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Joan Armatrading
Joan Armatrading's music has great personal significance for me. As a teenager in the 70s, I owned everything she'd ever released, and she was frequently on my turntable. Listening to her early albums like 'Whatever's For Us', 'Back to the Night', 'Joan Armatrading' or 'Show Some Emotion' today brings back a lot of strong feelings for me. Although I stopped following her in the early 80s, when she moved from folk/pop to the more conventional rock/pop sound of 'Me Myself I' and 'Walk Under Ladders', I still love her music and consider her to be one of the greatest songwriters of my lifetime.
Given the quality of Joan Armatrading's albums over the period 1972-1981, I feel she has never received anything like the level of popular acclaim that she deserves! I believe that her self-titled album 'Joan Armatrading' (1976) belongs in most people's collections. I'd warmly recommend it to anyone who appreciates well-written melodies, brilliant lyrics, first class musicianship and a beautiful female alto voice. There is not a single track on this lovely album which isn't of exceptional quality.
After an eight year break following a long period of little success, in 2003 she released 'Lovers Speak', a completely solo effort including all instruments and production, which received warm reviews from critics and longstanding fans. I wouldn't class it with her best works, but it is a strong, unpretentious album with some lovely songs, and very far from the typical 'comeback' album.
She is very rarely mentioned in this forum and on the few occasions she has been, hardly anyone has responded. I am curious to know whether most people under 30 have even heard of her. Any forum members who've followed Joan throughout her career? Any other responses or views?
Given the quality of Joan Armatrading's albums over the period 1972-1981, I feel she has never received anything like the level of popular acclaim that she deserves! I believe that her self-titled album 'Joan Armatrading' (1976) belongs in most people's collections. I'd warmly recommend it to anyone who appreciates well-written melodies, brilliant lyrics, first class musicianship and a beautiful female alto voice. There is not a single track on this lovely album which isn't of exceptional quality.
After an eight year break following a long period of little success, in 2003 she released 'Lovers Speak', a completely solo effort including all instruments and production, which received warm reviews from critics and longstanding fans. I wouldn't class it with her best works, but it is a strong, unpretentious album with some lovely songs, and very far from the typical 'comeback' album.
She is very rarely mentioned in this forum and on the few occasions she has been, hardly anyone has responded. I am curious to know whether most people under 30 have even heard of her. Any forum members who've followed Joan throughout her career? Any other responses or views?
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Obviously I havn't followed Joan throughout her career. I first heard her when her song 'Heaven' was on in the car once, and I loved it, asked my mum to borrow the album, and loved it since
Inspite of their immediacy her work is notoriously complex and difficult to play/cover, which is probably why her stuff hasn't been murdered so far by the likes of Elton John.
At last Ruby - some signs of good taste!
Tonbangeratty, believe me, the surprise is entirely mutual!
I am a very big fan of Tracy Chapman and I have all her albums on CD. Is Joan’s stuff broadly similar?
Maybe I will explore her stuff a bit. I love female singer songwriters such as Chapman, Joni Mitchell and Janis Ian.
I love Tracy Chapman as well!
I think that their voices are quite similar.
Look, I love all the artists you've mentioned too. You're obviously part of Joan Armatrading's natural fanbase. Please, do yourself a huge favour and listen to her self-titled album. You will enjoy it. I promise.
There are clips available from the link in my OP.
What I didn't realise until I saw a concert of hers on tv (several years ago now) was what a great guitar player she is.
When she played a cover of Van Morrison's Moondance she played the accoustic solo fast and spanned the whole of the neck whilst doing so. Sounded fantastic & looked really impressive too.
She deserves far greater credit than she gets as a singer, songwriter and musician.
Sadly I can't say that I noticed it myself when I saw her perform live in 1980, but that was just because I was totally rapt in her voice.
Ruby_ you are probably right that most of us of a certain age have a Joanie or two albums / CD's tucked away in our collection. I must dig one of hers out as I now can't get 'Drop the Pilot' out of my head: 'animal, mineral physical, spiritual....
It's perfect.
Enough said
You've obviously not heard 'You're Beautiful' yet!
But even if it is as good as what i have read, it would not stop L & A being what IT is.
I think you're getting tied up in your own semantics here.
Surely it follows that if you heard a better song, L&A could no longer be 'the best song......ever'. It could still be perfect - no uniqueness is implied in perfection.
Granted 'it would not stop L&A being what IT is', but L&A will have been surplanted in your affections by the new song.
You'd have been better off saying 'one of the best songs......ever' - that would have prevented my 'sniping' post and you wouldn't have shown yourself up.
Just some free advice from well-meaning FM.
PS: I was joking about 'You're Beautiful' - it's sh*te.
I wish I'd called this an appreciation thread now. :mad:
I noticed that several people here own Joan's compilation album, Track Record. I wasn't familiar with it, so I went and had a look at the track list. Basically the first half of it is her rockier, post-1980 work, and the second half is her earlier, folkier work. Anyone who especially likes 'Down To Zero', 'Love And Affection, 'Show Some Emotion' or 'Willow' is missing out dreadfully if they never hear her self-titled album, which consists entirely of stunning songs in a similar genre. In my opinion, it's the best album she ever released.
Thanks for mentioning that. Has anyone been to one of her recent concerts? Any recollections of the audience's age range?
Sorry Ruby.
At no point would I question anyone's love of JA - I think she's great myself (as you know).
I just thought (rightly or wrongly) that AG's reply to my previous lighthearted post was a little offhand, and flawed, so I responded with thinly veiled sarcasm.
For future reference my posts are almost always meant in jest (I come on DS for a laugh or to help answer queries), but if somebody slights me or takes issue with me specifically then I feel I have the right to reply in kind if I so choose.
And I thought we were getting on just great.
I was going to add you to my buddy list.
You were nice before - now you've gone all horrid.
Your loss pal.
My stepdad has got a friend who knows Joan Armatrading. :cool: