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Rockferry | 
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| Artist: Duffy
Label: Mercury
Category: Music
List Price: $13.98
Buy New: $8.54
You Save: $5.44 (39%)
New (48) Used (12) from $8.54
Rating:  130 reviews
Sales Rank: 9
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.5 x 4.9 x 0.5
MPN: 001082202
UPC: 602517629769
EAN: 0602517629769
ASIN: B0014I4KIK
Release Date: May 13, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: Still factory-sealed, case has lots of cracks/damage; CD guaranteed
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| Tracks:
| • | Rockferry | | • | Warwick Avenue | | • | Serious | | • | Stepping Stone | | • | Syrup & Honey | | • | Hanging On Too Long | | • | Mercy | | • | Delayed Devotion | | • | Scared | | • | Distant Dreamer |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk
Rockferry, the Welsh singer's lovingly constructed debut album, has already succeeded beyond expectations, and although Duffy may not quite be the ingenue portrayed by a clever press campaign (she nearly won a local television talent show a few years back while a single credited to Aimee Duffy is still available on iTunes) she is surely the most appealing of the current flood of young soul sirens. The astonishing title track, co-written by Bernard Butler, sounded like a lost transmission that had taken decades to get through as soon as it hit radio last year. But the gently rolling soul ballad "Stepping Stone", that strapping, inescapable monster hit "Mercy", the ice cool "Serious" (the one time she really does channel the spirit of Dusty Springfield) and the wistful, elegant "Warwick Avenue" are similarly effective. Suggestions by some that Rockferry is little more than sixties pastiche are churlish. Butler's previous work with David McAlmont (featured here as a backing singer) showed his skill at writing and arranging the dramatic, while her other collaborators such as Steve Booker and the team of Jimmy Hogarth and Eg White are hardly lightweights. But despite some wonderful orchestral settings, it's Duffy's terrific voice that makes this so satisfying, even overpowering Butler's exquisitely underplayed guitar work on "Rockferry" itself. Growling the blues on "Syrup & Honey" or belting it out over his lovingly arranged wall of sound on "Distant Dreamer", she sets the tone throughout, several of her songs dealing with escape, both physical and romantic. The sound of someone singing herself to stardom, Rockferry is at times genuinely amazing. --Steve Jelbert
Amazon.com
The most hotly anticipated album release of this New Year comes not from someone rammed into the collective consciousness by their media ubiquity. Duffy is an unknown quantity at this point, having performed but a small number of gigs, mostly in support of The Magic Numbers, and having only just begun to be seen on TV, most notably with recent appearances on Jools Holland's Later and New Year Hootenanny.
Yet her soulful voice has already beguiled many of the nation's musical tastemakers and news of its beauty and of the strength of her songs is spreading by word of mouth even as you read these words. Radio One's Jo Whiley chose Duffy's title track and album taster `Rockferry' as her Single of the Week in late November, further adding to the momentum. Now, as the comparisons fly (Dusty Springfield has emerged as the favourite), it's time to discover her for yourself.
Duffy was born and spent her childhood years in the north Wales coastal community of Nefyn, a place too remote to be driven by style wars or opposing music factions (the nearest record counter was a bus ride away and only stocked the Top 40). The upbringing she describes is one in which everyone had to rub along together, making do and mending, accepting each other and their tastes without prejudice.
Having no CD collection of her own, her first real musical memory is of walking into the kitchen unannounced to find her mother and stepfather dancing to Rod Stewart. The first steps she took towards defining her own personal identity came when she borrowed one of her dad's VHS tapes of the `60s TV show `Ready, Steady, Go!'. "It had The Beatles, the Stones, the Walker Brothers, Sandie Shaw and Millie singing `My Boy Lollipop'. So sexy and exciting! I played it again and again until finally it disintegrated." Says former Suede guitarist and record producer Bernard Butler of this artlessness, "Duffy managed to grow up without any concept of what was cool or current, what she should or shouldn't like, how to behave or even how to sing. For her, coming to London at all was the stuff of fairytales."
"And to come here to write songs with some random bloke who'd been recommended to her, me? It meant taking two buses and then two trains and took all day. Then she'd do the same in reverse to get home, playing the music she'd just made to old ladies she encountered on the journey. It's hard for cynical music industry types to get their heads around just how far removed she was from our world, geographically and in every other way. But what you've got as a result is someone who acts and sings completely and unselfconsciously from the heart. That's a rare and magical thing."
