Leona Lewis - Spirit Album Review

Spirit by Leona Lewis, Album Review

Leona Lewis’s long-awaited debut LP ‘Spirit’ comes nearly a year after her first single, ‘A MomentLike This’. Preceded by ‘Bleeding Love’, this release sees Lewis collaborating with a wealth of different producers andwriters (as well as the ubiquitous Simon Cowell as executive producer) including Damon Dash and Ne-Yo. The sound rangesfrom slick R&B pop to power ballads, finding room as well for a delicate version of Ewan Macoll’s ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’. Lewis herself was heavily involved in the writing process, sharing credits on several of the songs on ‘Spirit’.

Most of the songs were recorded in Los Angeles, California. There, Lewis teamed up with OneRepublic singer Ryan Tedder, with whom she recorded two songs, “Bleeding Love” and “Take a Bow”. “Bleeding Love” was written by Tedder and Jesse McCartney and produced by Tedder.

In its first day of release in the UK, Spirit was reported to be outselling its nearest rival, the Spice Girls’ Greatest Hits album, by four-to-one. It sold over 130,000 copies on 12 November 2007, and entered the UK Albums Chart on 18 November 2007 at number one, having sold over 375,000 copies.
It was the fastest selling debut album in the UK since records began, beating Arctic Monkeys’ Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, and the fourth fastest selling album of all time.

Leona Lewis - Spirit Track Listing

1. “Bleeding Love” (Ryan Tedder, Jesse McCartney) - 4:23
2. “Whatever It Takes” (Alonzo “Novel” Stevenson, Tony Reyes, Leona Lewis) - 3:28
3. “Homeless” (J�rgen Elofsson) - 3:50
4. “Better in Time” (Jonathan Rotem, Andrea Martin) - 3:55
5. “Yesterday” (Jordan Omley, Michael Mani, The Jam, Sam Watters, Louis Biancaniello, The Runaways, Nina Woodford) - 3:54
6. “Take a Bow” (The Runaways, Watters, Wayne Wilkins, Biancaniello, Tedder) - 3:54
7. “I Will Be” (Avril Lavigne, Max Martin, Lukasz Gottwald) - 4:00
8. “Angel” (Johnta Austin, Mikkel Eriksen, Tor Hermansen) - 4:14
9. “Here I Am” (Walter Afanasieff, Brett James, Lewis) - 4:53
10. “I’m You” (Eric Hudson, Shaffer Smith) - 3:48
11. “The Best You Never Had” (Josh Alexander, Billy Steinberg) - 3:43
12. “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” (Ewan MacColl) - 4:26
13. “Footprints in the Sand” (Richard Page, Per Magnusson, David Kreuger, Simon Cowell) - 4:09

UK bonus track

14. “A Moment like This” (Elofsson, John Reid) - 4:17

International bonus track

14. “Forgiveness” (Kara DioGuardi, Lewis, Salaam Remi) - 4:21

Leona Lewis - Spirit - TV Ad - Video Commercial

Leona Lewis - Spirit Album Info

Released November 9, 2007 (2007-11-09)
Recorded 2006-2007
Genre Pop, contemporary R&B, soul
Length 56:49
Label Sony BMG, Syco Records
Producer Walter Afanasieff, Josh Alexander, Dallas Austin, Louis Biancaniello, Simon Cowell (executive), Clive Davis (executive), Dr. Luke, Eric Hudson, The Jam, Steve Mac, Michael Mani, Novel, Jordan Omley, J. R. Rotem, The Runaways, Stargate, Billy Steinberg, Ryan Tedder, Sam Watters, Wayne Wilkins

Spirit is the debut album by English singer and winner of the third series of The X Factor, Leona Lewis. On 25 April 2007, a press release was sent out revealing that Simon Cowell and Clive Davis would work together in a first-of-its-kind partnership on both the song and producer selection for the album. The album was said to have a September 2007 deadline, however, the UK release date was 12 November 2007 (see release history). It will be released in other European countries and in the United States in early 2008. The release of the album marks Lewis as the first winner of a major television talent show in both the UK and USA to be given a major global launch with a debut album.

The title of the album was announced on 3 October 2007. Lewis says she named the album Spirit because “it is my heart and soul and the voice within that says everything is possible.”

source wikipedia.com

Leona Lewis - Spirit Review from uk.launch.yahoo.com

Certainly, it’s not an album for those with an acute dislike of ballads - having as it does every variety, from soft to loud to intimate, epic, weeping and triumphant - but with its refined beats, immaculate arrangements and intelligent melodies, “Spirit” confirms both Lewis’s international ambitions and the likelihood that she’ll pull them off. The next Mariah Carey, high-pitched squealing and all, is what she’s going for, and what for the most part she gets.

First single proper, “Bleeding Love”, is far and away the most sophisticated and catchy song here, with the slickly clicking “Whatever It Takes” and “Take A Bow” the only others offering anything close to edginess. Undoubtedly there’s a lack of Mariah sass and sexiness to balance out all the balladry. But truly you can’t have everything. Better an album overloaded with stylish, intelligent ballads than an album overloaded with songs such as “A Moment Like This”.

Ultimately, while winning “X Factor” and having UK Number Ones is nice, for a girl with lots of mid-tempo love to give and broken hearts to mend, America’s the real prize. So should Mariah and co be worried? Most definitely.