Soul Searching: Lisa Favourite 13 Albums

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Lisa chats with John Freeman @ The Corner House before the "Northern Soul" premiere in February.

With the release of her first album in ten years, Lisa Stansfield talks to John Freeman about 13 albums that each occupies a little piece of her heart.

"I love David Bowie - but he's never made me cry." Sat in the bar at Manchester's Cornerhouse cinema, Lisa Stansfield is explaining why her very favourite music has to touch her heart, and not just her head. "He makes me think, but never makes me cry."

By this point, we've been chatting about Lisa's favourite albums for over an hour. It's been an hour punctuated by Stansfield's glorious guffaw (she can silence a bar with her laughter) and a number of faintly libelous stories about globally-famous musicians.

And while she's hugely fun company, 2014 is a seriously big year for Lisa Stansfield. Our Cornerhouse meet up is convenient – later that evening is a screening of Northern Soul, a new film celebrating the rise of soul music in nightclubs like Wigan Casino and Manchester's Twisted Wheel in the 1970s. Stansfield plays the mother of one of the lead characters and is not looking forward to seeing herself on screen ("I look like shit.") It also means the bar is rammed with a mix of Mancunian glitterati (Mani and Ian Brown are in attendance) and very old school northern soul aficionados. There are many 'Keep The Faith' fist tattoos on display.

But, perhaps more significantly, February saw the release of Lisa's first album in a decade, Seven. Written and produced by Stansfield and her husband (and long time songwriting partner) Ian Devaney, Seven is ten songs of sophisticated soul and a perfect pedestal for Lisa's rich vocal.

However, while Lisa asks me what I think of Seven - and it is genuinely wonderful to hear her voice again – I need her to crack on with explaining her album selections. Before we begin, Lisa informs me that she in not a "mega music geek" and I shouldn't expect her to know "every last detail about an album's production credits," which is more than fine with me. We then canter through a list that contains some pretty formidable characters – Amy Winehouse, Lauryn Hill, Grace Jones, George Clinton, Prince and Tracy Chapman all feature.

After we've discussed Lisa's list, I ask her what connects her choices. For perhaps the only time, her voice drops and she goes all serious on me. "It's about heart and soul. I love the fact that a piece of music can impact so many people and make them feel differently and maybe even help them. I love that people can find solace in music because they can identify with it. Someone can have a shitty day and come home and listen to a song and know that someone else is singing about the way they feel. I feel that's what music is for." 

Check out below what these 13 albums mean to Lisa

Funkadelic - One Nation Under A Groove
I just think that Funkadelic were so fucking out there. When you watch some of the concerts that they did and they'd have a huge spaceship on-stage with steam pouring out of it – it was hilarious, absolutely hilarious. Musically, they were really ahead of their time. One Nation Under A Groove was 30-odd years ago and I picked it as I really fell in love with the title track. It's been used and sampled by a lot of people. All the choices I have made are albums that I think have influenced a lot of music.

I think George Clinton and Bootsy Collins were so inspirational and shaped future paths of music. It's not necessarily obvious how it happened but their vibe seeped in and you realise when you listen to music that was made afterwards that it contains elements of Funkadelic. For me, I would then mix all of this influence in my head and that became 'my' music.

I heard a rumour once, which I'm sure is an urban myth, that George Clinton had a massive, passionate love affair with Doris Day. Picture it in your mind – Doris singing 'Que Sera Sera' and George with his massive dreadlocks. She had loads of dogs and I can just imagine him walking them, naked in nothing but a pair of wellies. [Laughs].

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The Family - The Family
I love Prince but have chosen something by one of his protégé bands, The Family. I think this a really amazing album. I love that Prince gave himself different names for the writing credits. I chose this, as opposed to a Prince album, because at the time it was an album that made me feel as though I'd tapped into something really, really secret and special. You know when you are younger and you like the fact that no one else will know about an album? I felt like that about The Family – no one else knew about it, but I did.

Actually, I had that album too. We are probably the only two people in the North West of England to own that record. I remember that era as being a particularly prodigious time for Prince in terms of song output.

Yes. I imagine he has still got thousands of songs that he has never released. For him, writing a song must be like letting out a fart – 'pfft' there's another song. I've met him twice and he was really lovely. I met him first when we were in Rio doing the 'Rock In Rio' festival and the last time I met him was in Manchester Airport.

I'm picturing you both queuing up to pay in Duty Free.

It was in a lounge, we weren't queuing up in Duty Free to buy our 200 Benson and Hedges! He's a nice guy – once you start talking to him he seems pretty down-to-earth.

Obviously, The Family album contains 'Nothing Compares 2 U', but there are so many songs on that album that have their own unique personalities. I think it's a really cheeky album and Prince adopting a different persona was such a clever thing to do at that time – before anyone else. Since then, people like Beyoncé have done it with her Sasha Fierce character. Prince, as with so much at that time, was a leader in that concept.

Which version of 'Nothing Compares 2 U' do you prefer?

