In 1989, Lisa Stansfield crashed into the British scene with her debut single "All Around the World." With a voice that oozes soul so effortlessly, her single was an instant smash in the UK. Some naysayers complained that "All Around the World" liberally borrowed the mid-tempo groove from Soul II Soul's "Keep On Movin'," but the voice was unmistakably Stanfield's. That single was released the following year in the United States, and Lisa became a new international voice for blue-eyed soul. It seemed, for a moment, that she would have a bright future ahead of her in the US, but while she continued to score a decent amount of hits overseas, each album she released on these shores sold less than the one before it. But "Biography," her well-deserved singles collection, lets us Americans know what we've been missing since her debut album "Affection." In addition to her signature hit "All Around the World," there are other noteworthy cuts like her respectable cover of Barry White's "Never Never Gonna Give You Up," the disco-flavored "This Is the Right Time," the low-key "Change," and my personal favorite, the killer ballad "All Woman." What sets Stansfield apart is that she takes a more classic approach to her material and avoids blatant trends. That makes her one of the most-respected and underrated singers to be exported from across the Atlantic. The 17 tracks on this collection certainly make this "Biography" complete.

Lisa Stansfield has one of the greatest voices in music, yet with the exception of her debut CD, her musical efforts have not received the commercial acclaim that they warranted on this side of the Atlantic. Thank God for her native UK, as the fans have supported her and allowed her to have a career on her terms. This woman can do it all with a classic R &B voice that is both explosive yet ever so subtle depending on her intent. She can handle disco and heartbreak in the same breath. And for those of you who have heard the soundtrack for "Swing," you already know that Lisa can tackle the classics like few in music can.

This release more than lives up to its title, something rarely accomplished these days. This collection highlights Lisa's greatest hits in a non-chronological order that in my opinion generally better serves greatest hits collections. Released in 2003, the collection includes her very best from 1989's "Affliction" through her 2001 release "Face Up," along with a live song with G. Michael and the living members of Queen. Although I am generally not a fan of live songs, this one hits the mark.

Hearing this collection I am reminded not only how great a singer Lisa is, but how her sound has evolved through the years. In many ways, she seems to be from another era as her best songs are always sleek yet have much grit. It would seem to be a contradictory statement but Lisa's sound stands out because of these apparent contradictions. She is at once a chanteuse in the vein of a much earlier era who also happens to be right at home with the likes of Barry White and other 1970s legends.

If you love female singers and have never been exposed to Lisa Stansfield, you should give this collection a shot. If you are already a fan but only remember her from the curly-cued girl who sand "All Around the World," you will certainly like what she has been up to since she first hit the scene. In 1997, Lisa released a self-titled CD after a 6-year absence from the music scene that made some noise here in the States, but that release (which also earns 5 stars in my book) should have been a smash. It did well enough for her record company to put out a remixes CD that did quite well. A UK edition of this release has a bonus CD with some of the better remixes of her songs, so if you are interested in those be sure to look for that release as you won't find any of those here.

P.S. for hard-core Lisa fans: I just found out via the Amazon UK site that in late September of this year Lisa will be releasing a new CD titled "The Moment." It appears that she is no longer with Arista as the site says it will be released Ztt, which may be a German label. I am not sure if it will get a US release, but I am so happy that I happened to run into this while researching some dates for this review. I hope this helps.

I'm glad that Lisa has now a greatest hits album. This English fabulous singer who has sold up to 13 million copies worldwide gives us this great gift adding songs like: "All around the world" a 1989 hit that reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified Gold and its album Multi-Platinum thanks to only one song. Other hit singles from Lisa are: "Never gonna give you up" (cover from Barry White which was an instant hit in Europe, the US and Asia), "The real thing" (a 1997 hit which reached #1 on the Club Dance Songs from Billboard), "Someday I'm coming back" (from the multi-million selling soundtrack "The bodyguard"), "People hold on" (another #1 hit all through Europe), "Let's just call it love" (from her latest studio album "Face up").
Lisa is a singer who goes through pop, rock, ballads and disco music. She says that Barry White is a big influence in her career.
"Biography" includes a bonus cd which features remixes and extra tracks such as: "The line" (from her 1997 hit album "Lisa Stansfield"), "8-3-1" and "Never gonna fall".

This is, by far, one of the best Compilation CDs I've heard in a long time. Lisa Stansfield has amazed me with her talent, ever since the release of "Affection" back in '90. I went shopping recently in the music store and came across "Biography" as a surprise. Having been unaware of its release, I decided to "put it in the bank" with my other upcoming purchases. 2 days later, I bought it on amazon and I don't regret it one bit. My copy is a promo, but it's got the same booklet and images as the publicly released edition.

I really like the photos of Lisa, although most of them are small thumbnails, except for 2 larger ones. Her face is beautiful and she's changed quite a bit in the past 15 years. My, has it really been that long? There are some nice little tidbits about Lisa's songs, inside the booklet. What you won't find are the lyrics, though. The interior of the booklet is white and well-designed. Simple and straight-forward and not distracting to the eye. Additionally, the disc itself is white. The recording appears to have been remastered, which makes listening all the better. Arista is a great Label. Most of the tracks are new to me...as I've only bought the "Affection" CD since discovering Lisa Stansfield. Considering "Someday (I'm coming back)" was on the "The Bodyguard" soundtrack...it's nice to find it here. It's the logical thing to do when your song is among a bunch of other material on another CD.

Tracklist:
01> Change
02> Someday (I'm Coming Back)
03> This Is The Right Time
04> The Real Thing
05> People Hold On
06> In All The Right Places
07> So Natural
08> Time To Make You Mine
09> Live Together
10> You Can't Deny It
11> Never Gonna Fall
12> Let's Just Call It Love
13> Never, Never Gonna Give You Up
14> These Are The Days Of Our Lives
15> Down In The Depths
16> All Woman
17> All Around The World

Additional Info:
- Mastered by: Vlado Meller at Sony Music Studios, New York
- Management: Jacque Darbyshire
- www.lisa-stansfield.co.uk
- www.lisa-stansfield.com
- Compilation: 2002 BMG UK & Ireland Ltd.
- Design: Joanne Morris
- Photography: Simon Emmett

Buy this CD and you'll agree, it's definitely worth the money. Lisa Stansfield is right up there in the "Must Have" of pop music with Annie Lennox & all the other genius Brits.

Lisa Stansfield career cannot be sum in just one cd, this woman holds such talent that hurts. Her 1997 self titled release was and is one of the most classy and soulful ever to be release. So I'm sad that this collection not feature all the singles released from that album, specially "I'm Leavin'". Although for a casual fan and a pop collector this Biography will do good and it is a place to listen to her most mainstream hits and some fans favorites. Five Stars to Stansfield's voice and contribution to music industry.