How on Earth can you be expected to come out with a comparable follow up to American Boy? The first offering from the revamped Estelle, with guest vocals from Kanye West spent five weeks at number one. Well one way of trying was apparently to replace a decent producer (will.i.am of Black Eyed Peas fame) with a master in Wyclef Jean.
Throw in a George Michael sample, and not surprisingly it fails to live up to very high expectations. In fairness, No Substitute Love is a very good song, from the soulful vocal intro to the soft acoustic guitar strains of the classic Faith this is pleasant at worst. What is surprising is that Estelle's vocals are slightly tinny and the backing track sounds like it was recorded in a shed. Next to a train line.
The success of American Boy almost guarantees No Substitute Love airplay, which in turn almost guarantees that this will become every bit as infectious. That's what the pop industry demands, and that's exactly what Estelle is playing up to.
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