Estelle 'All Of Me'
Though Estelle is most well known in the states for the smash hit ‘American Boy’, the soul diva has always found love in the UK and has been a star since her debut album The 18th Day hit the shelves 8 years ago now. In that time, Estelle has picked up a number awards including two MOBO Awards in 2008 for her terrific album Shine. Yes, it does seem like a long time since we got our well needed dose of Estelle, but the Londoner released a free mixtape late last year called AOM The Prequel which definitely filled the void. 8 months on and we have finally got treated to Estelle’s brand new album in the shape of ‘All Of Me’ and she doesn’t just give a little bit of her blood, sweat and tears but she even throws in the kitchen sink on this one.
‘All Of Me’ is not your typical album as Estelle paints the picture about the Soul Queen’s break up from the intimate bond she shared with her previous boyfriend. The tracks Break My Heart featuring Rick Ross and Thank You feed us those hard to hide feelings. First begging him not to break her heart then explaining how the pain she has will always be with her. However, she quickly moves on later in the album as Estelle proclaims she is ready to love someone else now in the released single ‘Back To Love’.
Produced again by none other than John Legend, this famous duo seems to be coming up with the goods once again. Though, to the disappointment of fans for sure, John and Estelle don’t sing together on this outing unfortunately. Instead we are treated with only a few collaborations strangely with International (Serious) having two R&B icons to show off, Chris Brown and Trey Songz.
A small problem with this album is the number of interludes that break up the album. This happens a bit too much and definitely affects the outcome of the listener’s enjoyment. In total, there are five short explanations about the album that are found in between the change of tone in the record. For instance, You And I has different people talking about the strain on relationships then it moved on to the track ‘Love The Way We Used To Be’ which is about how Estelle wants her love interest and her to be the same amazing relationship as they were from the beginning. Though this interlude explains the album well, they are quite deceiving to the extent of Estelle’s talent we are treated to since we only have 10 songs as appose to 15.
Definitely the best track on the album has to be ‘Do My Thing’ featuring Janelle Monáe. It reminds you of the swinging 60s where you cannot help but do the classic dance move, the mashed potato.
Estelle definitely rewrites the how to make an album guidelines with this one. Though every album has a theme, this one has a whole story wrapped up inside. First she’s with her man, then things aren’t working out, next they break up and quickly gets over it before shouting to the rooftops how she feels in ‘Speak Ya Mind’. With the success the came to her in Shine, everyone was wondering where she was going to go with album number 3. Even though Estelle didn’t push new boundaries, Estelle solidly stacked her claim in being one of the UK’s biggest Soul Divas.
We give Estelle a well-deserved 4 M’s out of 5
You can buy Estelle’s new album ‘All Of Me’ right now.
Watch Estelle’s interview with MOBO TV below:
