Leona_Lewis-Spirit-(US_Retail)-2008-VAG

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█ ARTIST: Leona Lewis █

█ TITLE: Spirit █

█ LABEL: J Records/Sony BMG █

█ GENRE: Pop █

█ GRABBER: EAC (Secure Mode) █

█ ENCODER: LAME 3.97 / -V2 --vbr-new █

█ QUALITY: 191 Kbps Avg / 44.1 KHz / Joint Stereo █

█ PLAYTIME: 0h 52min 25sec total █

█ SIZE: 71.71MB █

█ RELEASE DATE: 2008-04-08 ▐▌

█ RIP DATE: 2008-04-09 █

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▄▄▄ [ TRACK LIST ] ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄ ▄▄ ▄▄ ▄

█

█ 01. Bleeding Love 4:23

█ 02. Better In Time 3:55

█ 03. I Will Be 4:00

█ 04. I'm You 3:48

█ 05. Forgive Me 3:41

█ 06. Misses Glass 3:41

█ 07. Angel 4:15

█ 08. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face 4:27

█ 09. Yesterday 3:55

█ 10. Whatever It Takes 3:27

█ 11. Take A Bow 3:54

█ 12. Footprints In The Sand (UK Bonus Track) 4:09

█ 13. Here I Am (UK Bonus Track) 4:50



▄▄ [ RELEASE NOTES ] ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄ ▄▄ ▄▄ ▄

█

█ Not dupe of the previous release. Props to them for getting it out.Different

█ tracklisting, bonus tracks dont appear in any other release. Past 3 months,

█ enjoy!

█

█

█ ----------------

█

█ The truest test of Simon Cowell's power within the music industry circa 2008

█ was not whether American Idol could produce a star in its seventh season or

█ if its UK cousin The X Factor would have another success in its fifth season,

█ it was whether he could turn Leona Lewis into the international superstar he

█ so clearly believed she is. Lewis was the third winner of the X Factor - the

█ Cowell-driven replacement to Pop Idol in Britian, a replacement that came to

█ be because he wanted to own a significant piece of the show - and one of the

█ key differences between Factor and Idol is that the judges can mentor the

█ contestants and therefore have a stake in the outcome of the show, more than

█ they do on Idol, where the judges merely comment. Rightly impressed by Lewis'

█ multi-octave voice - reminiscent of a warmer, earth-bound Mariah Carey -

█ Cowell continued his mentorship after the conclusion of the show, making her

█ the first contestant in the whole Idol/Factor enterprise that he personally

█ shepherded through the major label process. He struck a deal with Clive Davis

█ - the executive producer behind all the American Idol projects, the producer

█ who publicly bristled when Kelly Clarkson tried to take control of her career

█ through her original compositions - and the two launched a grand plan to

█ break Lewis in her native UK first, then slowly roll her out in the US a few

█ months later, via an appearance on Oprah and a slightly resequenced and

█ remixed version of her debut, Spirit.

█

█ That US version drops the bonus track of Leona's version of "A Moment Like

█ This," her first hit single that is not so coincidentally a cover of Kelly's

█ first big single. If Kelly became a thorn in Davis' side, Leona Lewis seems

█ happy, even eager, to play the major-label game, singing anything that comes

█ her way, never lodging a complaint when she has to cut a couple R&B-flavored

█ tracks to appeal to the American market. These tunes - "Misses Glass" and

█ "Forgive Me" -- are just slightly glitzier than the rest of Spirit, surely

█ bearing heavier rhythms but not to the extent that the beats obscure Lewis's

█ voice, as the whole point of Spirit is to showcase her singing, particularly

█ those high glory notes that are all the rage on Idol/Factor. Unlike most

█ Idol/Factor alumni, Lewis can hit those big notes but make it seem easy,

█ never straining her voice and building nicely to the climax. Unlike most

█ divas, there is a human quality to her voice, as she's singing to the song,

█ not singing to her voice. Then again, this was also true of Mariah Carey on

█ her 1990 debut, which Spirit greatly resembles in how the handful of

█ R&B-oriented songs camouflages how this is almost entirely a stuffy

█ middle-of-the-road pop record. Not only that, but Spirit is so old-fashioned

█ it sounds as if it could have been released in 1990 and compete with Carey's

█ debut for the top of the charts; her first single "Bleeding Love" opens with

█ a crawling organ that recalls the muted gospel of "Vision of Love," even if

█ the skin-crawling lyric "you cut me open and I keep bleeding love" wouldn't

█ have suited the Top 40 in 1990. That stultifying adult-contemporary

█ atmosphere may makes Spirit stilted but it's also as savvy a move as you

█ could expected from Cowell: ever since Mariah has long ago abandoned AC for

█ the clubs, there is a gaping need for a vocalist like Leona Lewis, a singer

█ that can belt it out but is safe and tame, having no interest in the perks of

█ stardom that exist beyond the stage. And boy is Leona Lewis ever that - she

█ is blessed with a terrific voice but very little on-record personality,

█ something the very professional, very inoffensive tunes emphasize. Thanks to

█ this collection of calculatedly commercial tracks - tunes crafted to appeal

█ to everyone yet no one in particular - Lewis merely comes across as the most

█ talented and most willing singer to ever play Cowell's game, so no wonder he

█ loves her. But this also points out the big difference between how Cowell has

█ taken Leona Lewis under her wing and how Tommy Mottola watched over Mariah.

█ Mottola married Carey, having both an emotional and financial stake in her

█ career, but those mixed emotions helped obscure the machinery that drover her

█ career. Cowell is only in it for the cash with Lewis, so the machinations are

█ too apparent on this otherwise appealing debut. And that's too bad because

█ Spirit surely reveals a singer that has a richer tonal quality than any diva

█ to come along in the past 15 years or so - if she had gotten the tunes to

█ match her voices, this would have been both a killer record in addition to

█ the international blockbuster that it was so carefully crafted to be.

█

█ Don't forget to support the artists! We did.



▄▄▄ [ GROUP NEWS ] ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄ ▄▄ ▄▄ ▄

█

░ Questions? Comments? Contact us.

▒

▓ Greets to all who put out quality and those who have helped along the way.

█

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