You would think that Duffy is one of those artists spawned from Amy Winehouse's transatlantic success, however Duffy, now 23, grew up in remote north Wales, listening to her mother,s modest record collection and building up a small following of fans when, at 19, she was discovered by ,60Ft Dolls, Richard Parfitt, who brought her to the attention of Jeanette Lee (once of PiL) at Rough Trade, she in turn hooked her up with Bernard Butler (Suede), Steve Booker and Jimmy Hogarth, who ,helped, write this album, so, in a every sense her debut album, Rockferry, has been more than three years in the making.
The result is a showcase for Duffy's white soul voice which has been likened to Dusty Springfield and Lulu, Mary J Blige and Aretha Franklin, they are all there. Though this album sounds like a throwback to the sixties, it has at the same time a modern feel to it.
The album begins with the title track ,Rockferry, a big ballad that tells a sad tale of moving on, onto another big ballad ,Warwick Avenue, which finds her ending an all but over romance, and then moves on to the damnation of a doomed relationship on ,Serious,, she then tells herself she will never be her man,s ,Stepping Stone, and a big bluesy weeper ,Syrup and Honey, which features probably the best vocals on the album, she gives herself a good telling off for ,Hanging On Too Long, and then the first single from the album, which at time of writing has been number one in the UK charts for 3 weeks ,Mercy, which apart from the cute rap at the beginning could have been a Mowtown hit in the sixties, on ,Delayed Devotion, she tells a cold lover to ,go to hell, on then on to ,Scared, and before you know it the album is finishing with the huge Phil Spector style number ,Distant Dreamer,, a soaring epic that finds Duffy contemplating "all the things I'd like to do with my life", even the length of this album is old fashioned!
With the current appetite for classic-sounding soul and old-school R&B established, and sold out shows this new Welsh talent looks set to clean up. Duffy has benefited from being allowed to develop gradually, behind closed doors. And ,Rockferry, is a musical journey that's both sad and stirring, her own story perhaps, Who knows?