Spirit

Very happy!!!

I love this album!!! I can listen to about 95% of the songs over and over again. Most of the time when you pay a CD with 15 or more songs you are lucky to find 3 that are great, but this is not the case with Leona Lewis. I like her voice as well as the message behind each of her songs. Very pleased with my purchase!!!

"Spirit" Lacks Soul

Apparently not content with the success of many American Idol alumni, judge and mentor Simon Cowell set his sights on bringing X Factor winner Leona Lewis similar international success. Such a plan was only helped by the involvement of label exec Clive Davis, known for his work with other powerhouses such as Whitney Houston and Kelly Clarkson. Often helmed as this generation's Mariah Carey due to her vocal prowess, it seemed that Leona was given all the tools to create a classic debut that would cement her place as a new superstar. However, with such a voice, it often comes down to a fine line between showcasing vocal abilities and keeping the album from becoming ballad-heavy and monotonous. Unfortunately for Leona, her debut precariously straddles this line, and at times tips over into the latter category. When it was brought to the United States, it was re-vamped slightly, removing two of the ballads in favour of more uptempo tracks in attempt to appeal to American audiences, which does help to bring a little more variety to the album. That's not to say that the ballads themselves are weak, however, as they do suit Leona's voice very well.

Although it is currently on track to become one of the most overplayed songs in the past few years, the oddly titled lead single "Bleeding Love" proved to be a wise choice. The track features rather odd lyrics that seem to be telling of a new love "cutting open a vein" that was closed off due to past pain. Upon hearing it, the track sounds nice however reading through the lyrics themselves tends to reveal the awkwardness of the metaphor. Nevertheless, as a introductory single, this track serves its purpose as it showcases Leona's vocal abilities, particularly on the bridge. "Better in Time" is another song about recovery from heartbreak, featuring nice enough lyrics and a decent vocal performance. This track is an inexplicable fan favourite, considering there is very little really remarkable about it. It is far from the best this album has to offer. While the song talks about Leona moving forward, she hardly seems to be connected to the track, and the noticeable lack of passion prevents it from really shining. "I Will Be", on the other hand, features a much stronger performance. This track was originally penned by Avril Lavigne, and intended for her "The Best Damn Thing" album. However, it feels better suited to a more powerful voice like Leona's. The only slight problem is that although the song is intended to be a positive song about being with a loved one forever, Leona's vocals at times make it sound more like a sad song. Without really listening to the lyrics, it would be easy to mistake this for another track about heartbreak.

"I'm You" is one of the hidden gems of the album, featuring Leona singing over darker, more subdued production. The real strength of this track lies in how it is one performance where Leona sounds truly connected to the material, as she sings about giving oneself advice to be strong and move on. This is one of the songs that tends to be overlooked as filler in favour of the more well-known singles, however it stands out as one of the album's stronger offerings. "Forgive Me" is one of two tracks that was added to appeal to American audiences, and with it's "Sweet Escape" sound-alike production, it's easy to see why. While it sounds somewhat out of place amongst the other tracks, it does serve to demonstrate that Leona is as capable with more upbeat material as she is with ballads, making the decision to include only a sparse offering of faster songs a puzzling one. Luckily, Leona's voice does not become buried behind the production, so she still has ample room to showcase her talent. "Misses Glass" once again indicates her ability to aptly handle songs other than ballads. This is the second track that was added to the American version, and is the weaker of the two (although by no means a bad song). As a minor complaint, the title actually appears to be incorrectly spelled; in the lyrics, Leona sings "If you see me, you can call me Misses Glass", suggesting that what she meant was "Mrs. Glass." Where "Forgive Me" gave Leona space to showcase her vocals, her part seems to be inexplicably hidden more behind the production in this one. It is definitely a filler track, although it is a decent one.

"Angel" is quite a sweet track, featuring recognizable production from Stargate, and unfortunately weaker lyrics than most of the other tracks. The lyrics are simplistic, which can work to the advantage of some songs provided that the delivery is passionate or meaningful enough. Unfortunately, neither of these are true for this track. While Leona has already proved herself a capable singer elsewhere on the album, tracks like this really call for the singer to sound connected to the material. Without it, as is the case with this song, it becomes a nice listen while it lasts but ultimately forgettable. Ironically enough, the one track that receives the most passionate delivery is the cover of "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," which proves once again why Leona is often compared to past powerhouses. This track only helps to demonstrate exactly how a the delivery can either make or break a song. With minimal production and the beautiful lyrics to work with, Leona conveys enough emotion to bring the track to life once again, making it another capable rendition. "Yesterday" is another of the album's gems. Here Leona sings about how no one can take away memories of the past with a love who has left, with an implication that he's died. It would have been even better with slightly more of an emotional connection on Leona's part, however in this case the track is strong enough to get by without it. "Whatever It Takes" is a midtempo track that by this point is a welcome change of pace. Once again, this is not the strongest that the album has to offer but it is a solid track that makes a nice addition to break things up a little. Unfortunately, it also suffers somewhat from another seemingly disconnected performance.

