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"...Clear The Deck...Let Me Touch Your Soul..."
What sets this twofer apart from so many compilations covering the career of British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading - is its bold jumping from period to period that literally takes no chronological prisoners.
1996's "Love & Affection" stretches from her November 1972 UK debut album "Whatever's For Us" on Cube Records and then deep dives into fifteen further studio albums, Mini LPs and Singles all the way up to her June 1992 set "Square The Circle" on A&M Records. In fact Herb Albert's world-famous label A&M Records has being her spiritual home for decades (her self-titled album from 1976 contained the huge song "Love & Affection" - a eureka moment which titles this comp).
So musically you get 1992 one moment, then 1986, itself followed by 1977. And yet it works. Couple that with some gorgeous not-overdone Remasters by Roger Wake and this forgotten and frankly dirt-cheap (in 2023) 2CD 39-Track Anthology starts to look like one of those bargains you need in your life. And it is. Time to show some emotion, details Maestro please...
UK released September 1996 - "Love & Affection" by JOAN ARMATRADING on A&M Records 540 405-2 (Barcode 731454040525) is a 2CD 39-Track Career Anthology (to 1995) that breaks down as follows:
CD1 (79:22 minutes):
1. Down To Zero
2. True Love
3. Talking To The Wall
4. Show Some Emotion
5. I'm Lucky
6. One More Chance
7. Did I Make You Up
8. All A Woman Needs
9. Square The Circle
10. Somebody Who Loves You
11. It Could Have Been Better
12. Alice
13. No Love
14. Tall In The Saddle
15. Turn Out The Light
16. The Shouting Stage
17. One Night
18. Save Me
NOTES for CD1
Tracks 1, 10, 14 and 18 from her third studio album "Joan Armatrading", August 1976
Tracks 2 and 9 from the album "Square The Circle", June 1992
Tracks 3 and 17 from the album "Secret Secrets", February 1985
Tracks 4 and from her fourth UK studio album "Show Some Emotion", September 1977
Tracks 5 and 13 are from "Walk Under Ladders", May 1981
Track 6 from the album "Sleight Of Hand", May 1986
Tracks 7, 8 and 16 from the album "The Shouting Stage", July 1988
Tracks 11 and 12 from her UK debut album "Whatever's For Us", November 1972
Track 15 is from the album "Me Myself I", May 1980
CD2 (77:58 minutes):
1. My Family
2. City Girl
3. Warm Love
4. The Power Of Dreams
5. Love By You
6. The Weakness In Me
7. More Than One Kind Of Love
8. Love And Affection
9. Rosie
10. Bottom To The Top
11. Drop The Pilot
12. Me Myself I
13. Cool Blue Stole My Heart
14. Water With The Wine
15. Flight Of The Wild Geese
16. Dry Land
17. Always
18. Promise Land
19. Can't Get Over (How I Broke Your Heart)
20. All The Way From America
21. Willow
NOTES on CD2:
Tracks 1 and 2 from her UK debut album "Whatever's For Us", November 1972
Tracks 3 and 21 from her fourth UK studio album "Show Some Emotion", September 1977
Tracks 4, 7, 17 and 18 are from the album "Hearts And Flowers", June 1990
Track 5 from the album "Secret Secrets", May 1986
Track 6 is from "Walk Under Ladders", May 1981
Tracks 8 and 14 from her third studio album "Joan Armatrading", August 1976
Track 9 is from the 4-Track Mini-LP "How Cruel", December 1979
Tracks 10 from the album "To The Limit", September 1978
Track 11 from the album "The Key", March 1983
Tracks 12 and 20 are from the album "Me Myself I", May 1980
Track 13 is from the Live Album " Steppin' Out", August 1979
Track 15 is the Non-LP A-side to a June 1978 UK 45-single on A&M Records AMS 7365 (Theme Music to the film "Flight Of The Wild Geese")
Track 16 is from her second studio album "Back To The Night", April 1975
Tracks 19 from the album "Square The Circle", June 1992
ROGER WAKE did the Remasters (as he has for other A&M artists – Joe Jackson and The Strawbs jump to mind) and the sound is uniformly lovely and clear. The Seventies stuff is fabulous with much of the 80ts and 90s not needing too much to Remaster. But as I said earlier, the song-by-song feel is excellent so when you get to the later material like "Square The Circle" (Track 9 on CD1), her music in 1992 just sounds like a more updated classy reading of her songs of old. The 12-page booklet with liner notes by noted journalist CHRIS WHITE does her career proud describing Joan Armatrading as one of Rock's unsung superstars.
Across fifteen to sixteen studio albums, EPs and Singles, as you can imagine the (largely uncredited) guest musicians list is huge – they include Ray Cooper and Davey Johnstone of Elton John's Band, Graham Lyle of Gallagher & Lyle, Bryn Haworth of Fleur De Lys, Jake Jewell of Jake & The Family Jewels, Jerry Donahue of Fairport Convention, Georgie Fame, John ‘Rabbit’ Bundrick of Free, Tim Hinkley of The Bo Street Runners, Jody Grind and Snafu, Kenney Jones of Faces and The Who, Mel Collins of King Crimson and Kokomo with Henry Spinetti of The Herd and Chris Stainton’s Tundra, Guitarist Phil Palmer and loads more (too many to mention).
But what a compilation like this allows listeners and fans alike is those deep dive discoveries - tracks like the Soulful take on "Cold Blue Stole My Heart" from the forgotten "Stepping Out" live LP (Richard Hirsh of Wet Willie doing a stunner on Guitar) - or the lovely Waterboys-sounding acoustic guitars of "Promise Land" and "All The Way From America" – the compilation neatly mixing in 1990 with 1980 as if they made for each other. CD1 opens with "Down to Zero" from the 1976 breakthrough album "Joan Armatrading" and it's hardly surprising to find that six of its 10 tracks are represented across both discs.
I would admit that the big synth sound of "I'm Lucky" from the "Walk Under Ladders" album might grate some ears in 2023 – but it allows the bombastic "One More Change" to sit comfortably after it as a follow through. Far better is the pick-me-up Soulful Dire Straits-type guitar flicking of "Did I Make You Up" where our Joan sounds like Beverley Knight meeting Tracy Chapman on some warm night dance-floor for a shimmy. How gorgeous is "Somebody Who Loves You" with its 'I-want-to-see-you-fan-the-fire' lyrics underpinned by Mandolin from Bryn Haworth (such a great sessionman). Sadness permeates "It Could Have Been Better" whereas a strange defiant joy fills "No Love" – surely one of her best songs and a bit of a 1981 masterpiece (that floating guitar and the song build – great – I used to play this to death back in the turntable days of yore).
I would agree that not everything here has stood the test of time and it's disappointing that their never seems to be enough from the rather excellent "To The Limit" LP from 1978 (so a four-star rating then) - but it would be a hard-heart indeed that wasn't impressed or even moved by three-quarters of what's on here - and that's 39 tracks only up to 1992.
Joan Armatrading has always been a class act and 1996's "Love & Affection" brings that home to our cabbage patches with aplomb. Joan's showed some emotion to us and I for one would like to return the favour (as long as I don't have to walk under any ladders). Buy this, discover and enjoy...