I prefer The Family's version. I love Sinead's version but the original version is incredible. Sadly, I don't know where my copy of the album is anymore.

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Adele - 21
I think that this album, to me, is a true work of art. It was the pivotal album that made me really think I could come back again as her record is a very similar thing to what I do and what I am good at – telling a story and letting out emotion. Whereas before the success of 21, I would never even have ventured into making a new album as I just thought no one would listen to what I've got to say. I knew when I listened to Adele that there was a chance for me and I could put my foot in the water again.

It's strange the way a career can develop. If everything is lined up then it all works out. I should be about talent, but sometimes it is about who else it out there, what's happening in the industry or something that might be going on in fashion or films, which can all tie into whether an artist is successful or not.

On this particular album, the songwriting is so strong. Of course it does depend on who is singing the song, but you need a good song to start with. People will still be moved by a good song whoever it is sung by, but what you have with Adele is great songwriting and a great singer.

Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere
I really loved Gnarls Barkley and I used to play it all the time in the year it came out – constantly. You know that thing where you play something so much that it gets on everyone's tits? I did that with St. Elsewhere. I loved their version of [Violent Femmes'] 'Gone Daddy Gone'. The album is so humorous and there is a very tongue-in-cheek element to it. It's taking the piss out of itself.

I loved that these two very different people – Cee Lo Green and Dangermouse – got together. They were basically producers and must have thought 'fuck it – let's make an album.' I love it when people do that – it's a bit like how Barry White started. Initially, he never wanted to be in the forefront. It's like eventually these producer-types cannot contain themselves any longer and I love that. Gnarls Barkley were a bit like that as they were just producers. I shouldn't say 'just' - producers are great. I'm married to someone who does a lot of producing.

Diana Ross - Diana
I grew up on Diana Ross and I loved Chic when I was a kid. Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards wrote the songs for the Diana album and I think it is incredible. It's very corny in places and quite schmaltzy, but it's got a certain magic to it. I also think the cover is gorgeous – she looks incredible, with her wet hair, t-shirt and little nipples pointing out. I know she redid the album after Nile and Bernard had written it and a number of the tracks were speeded up.

Did someone like Diana Ross influence your own vocal style?

Diana Ross was effectively my singing teacher. My mum would play her records all the time and that's what I sang along to – so that's basically the only singing teacher I've ever had. I've never been to singing lessons, but the only vocal education I've had have been through listening to people like Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye and I tried to emulate what they did. After a while, after listening to so many different people, I began to develop my own vocal style.

Sadly, Diana gave me a really dirty look once which was really upsetting. She was in the first row at the Grammys and I was about to present an award or sing a song, I can't remember exactly which. I had to walk in front of her seat and I looked at her – and I must have looked like a fucking idiot – and she just looked me up and down and I though 'oh well, you can't win them all - I've spent my whole life loving you and you've just dissed me.'

The Tubes - Outside Inside 
I thought I was an 80s child but I've not heard anything by The Tubes.
You've never heard of them? They're fucking brilliant. The best song on this album is called 'Wild Women Of Wongo'. My friend Jerry Hey, who played on my new album and also did Thriller and Off The Wall, played on Outside Inside and his brass on 'Wild Women Of Wongo' is just amazing. I always think it sounds like an elephant – when the trumpet goes [mimics an elephant's trunk] 'waaaahhhhooo!' You really need to listen to that song – it will blow your head off.

They were a really mad band – completely out there. I love that – when people are allowed to have the freedom they deserve. Sometimes, if you become too popular you can become restricted in a way. People can become very disappointed if you go in an opposite direction. I think that maybe the 'job' part of being a musician in that you have to comply in certain ways. So, I love The Tubes because they never seemed to comply with anything at all.

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Rufus and Chaka Khan - Stompin' At The Savoy – Live
I just think Chaka Khan is an incredible singer. When I first heard her voice I was probably about 13. My sister had bought one of her singles – I think it was 'I'm Every Woman' – and I stole it from her. When my sister went out I used to play it all the time. Don't worry – she now knows I nicked it off her but she would have probably killed me back then.

I love the dynamism on this album. I've listened to it for years and years and I could sing you every track on it [starts singing 'Tell Me Something Good'] and it makes me feel happy.

I did meet Chaka Khan and she was so nice. She's really as you would imagine her to be – she has the biggest smile ever. She's like a big world of happiness. She is a bit like me in the sense that when we laugh, we really laugh. She's full of this positive energy and really sweet.

Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill
You know when an album comes along and it is a revelation? When I first heard this record I thought 'fucking hell, how can so much amazing shit come out of one person's head?' I really loved the musical styles she employed. I think one of the best lines on that album is [sings] "Like Cain and Abel, Caesar and Brutus, Jesus and Judas, Backstabbers do this / Forgive them father for they know not what they do" [from the track 'Forgive Them Father'], as it so bang on the money.