"Take a Bow," on the other hand, is easily one of the album highlights. Leona seems to shine on darker-sounding tracks such as this one and "I'm You", as they bring out the most connected deliveries. Here, Leona shows a little more attitude as she sings about a lover's deception, telling him to "take a bow" for his performance. This theme was also used in Rihanna's track by the same name, although Leona arguably handles it better. Tracks like this lead one to wonder what the album could have been had Leona experimented more with darker material like this. "Footprints in the Sand", which was co-written by Simon Cowell himself, stands out as another album highlight. It is another track where Leona seems to be more involved, and she has ample room to showcase her vocals amongst the simple yet effective lyrics. This track is clearly Leona at her best, showing off the nuances of her voice with strong lyrics and production to back her up. Luckily, she is a capable enough singer to not become lost in such a big song. "Here I Am" is an excellent ending to the album, and would not have felt out of place on an early Mariah Carey album. although this is somewhat unsurprising as it was written and produced by Mariah's longtime collaborator, Walter Afanasieff. In fact, one who heard this song without knowing who was singing could easily mistake her for Mariah. As it is, it stands as another track that showcases Leona at her best, making it a wise decision as an album closer.

OVerall Mark: 3/5

It is interesting that Leona has commented that the album is about things she's personally passionate about, and needing to put herself in the song so that it will be believeable. This is, in fact, the biggest problem the album has faced. There is no doubt that Leona is a talented vocalist who, with the right material, could easily make a powerful album. Unfortunately, much of the material featured here seems lacks the sense of a personal connection, and instead seems more like a collection of tracks to showcase the capabilities of her voice. While it is true that there is not a single truly weak song of the batch, the dispassionate performances render many of the songs forgettable and monotonous. It had also been noted in interviews that Leona was given the opportunity to work with numerous producers to allow for enough variety to keep the album fresh. However, with Cowell and Clive Davis playing a significant role in song selection, it seems that they were trying too hard to push Leona as a modern-day Celine or Mariah, leaving much of the album ballad-heavy despite Leona's capabilities with more upbeat material. As a result, she becomes bogged down with mostly lifeless, average ballads that do little to prove to audiences why Cowell was so keen to make her an international superstar. With the right material that allows her to show more personality, there is little doubt that Leona can only improve. However, when one's debut is so highly controlled by the label, it is difficult to showcase any real individuality. Nevertheless, what she has provided is a listenable debut that proves to be quite frustrating as one can't help but feel that Leona is capable of so much more.

Vocals Above Anything Else

This album is good, but it doesn't exactly stand out overall. Leona has a beautiful voice, there's no denying that. Lyrically, the the first 3 songs and are the best; it peaks there and sort of becomes lackluster after them with few exceptions.

Stand Out Tracks:

Bleeding Love - Hit! What else can I say?

Better In Time - Beautiful vocals, beautiful lyrics

I Will Be - Thank Avril Lavigne for this one.

Forgive Me - Only because it's so different from the rest

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - Nice remake. Very pleasing to the ears.

Take A Bow - Another departure from the usual


Anyway, while you may not remeber the individual songs over time, you will remember that this woman is very talented. For that reason alone, I gave it 4 stars. The 5th star is simply because this album was so successful without her having to parade around in her underwear on stages across the world ;)

Good transaction

The product was shipped in a couple of days of ordering. It arrived in excellant condition. I am very happy with this purchase.

Leona Lewis - Sprit

Leona Lewis is truly gifted with an incredible voice, so why do her albums get average feedback? Well, to answer that, you have to look at both sides of the argument, which I will in my review. Leona Lewis is a vocal pop singer, and her songs are usually about love and heartache, which is usually what pop songs are about nowadays. But, she has an incredible voice and that separates her from the rest of the crowd, and many can relate to her songs. Now most negative feedback is because many believe her songs are mediocre at best, with only an occasional few that stand out, so it can be pretty confusing to know who is right. So, who is? No one truly is, it all comes down to opinion. I would recommend listening to three or four of her songs before buying, and if you don't like "Bleeding Love", you probably should stay clear of her albums.

Now, I can't honestly say I can relate to her music, I've never been in love (I'm fifteen) but I love her music cause it always helps me wake up and will get me in a good mood. And for me that's the most important part of music, I like music that makes me feel good and happy about the upcoming days and her music does just that for me. And I also find her very attractive, I mean, who doesn't, and she also stands out because she's very humble, shy and kind which is starting to become rather rare with celebrities. So I was excited to listen to her first album and while some songs sound a little drab I find them enjoyable most of the time. On her first album she has thirteen tracks, they are;

Bleeding Love (4:22)

Better In Time (3:54)

I Will Be (3:58)

I'm You (3:47)

Forgive Me (3:40)

Misses Glass (3:40)

Angel (4:14)

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (4:25)

Yesterday (3:53)

Whatever It Takes (3:27)

Take a Bow (3:54)

Footprints in the Sand (4:07)

Here I Am (4:50)

Also included with her album is a pamphlet with lyrics to each song and some photos beside them, which was a nice addition to an already great CD. She also gives a "thank you" in the back of the pamphlet to her friends and family and she really shows how humble she is, and I hope she never changes. I will definitely be buying her albums for many years to come, and thanks to Leona Lewis I appreciate music more than I ever have, so I think I can truly say...I'm a Leona Lewis fan...