Butler was introduced to Duffy by Rough Trade's Jeannette Lee who,in August 2004 and after hearing demos recorded in this or that mate's home, became the singer's mentor and manager. For Duffy, to have not just a friend but also point of both safety and reference in the strange new world she found herself in was crucial to her own musical development and sense of self.
"People keep saying to me, `You've made a great record' but I can't take that in because I didn't do it on my own. Jeannette and I made `Rockferry' together and she's been with me every step of the way, broadening my horizons, introducing me to people I can trust." Butler was just one of them: having written the glorious, chorus-free, utterly hypnotic `Rockferry' together at the beginning of the project, they then worked on a further three of the ten tracks on what is already being talked about as 2008's most important debut release. Jimmy Hogarth & Steve Booker are the other collaborators on this classic-in-waiting.
What can you expect to hear? The title track and album opener, as atmospheric, slow-building and idiosyncratic song as you could hope for, leads into a collection of original material that some might call retro in feel (those Dusty flavours, that girl group vibe) but which Duffy herself prefers to identify as classic. You'll find arrangements as sparsely effective as those against which Dionne Warwick told her Bacharach & David-wrought tales of heartbreak in the early 1960s. You'll find lush choruses and swooning hooks (as perfected by the late Miss Springfield and various distinguished others). But this is far from pastiche.
What you'll find instead is irrefutable evidence of a significant new talent, and one that has developed in splendid isolation, not in reaction to market forces or the input of focus groups and industry experts. Duffy is the real, unspoiled original deal. "People keep asking me where my voice comes from and the fact is I don't know," says the brightest new star of 2008. "Why are your eyes the colour they are? It's no answer at all but it's the only one I have." Duffy Photos
Album Description
2008 debut album from the Welsh singer/songwriter (not to be confused with Stephen Duffy, who released albums in the '90s under the name Duffy). Welsh songbird, Duffy, came to the attention of Rough Trade Management in 2004. Rough Trade pointed Duffy in the direction of guitarist/producer Bernard Butler (Suede/The Tears/McAlmont & Butler). Duffy spent the next couple years honing and developing her songwriting skills all the while discovering hidden musical gems that inspired her. The fruits of her intense labor is this magnificent album, a masterclass in mature, resonant Pop, 10 tracks including the first single `Mercy'. Polydor Records.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 45 more reviews...
 Girlfriend can SING! May 20, 2008
Melissa Niksic (Chicago, IL United States)
48 out of 79 found this review helpful
I'm sure a lot of people are going out and buying Duffy's debut album, "Rockferry," after hearing the single "Mercy." I am one of those people, and when I listened to the CD in its entirety, I was blown away because "Mercy" is probably the weakest song on the whole album, which says a lot because "Mercy" is such an amazing song. However, the rest of the album is even better! Duffy's voice is out of this world. It's soulful, powerful, and absolutely beautiful. People who compare her to the likes of Nina Simone and Dusty Springfield are not exaggerating, but Duffy is really in a league of her own, as she brings a youthful panache to every song.
As for the album itself, I don't even know where to begin. All the songs are incredible. If I have to pick a favorite, it's probably the title track, "Rockferry," which is amazing. My jaw literally dropped when I listened to it for the first time. Other highlights include the wistful "Warwick Avenue," the soulful ballad "Stepping Stone," the blues infused "Syrup & Honey," and the inspiring "Distant Dreamer."
My one complaint about this CD is that it's too short...there are only 10 songs, but they are OUTSTANDING songs. Duffy has an amazing career ahead of her, and if you only buy one CD this year, make it "Rockferry."
Rockferry May 20, 2008
Morton (Colorado)
27 out of 52 found this review helpful
Duffy-Rockferry ****1/2
Listen, good tunes is good tunes. Those naysayers who are calling this just a trendy, marketed album that wouldn't sell if it weren't for the advertising, well I must argue that untrue as I have never seen, nor heard an add for the album. I heard the voice on the radio and bought the album. So there ya go. She is apparently Welsh which must be where the charm in her looks and vocals come from. The smokey feel of her voice and the martini lounge attitude of the instrumentation make Rockferry a very rewarding debut album. On that note, this sounds very advanced for a debut.
Songs like the sultry lead single (destined to be a massive hit) 'Mercy' and the defiant 'Stepping Stone' so a heavier more intense side to Duffy, while others like the elegant 'Warwick Avenue' and the Dusty Springfield-ish 'Serious' show a more refined, but none the less soulful side of her.
While I do see that yes, there could be improvement but, not much, and for a debut, this is a damn good one. Duffy is destined to be a big star and rightfully so. The girls got soul!
