Duffy – Rockferry – music review

Artist: Duffy

Title: Rockferry

Label: Universal

Rating: 5/10

Corporate line:
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.

The hits:
Unfortunately there are none.

The rest:
“Rockferry” – Duffy does her best to invoke Dusty Springfield without the soul. It sounds like a pretty song but something is missing. The heart seems hollow and the guts feel empty.
“Warwick Avenue” – I’m torn. I really want this to be a good song because Duffy has a great voice. The problem it’s missing the ingredients necessary to make a great song. What those ingrediants are isn’t quite clear.
“Stepping Stone” – 100% forgettable.
“Mercy” – Sounds like an almost hit song. Compare that with “Delayed Devotion” which just sounds piss poor.

Finally:
If you want to compare Duffy, a reality show singer, its easy–just listen to Leona Lewis. Lewis has the ‘it’ factor. Duffy doesn’t. But, there is a big caveat here. Lewis has great songs and Duffy doesn’t. If Duffy were singing Lewis’ songs we might have a closer competition. Duffy just wasn’t lucky enough to get all-star songs. Duffy was given a dud that will disappear as fast as it arrived.

Watch the video for “Rockferry”