Joan Armatrading (album)

Joan Armatrading
Studio album by Joan Armatrading
Released	September 1976
Recorded	Olympic Studios, London, England
Genre	Pop
Length	41:32
Label	A&M
Producer	Glyn Johns
Joan Armatrading chronology
Back to the Night (1975) Joan Armatrading (1976) Show Some Emotion (1977)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Joan Armatrading is the third studio album from the British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading.

Released in 1976, it included Armatrading's sole Top 10 hit single, "Love and Affection". The album peaked at number 12 and was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry.

Armatrading's 1979 live album Steppin' Out contained two songs from this album, "Love and Affection" and "Tall in the Saddle".

The album's producer, Glyn Johns, later said it was the best album he'd ever been associated with.^[2]

Reception

In 1976, Robin Denselow wrote in The Guardian that the album "showed that we now have a black artist in Britain with the same sort of vocal range, originality (in fact even greater originality in terms of musical influences) and lyrical sensitivity" as Joni Mitchell.^[3] In a review for Allmusic, Dave Connolly gave the album a rating of 4.5 stars out of 5. He called it Armatrading's "most muscular music to date" and particularly praised "Down to Zero" and "Love and Affection". He also commended Glyn Johns' production. He said that the album "almost single-handedly [elevated Armatrading] into the ranks of rock's leading female artists."^[4]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Joan Armatrading

Side One

1. "Down to Zero" – 3:51
2. "Help Yourself" – 4:04
3. "Water With the Wine" – 2:48
4. "Love and Affection" – 4:28
5. "Save Me" – 3:35

Side Two

1. "Join the Boys" – 4:48
2. "People" – 3:30
3. "Somebody Who Loves You" – 3:33
4. "Like Fire" – 5:12
5. "Tall in the Saddle" – 5:43

Personnel

• Joan Armatrading – vocals, 6 & 12-string acoustic guitars
• Jerry Donahue – acoustic & electric guitars
• Bryn Haworth – slide guitar, mandolin (8 & 9)
• Jimmy Jewell – saxophone
• Dave Markee – bass guitar
• B.J. Cole – steel guitar
• Graham Lyle – guitar
• Dave Mattacks – drums
• Brian Rogers – strings
• Peter Wood – Hammond organ, piano, electric piano
• Kenney Jones – drums
• Leroy Champaign – background vocals
• Clarke Peters – backing vocals on "Love and Affection"^[5]

Notes

1. Allmusic review
2. Futrell, et al, p. 120
3. Denselow, Robin (14 December 1976). "Rock around 1976". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
4. Connolly, Dave, "Joan Armatrading > Review", Allmusic (Rovi Corporation), retrieved 25 July 2010
5. Anthony, Andrew (4 September 2011). "Dominic West and Clarke Peters: 'We love each other's company'". The Observer. Retrieved 6 November 2011.

References

• Futrell, Jon; Gill, Chris; St. Pierre, Roger; Richardson, Clive; Fisher, Bob; Sheehy, Bill and Wesker, Lindsay (1982) The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Black Music. Salamander Books, London. ISBN 0-86101-145-7

External links

• Album online on Radio3Net a radio channel of Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company