Amy Winehouse - Back To Black
I didn't know whether to put this in or not. In some ways, this is my favourite album ever. It's certainly was the one that I have played the most but I still cannot play it now without crying. It's still very raw. I just think her death was such a waste of a lovely, lovely person. She was such a huge talent. I never met her but Snowboy, who I've worked with for years and years, worked in her band for a while. He said she was the most gorgeous, gorgeous person. We all have our demons don't we? Obviously, they got the better of her.

The album revealed this hugely talented human being. She was this tiny little creature and all this stuff came out of her. I suppose she couldn't contain it and it breaks my heart. I wish I had met her.

I think this album epitomises the connection between the choices I have made – they have complete soul and emotion. When I listen to music, the music has to touch me in my heart and not necessarily my head. It has to move me and Amy moved me more than anyone else.

Tweet - Southern Hummingbird
There is one song on this album that is a huge favourite of mine. It's called 'Smoking Cigarettes' – in which she has split up with her boyfriend and she's really sad, so she just thinks "oh, fuck it – I'm going to start smoking again." So, she just smokes and cries and thinks about her boyfriend all the time. I just love the notion of the song as it is really cheeky and a lot of people will be able to relate to it.

I actually gave up smoking three years and I've not had a single cigarette since. I'm really proud of myself. And, honestly, my voice has changed – I have back the voice that I had when I was 25. I won't tell you how old I am but let's just say I'm very happy with my voice now.

I loved 'Smoking Cigarettes' when I first heard it. I tend to listen to an overall song first before really closely listening to the lyrics. Also, Tweet has a brilliant voice and that's what drew me in. A lot of this album is about various injustices caused my men, so it sounds very similar to someone else's music [laughs].

Grace Jones - Island Life
What's not to love about Grace Jones? She's so hilarious, isn't she? She's so, er, Grace Jones. She's so fiercely independent and nothing else sounds like Grace. My favourite track on this album is 'My Jamaican Guy'.

The cover is amazing – you can almost balance a wine glass on her arse. It's not anatomically possible to strike that pose, but the photographic montage is beautiful. I think it was shot by Jean-Paul Goude.

I remember once when [husband] Ian [Devaney] and I went to the World Music Awards in Monaco. It's held in this big sports club. I'm sat on one side of the table, facing Ian on other side. Prince Albert of Monaco is sat next to me and Kylie Minogue is sat on the other side of him. So, the Prince seems happy. Ian had said he was giving up drinking, so he's not touched a drop. We look at the table place settings for him and he's got Nana Mouskouri on one side and Charles Aznavour on the other. Ian just looked at the waiter and said, 'excuse me mate, have you got any red wine?' But, this story is relevant, bear with me. Later that night, Ian ended up drunkenly teaching the Status Quo 'shoulder dance' to Grace Jones. That was an absolutely fucking brilliant sight.

Tracy Chapman - Tracy Chapman
Well, there is a story to this. I have asked permission from my husband and I shall tell the tale. I used to be married to an Italian man and Ian was living with a girl in Rochdale. Ian and I let our guard down as friends and ended up having an affair with each other. We would ride around in Ian's Ford Cortina just going to little guesthouses and hotels everywhere. We couldn't go home – I'd fly back from Italy and we'd just get in the car and drive.

So, the Tracy Chapman album was what we would listen to all the time, when we first got together as a couple, driving around in a Cortina. It wasn't exactly a 'Fast Car' but it was fast enough for me. And it was worth having an affair because our relationship has now been going for 26 years. So, I'm thinking it outweighs the first marriage.

At the time, I remember thinking that the album was new and fresh and, I know she'd probably hate me for saying this, but there were smatterings of Joan Armatrading, who I love. Joan must have been a huge influence on Tracy. It's just a beautiful and sweet album; the songs are really heartfelt and that came across so well.

Plan B - The Defamation Of Strickland Banks
Plan B has an incredible singing voice. I think this album is really clever in the way that he's telling a coherent story throughout – the Strickland Banks character is really believable.

I know that Plan B had a tough upbringing and sometimes it takes people like that to be able to write stuff like this album. Certain artists become that way because they have so much shit going on in their head that they struggle to let it out – and they have to let it out. Being creative is similar to why people get addicted to drugs or alcohol. If you don't let it out it can be like being imprisoned in your own thoughts and your head feels like it is going to explode. I know how it feels – if all these creative thoughts are going on in your head, spinning round all of the time.

He was also incredibly brave to make this album after making a rap album for his debut. You have to admire someone doing that – to have the courage of their own convictions, to think 'fuck it, this is what I want to do and I am going to do it.' I think that when you make music – or anything that's creative – you shouldn't make it for anyone other than yourself first and only then think about other people. The only reason why you want to do music in the first place is because you really, really love it. There is no point in doing it if you think it is shit – you may as well get a job in Sainsbury's. So, I applaud Plan B – although I get the impression he doesn't give a shit what people would think anyway and good on him.

Note: This article has been re-published with the kind permission of  John Freeman and "The Quietus"  link "HERE"