PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
Blues Guitarist Joanne Shaw Taylor will be releasing her fourth studio album in late September, before following it up with a UK tour in November (see dates at the bottom of this review). The album was recorded in Memphis and was produced by Jim Gaines, the man who produced her debut album in 2009. I’ve seen Joanne Shaw Taylor play live and she really is a superb blues guitarist, so I was looking forward to hearing the new album, and now I’ve listened to it quite a few times I can say that it was definitely worth the wait. There seems to be a large number of really good albums coming out this year, and this is definitely one of them that’s worth checking out.
Brief comments on a few of the songs…
The album kicks off with “Mud, honey”. The first thing to hit you is that superbly heavy blues guitar sound. Apparently the song was originally intended to be an instrumental, and I must say I’d love to hear it in that form as the music is so good and has plenty of changes that would make it work really well as an instrumental. That said, it works well with lyrics too.
“Tried tested and true” is a slow ballad. The guitar parts are superb, and while the focus is clearly on the guitar, the keyboards are used quite subtly to add to the sound.
“Shiver and sigh” is another slow one, and here the keyboards play a more prominent role in the mix giving a nice rich organ sound to go with Joanne’s guitar playing that really does enhance the overall feel of the song.
“Feels like home” is the shortest song on the album and is a Hendrix inspired track. It’s played as a three-piece without any keyboards, and is definitely one of my favourite tracks on the album. It’s slightly unusual in that the rhythm parts are just as complex and as prominent in the mix as the lead guitar part.
An excellent album from Joanne Shaw Taylor – highly recommended.
“The Dirty Truth” will be released on 22nd September 2014
Track listing:
1. Mud, Honey
2. The dirty truth
3. Wicked soul
4. Fool in Love
5. Wrecking ball
6. Tried, tested and true
7. Outlaw angel
8. Shiver and sigh
9. Struck down
10. Feels like home
