My Soul (Leela James album)

My Soul is the third studio album by American soul singer-songwriter Leela James. It was released by Stax Records on May 25, 2010, in the United States, marking James' debut with the label. Her highest-charting effort to date, the album debuted and peaked at number 7 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and at number 37 on the US Billboard 200 chart.^[1]

My Soul
Studio album by Leela James
Released	May 25, 2010 (2010-05-25)
Genre	R&B neo soul
Length	39:43
Label	Stax
Producer	Leela James (also exec.) Malik Albert Gerrard Baker Carvin & Ivan Kadis & Sean Ray Murray Chucky Thompson Steve "Supe" White
Leela James chronology
Let's Do It Again (2009) My Soul (2010) Loving You More... In the Spirit of Etta James (2012)

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
About.com	[2]
All About Jazz	favorable[3]
Allmusic	[4]
Billboard	favorable[5]
The Dallas Morning News	A[6]
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel	favorable[7]
PopMatters	5/10[8]

Allmusic editor Andy Kellman found that "My Soul is James' best yet in every way. It does not feature quite as many big-name collaborators or eye-popping elements as her debut, but the material is stronger, more balanced between vintage and contemporary sounds, and James sounds more comfortable in her voice. Just as important is that she is coming into her own as a songwriter; four of the songs were written entirely by her, and they are among the album’s most affecting moments."^[4]

Track listing

Credits adapted from the liner notes of My Soul.^[9]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"I Ain't New to This"	Leela James Billy Earl Kennedy Gus McKinney	Gerrard Baker	2:30
2.	"So Cold"	James	Kadis & Sean	3:43
3.	"The Fact Is"	James Billy Brown Al Goodman Sylvia Robinson	Steven "Supe" White	4:08
4.	"I Want It All"	James	Ray Murray Malik Albert	3:33
5.	"Party All Night"	James	Chucky Thompson	4:03
6.	"Mr. Incredible – Ms. Unforgettable" (featuring Raheem DeVaughn)	James DeVaughn	Thompson	3:18
7.	"Tell Me You Love Me"	James John D. Loudermilk Andrea Martin Gordon Williams	Baker	3:30
8.	"Let It Roll"	James	Thompson	2:44
9.	"Supa Luva"	Gerald Craig Glanville Shelby Johnson	Butter	4:52
10.	"If It's Wrong"	James Carvin "Ransum" Haggins	Carvin & Ivan	3:21
11.	"It's Over"	James Sammy Friedman William "Mickey" Stevenson	Carvin & Ivan	3:27

Sample credits^[9]

• "I Ain't New To This" contains a sample of "Solitary Love Affair", performed by Millie Jackson.
• "The Fact Is" contains a sample of "Lovely Way She Loves", performed by The Moments
• "Tell Me You Love Me" contains a sample from "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye", performed by The Manhattans.
• "It's Over" contains a sample of "Can't Be Alone", performed by Hodges, James & Smith.

Personnel

Anabel DeHaven – Make–Up, Stylist Kyonte Vincent – Engineer Al Manerson – Executive Producer Dwayne Moore – Bass Shelby Johnson – Composer, Vocals (Background) Milton Fletcher Jr. – Keyboards Michael Gassel – Package Design Sammy Friedman – Composer Gus McKinney – Composer Gerrard Baker – Producer Gerald Craig Glanville – Composer Carvin Haggins – Composer Carl "Chucky" Thompson – Producer Bud Wales – Sax (Tenor) Brenda Walkin – Sax (Tenor) Billy Earl Kennedy – Composer Barry Wilson – Sax (Baritone) Andrea Martin – Composer, Vocals (Background) Sylvia Robinson – Composer William "Mickey" Stevenson – Composer Gordon Williams – Composer, Engineer Paul Blakemore – Mastering Deborah Mannis–Gardner – Sample Clearance

Billy Brown – Composer Mary Hogan – A&R Eric "Ebo" Butler – Engineer Tiffany Wilson – Vocals (Background) Ray Murray – Producer, Engineer Malik Albert – Producer, Engineer Ivan "Orthodox" Barias – Producer, Engineer Carvin "Ransum" Haggins – Producer, Engineer Seth Presant – Mixing Raheem DeVaughn – Composer, Vocals (Background), Vocals Steve "Supe" White – Producer, Engineer Johnnie "Smurf" Smith – Keyboards Leela James – Arranger, Composer, Vocals (Background), Additional Production, Executive Producer, Vocals George "Spanky" McCurdy – Drums Devin DeHaven – Photography Ben Wendel – Sax (Tenor) Kadis – Producer, Engineer Larissa Collins – Art Direction Mark Bowers – Bass, Guitar Al Goodman – Composer Chris Dunn – Executive Producer John D. Loudermilk – Composer

Charts

Chart (2010)	Peak position
US Billboard 200[10]	37
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[11]	7

References

1. "Pollo Del Mar explains it all for you". Billboard.com. 2010-06-14. Archived from the original on June 19, 2009. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
2. Nero, Mark Edward (May 24, 2010). Leela James – My Soul Archived 2010-06-01 at the Wayback Machine. About.com. Retrieved on 2011-03-17.
3. Barteldes, Ernest (June 25, 2010). Leela James | My Soul. All About Jazz. Retrieved on 2011-03-17.
4. Kellman, Andy (June 2010). My Soul - Leela James: Review. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2011-03-17.
5. Mitchell (June 18, 2010). Leela James, "My Soul". Billboard. Retrieved on 2011-03-17.
6. Tarradell, Mario (May 24, 2010). CD review: Leela James is passionate, powerful on her 3rd CD. The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved on 2011-03-17.
7. Banks, Geraud (June 8, 2010). CD Reviews: AM Taxi, Leela James, Blame Sally, Raze, - JSOnline. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved on 2011-03-17.
8. Maine, David (July 8, 2010). Leela James: My Soul. PopMatters. Retrieved on 2011-03-17.
9. My Soul (Media notes). Leela James . Stax Records. 2010.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
10. "Leela James Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
11. "Leela James Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 1, 2017.

External links

• My Soul at Discogs