It's an oft repeated story. An attractive blonde teenager with a great voice is discovered singing on a talent show. She is handed a record deal and releases an album full of songs she hasn't had a hand in writing. We've heard this one so many times before. Yawn, yawn, and yawn.

You may, at first glance, think that Joss Stone is going to be like one of those acts. Perhaps the easiest comparison to be drawn would be with Billie Piper, as both are from the South West of England; Piper from Wiltshire, Stone from Devon, although she was born in my native county of Kent. But this is a mistake you won't make for long. Only as long as it takes for you to listen to her debut CD, "The Soul Sessions".

The next track is the one that I first heard and which still remains my favourite, Stone's version of Willie Garner's "Super Duper Love (Are You Diggin' On Me) (part 1)". It's a delightfully funky little tune with a soulful edge to the vocal and a groove that gets your feet tapping.

The piano intro to "Victim of a Foolish Heart" always reminds me of Labi Siffre's "Lean On Me", although this was originally a Bettye Swann song. It's another down tempo ballad with slight soul leanings, with again only the music really separating this from any other pop ballad. There are parts where it sounds a lot like and old Whitney Houston track, particularly towards the end.

The Drifters' "Some Kind of Wonderful" has been covered so many times that it's almost a traditional song. Stone's version doesn't really add anything new to the song and it's pretty much just a mid-tempo pop song with a slightly more soulful sound than the usual. This would have fit very nicely into "The Commitments", but doesn't leave Stone sounding any different to some of the more R 'n' B type material that Mariah Carey has been doing of late.

"I Had a Dream" is not, as I feared, a cover of an Abba song, but one by J B Sebastian. Whether this is a good thing or not is debateable, I suppose. It's another ballad number, again with a soul based backing, but pretty indistinguishable from a standard pop ballad otherwise.

The final track is a version of the Isley Brothers' "For the Love of You (parts 1 & 2)". Sadly, it ends the album on a bit of a down note, as this is probably the weakest track here. It's another largely pop ballad which at seven and a half minutes, goes on for way too long, especially as Stone sounds a lot like Mariah Carey for the most part. Rather than drifting peacefully past you, this one outstays its welcome.

However, this doesn't mean that there isn't much to be praised on the album. It's interesting to hear soul songs with a pop edge, as opposed to the modern day R 'n' B that seems to be everywhere these days. It does given the music a slightly different leaning to most of the standard pop music that is around at the moment and it certainly sets Joss Stone slightly apart from the other blonde pop princesses, although not so far that pop music fans won't be able to enjoy it.

I would have liked to have heard a few more up-tempo songs included as the album is virtually a collection of ballads. I'd also have liked Stone to have got a shot at singing her own songs to see if she puts more of herself into them, as there didn't seem to be a great deal of heart going into many of the tracks here.