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Into the Blues
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0795041762528
Label: 429 Records
Manufacturer: 429 Records
MPN: 17625
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: 429 Records
Release Date: May 01, 2007
Studio: 429 Records
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Editorial Review:
On the surface, yes, this is a blues album; mostly, though, it's a Joan Armatrading album--which means she'll follow blues forms and conceits wherever she damn well pleases. On "Liza," she takes the "Mannish Boy" groove across the tracks for a pick-up on the wrong side of town; on "There Ain't a Girl Alive (Who Likes to Look in the Mirror Like You Do)," she dresses down a rival; on "Play the Blues," she simply undresses herself to a juicy, contemporary soul groove; and on "Mama Papa," the album's finest and funkiest moment, she recalls her youth on the island of St. Kitts in lines that flash with truth: "Seven people in one room/No heat/One wage/And bills to pay." It's also a guitar album: her blues chops, especially on the sprawling closer "Something's Gotta Blow," would give Robert Cray a serious run. Fiery as her playing can be, her blues riffs are mostly economical, concise, with evocative spaces between the notes. The same can't be said for the overall production values. Armatrading is still enamored with slick gimmicks: doubling and tripling her vocals and adding layers of echo on top of that, and synth pads and distortion that feel more bombastic than bright. Into the Blues is far from a return to form, but it still sends a tough, funky message. --Roy Kasten
Into the Blues is the album that Joan Armatrading was always meant to write. Immediately you can tell how much she enjoys playing the blues as her guitar belts out these 13 hits.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - The reclusive lady sings the blues !
The hugely influential and pioneering British singer-songwriter, is back with a brand new studio CD.
The reclusive legend tries her hand at the blues and proves quite a dab hand at it.
She basically plays everything here bar the drums and manages to inject everything with a sense of drive and passion. As always, her silky-smooth voice is the real star.
Joan's new album is the latest in a long line of fabulous releases dating back to her wonderfully successful breakthrough albums ... Read More
Rating:  - A mature masterpiece of a mature woman
I fell in love with Joan in the mid-70's after hearing her Back To the Night album (vinyl issued 1975; so sad it is currently unavailable on CD) and her 3rd album called simply Joan Armatrading (1976). I was extremely charmed by her vocal (smooth & husky & strong & natural, capable of unbelievable finesses, which were, however, very functional and devoid of any signs of exhibitionism). She had an outstanding technique of tone forming which varied with every syllable she sang. The other point ... Read More
Rating: - Girl Alive
Joan Armatrading's "Into the Blues" is a great set with many highlights. Of my four favorites is the rocking blues-inflected "My Baby's Gone (Come Back Baby)" with a great chorus and Joan's voice insistent, "Don't you know I can't live without you?" "Deep Down" is an amazing rock conflagration with Joan's band blowing out the repetitive lyric. She sets drummer Miles Bould free and mixes the drums up high that makes this track a cousin to some of the best of Cream. Joan follows this with another full-tilt ... Read More
Rating:  - Put me into the blues.
I love Joan Armatrading and have all of her albums. This one, however, I'll be giving away. I was really looking forward to hearing Joan get into the blues and bought this album without hearing it. Mistaaaaake! There's one song in this selection that could be described as 'blues-ey" - the rest I don't quite know how to describe other than to say, this album ain't blues. I found most of the tracks agitating. My advice is to listen before you buy. It saddens me to have to give Joan a bad review, but hey, ... Read More
Rating:  - Some New Joan
Not the usual Joan Armatrading. A lot of soul, but a little heavier than in her past albums. She reaches into more of a hip hop style in a few of her songs.
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