"Joy" is a song by British R&B band

Soul II Soul Soul II Soul are a British musical collective formed in London in 1988. They are best known for their two major hits; 1989's UK number five and US number eleven " Keep On Movin'", and its follow-up, the UK number one and US number four " Back to ...

, released on 23 March 1992 as the first single from their third album, ''Volume III Just Right'' (1992). It features Jamaican singer and producer

Richie Stephens Richard Stephenson (born 5 December 1966), better known as Richie Stephens is a Jamaican R&B, dancehall and reggae singer and producer. Biography Born in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, Jamaica,

and was a hit in Europe, peaking within the top 10 in Greece and the UK. It also became a top-20 hit in Ireland, Italy and the Netherlands. Outside Europe, it reached number four in Zimbabwe, number 18 in New Zealand, and number 41 in Australia. A

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was also produced to promote the single.

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' described the song as a "slinky

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

/ R&B jam that is enlivened by jazz-spiced flutes and plush string fills. Though far from the act's best material, track is head-and-shoulders above typical urban and pop radio fodder." He added that remixes by

Brand New Heavies The Brand New Heavies is an acid jazz and funk group formed in 1985 in Ealing in west London. Centered around songwriters/multi-instrumentalists Simon Bartholomew and Andrew Levy, the core members of the group since its founding, Brand New H ...

"kick hard and should inspire club play". Andy Kastanas from ''

The Charlotte Observer ''The Charlotte Observer'' is an American English-language newspaper serving Charlotte, North Carolina, and its metro area. The Observer was founded in 1886. As of 2020, it has the second-largest circulation of any newspaper in the Carolinas. I ...

'' deemed it "a much more mainstream sound than ever before, this new track typifies their usual sound." Marisa Fox from ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' noted that "Jamaica's

breathes some steam" into the dance-hall-style "Joy". James Hamilton from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

s ''RM'' Dance Update called it a "lurching jiggly" track, "throatily wailed by Richie Stephens through gospel-style girls hypnotically chorusing "joy, it's a new sensation, new vibration rockin' the nation"". Cary Darling from ''

Orange County Register ''The Orange County Register'' is a paid daily newspaper published in California. The ''Register'', published in Orange County, California, is owned by the private equity firm Alden Global Capital via its Digital Fiest/Media News subsidiaries. ...

'' said that sung by Stephens and backed by a gospel choir, the song "recaptures the motion and emotion" of " Keep on Movin'". Orla Swift from ''

Record-Journal The ''Record-Journal'' is an American daily newspaper based in Meriden, Connecticut, that dates back to the years immediately following the American Civil War. It is owned by the Record-Journal Publishing Company, a family-owned business enti ...

'' viewed it as "soulful". Sylvia Patterson from ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...

'' opined that it's the "jolliest tune" of the album.Patterson, Sylvia. ''

''.

Track listings

* 12-inch single, US (1992) # "Joy" (New Vibrations mix) – 6:43 # "Joy" (Spag 'N Joy dub) – 5:19 # "Joy" (radio mix) – 4:12 # "Joy" (12-inch club mix) – 5:49 # "Joy" (BNH mix) – 5:10 # "Joy" (GNL Peace version) – 5:19 * CD single, Europe (1992) # "Joy" (radio mix) – 4:13 # "Joy" (

remix) – 5:12 # "Joy" (album mix) – 4:32 # "Joy" (club mix) – 5:50 # "Joy" (instrumental dub mix) – 3:49

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control 1992 songs 1992 singles Soul II Soul songs Songs written by Jazzie B Virgin Records singles