definition of happiness at the time. It might sound ridiculous - in my defence, I was very young - but when I first heard Donna Summer's "MacAurthur Park", I actually believed that someone had left a cake out in the rain and that poor Donna was never going to find the recipe again. I felt distraught for her. Even Madonna had me believing her when she sang songs like "Live To Tell" and "Oh Father". Eva Cassidy had me believing everything she sang without exception.
My point basically, is that I feel that singers, especially those who decide they want to do soul, should either try to sing about what they know or develop incredibly good imaginations and/or acting skills. I have to be able to totally believe what your singing to me about and if you really want to be heralded as the real McCoy, I think that takes a bit more than a just good voice and good music.
But like I said, Duffy does impress on a number of the songs here. My favourites include "Rockferry", "Stepping Stone", "Syrup & Honey", "Hanging On Too Long", "Mercy" (I might not believe a word she's singing but it's such a catchy, bouncy song, it's impossible to resist it. I also love the video) and "I'm Scared" - all amazing songs on which Duffy truly shines. Six out of ten isn't to be sniffed at so in balance, I have to say it's a commendable debut album well worth checking out.
I just got back from a visit to the US and "Mercy" has been all over the radio. It also seems quite popular with MTV/VH1 "reality" shows who've been using it quite a bit either as theme or promo music, which is also quite telling. It went straight in at #1 on the UK album charts when it was released here back in March and she's had considerable success with it. I think she's going to have very similar and well-deserved success with it in America. I say good luck to her.
31 of 35 found the following review helpful:
Wonderfully soaked in chic, retro soul.May 13, 2008
By Pedder
This debut by the 23-year-old Welsh singer Aimee (Amy) Rockferry has been more than three years in the making.
She's been hailed as the sound of 2008 but really she's the sound of 1964, or thereabouts - Rockferry is all saucer-eyed, glossy soul-pop in the style of Sandie Shaw, Dusty Springfield and even Lulu.
The album showcases ten self-written tracks that certainly validate the hype, with support from industry veterans Bernard Butler (of Suede, her mentor), Jimmy Hogarth, Eg White and Steve Booker.
But Butler's sonic fingerprints are certainly all over her songs, and his presence gives "Rockferry" a maturity that's lacking from the slew of wannabe Amy Winehouses.
With a distinctive sound that at times seems to belong to another era, the album is a diligently produced record that looks set for a very sharp chart ascendancy. You would think that Duffy is one of those artists spawned from Amy Winehouse's transatlantic success.
With the current appetite for classic-sounding soul and old-school R&B established, and sold out shows this new Welsh talent looks set to clean up.
Most of its songs are slower and grander than the fizzy Number One single "Mercy": the best examples are the mellifluous "Warwick Avenue" and the lung-busting "Distant Dreamer".
But while her voice is technically unimpeachable, it isn't always very moving. It doesn't sound as if there's any heartbreak behind it - too pretty for pain, too sweet for sadness.
The comparisons between Duffy and Dusty Springfield - as well as more recent contemporaries Amy Winehouse and Joss Stone - are certainly justified, but on first listening the album at times feels like little more than a showcase for her vocal abilities, with tracks like "Syrup & Honey" lacking the soul and sorrow that made similar songs by Dusty so endearing and timeless.
Anyone who had a heart could hear the similarities between Duffy and the sound of Dusty Springfield - and even Cilla Black - copping American 60s soul. Her voice is a pleasure, raw and soulful.
And there have, of course, been other comparisons - Duffy has perhaps inevitably been likened to that other popular young soul singer of recent'years,'the'increasingly troubled Amy Winehouse.
Duffy has dropped her first name Aimee in what appears to be an attempt to shy away from being likened to such a controversial artist. While they might be singing in the same genre, they're clearly not humming along to quite the same tune.
Winehouse's troubles are as much etched into her music as they are her body with her endless tattoos but while Duffy does indeed sing of heartbreak, there's a discernibly more optimistic tone to her tunes.
IndieLondon writes: "It's a moody, atmospheric effort built around Duffy's powerhouse vocal delivery and some genuinely thrilling background drum loops and strings".
"Rockferry is almost a very good album, but, for all the classic soul hallmarks, there's little insight into the actual soul of Duffy herself". John Lewis
Collection
Straight From The Heart The Very best Of
The Essential Cilla Black 1963-1978
Ultimate Collection
The Greatest Hits
Always
Back to Black
See all 277 customer reviews on Amazon.com
| | |
|
![Instant Immersion French v1.0 [Old Version]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41xRvKKmnVL._SL75_.jpg "Instant Immersion French v1.0 [Old Version]")