Duffy's Debut A Winner June 18, 2008
Terence Allen (Atlanta, GA USA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Duffy's debut CD Rockferry continues the British retro-soul movement found in the music of Joss Stone and Amy Winehouse, and she carves her own niche with soulful, expressive vocals, wonderful musical arrangements that harken back to 60's Motown, and lyrics and themes that were around in the 60s and are timeless.
Songs like the smash hit "Mercy," " Warwick Avenue," "Stepping Stone," "Distant Dreamer," and the rest prove that Duffy is no flash in the pan or merely a sales gimmick. There is style and substance here, and we should be able to look for more great music from this young Welsh lass.
Duffy - Debut of an Amazing Talent and Future Superstar May 14, 2008
PatrickO (New York, NY United States)
14 out of 32 found this review helpful
A friend described "Rockferry" as the greatest debut album released since the first Pretenders album. Reviewers liken her to 1960's British icon Dusty Springfield, while others term her a new "Amy Winehouse." Duffy apparently was a runner-up on the Welsh version of American Idol in 2003 or so. If she was the runner-up, then who the heck won?
She's an original and charming performer with a voice that will blast you out of your seat. All 10 songs on this debut that Duffy also co-wrote with Suede's Bernard Butler are potential breakout hits. Duffy delivers "Warwick Avenue," "Mercy," "Rockferry" and most of the other songs and B-sides linked to the album with total sincerity.
Along with friends, I attended her May 12, 2008 concert at NYC's Apollo Theater, an appropriate venue for a blue-eyed queen of soul (hence the Dusty comparisons). The set was short, only about 70 minutes or so. But Duffy and her wonderful band rocked the house, leaving the audience in awe of her vocal pyrotechnics. If you get the chance, do not hesitate to see her live.
We liked her so much that I stood in line the next day to hear her at an in-store appearance where she did a great acoustic three-song set. I haven't stood in line to meet an artist before. But it was a pleasure to have a chance to say hello and wish her well with this awesome CD. Buy a copy now when it's $6.99 on Amazon. Otherwise, the price is going to jack up as more hits emerge from this beautifully-produced set. Kudos to Rough Trade Records for putting her together with Butler and striking solid gold (do they have gold and platinum albums anymore?)
If you can, also seek out an Internet copy or check out YouTube to listen to another future #1 hit - "Breaking My Own Heart" (not a track on Rockferry).
Duffy is the real deal and deserves an amazing career. She's attractive enough to be a movie star with a voice that comes along once in a generation. She also seems like a genuinely nice person and someone who really appreciates what is sure to be a devoted fan base.
Simply Amazing June 21, 2008
Raw Mark (Planet Earth)
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
Ok, I have to admit I've been hearing the buzz about Duffy for a few months now. However, I had completely forgotten about her until her video for Mercy appeared on VH1 when I was getting dressed for work. Without hesitation, I ran to my pc, went to amazon.com and ordered this cd, along with Adele's cd, 19.
This cd is simply a great album. It does have the retro, or classic feel to it. Duffy, or Aime' Duffy, has a rich, wonderful voice and it comes across loud and clear. She's the grown-up man's Brittany Spears. In fact, I have to agree with another reviewer that said take 7 ounces of Dusty Springfield, mix 7 ounces of Petula Clark, but I'm gonna add mix another 7 ounces of Lulu and 4 ounces of Sade, and you have, whoila, the original Duffy.
Now, let's talk about the album. It simply is an amazing album and the U.S. is sparing no expense with promoting her or Adele. Why, you ask? Well, Duffy, and Adele represent a clean-cut purity that Amy Winehouse seems to lack. Yes, we love Back to Black, but it's that whole drug thing that has Americans worried. Not so here. Duffy grew up in a normal home and managed to avoid drugs. She caught a bus, for gosh sake, two hours to and fro to write this album.
This album starts off with Rockferry, adds in Warwick Avenue, Mercy, Stepping Stone, Syrup and Honey, Dreamer and a few other great songs, and you have an instant classic. Yes, this album was a collaboration and I admire Aime' Duffy for acknowledging that very thing. She's a humble lady and is on a major rollercoaster ride.
Lastly, buy the dang album. This is one incredible cd that you won't be able to stop playing. It has been in my cd player since it arrived and all of her videos are bookmarked as favorites in my youtube account. I don't know what else to say. I'm not going to get technical on you. This is a great album. Duffy has got it all: looks, a great voice, and a great talent to fill out the package. Yes, she is very easy on the eyes guys. In fact, she's darn pleasant to look at, but even more fun to listen to. You can hear the passion she has for singing and creating a tune.
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