Search - Joan Armatrading :: Best of Joan Armatrading

A wonderful collection of one of her era's greatest.

05/19/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Because of the insatiable appetite of the Australian public for women who can rock and roll, Joan Armatrading at her peak was able to sell large numbers of records in Australia (in contrast to the US), including three platinum and one double-platinum albums.
However, like Chrissie Hynde, her rival back in the early 1980s, Armatrading brought an unusual level of intelligence and literacy to the world of women rockers, and this collection provides ample evidence with an extremely consistent set of songs. Armatrading was not truly an "arty" singer/songwriter, as shown by her #6 Australian hit "Drop The Pilot" and the #16 "I Love It whe You Call Me Names", which show, however, that her songwriting and arranging talents set her far apart from most women rockers. This is because Steve Lilywhite and Val Garay were able to allow her supporting players room to move and express their talents, so that the songs were not drenched in overproduced synthesisers. Armatrading's voice was warm yet powerful throughout and adds great depth to all the songs on the record.
The later ballads "More Than One Kind Of Love" and "The Shouting Stage" are quite beautiful and difficult to appreciate, but the standout here is the utterly perfect "Show Some Emotion" from the late 1970s, on which Armatrading shows herself able to convey perfectly everyday romantic feelings. This ability is also seen on the other early gems "Bottom To The Top" and "Down To Zero." Later, she turns to the solid rock that gained her Australian chart success, but her gentler material is still wonderful. Armatrading is at her best yet again on "All The Way From America", with its chiming 12-string acoutic guitar, and the sensuous ballad "The Weakness In Me".
On the whole, an important purchase from a now largely forgotten talent."