Only when something is done does she talk about it. Says Joan Armatrading of herself. That’s why she keeps a low profile when asked about plans, that’s why her publications get by without the meanwhile usual PR campaigns in advance.
So now “Consequences” is here, their 22nd studio album. Her voice sounds a little different than in the times of “Me Myself I”, with which she had her final breakthrough in Germany. But this voice still carries all the songs without any problems. And that’s what “Better Life” stands out from. This is the encouragement to live a better life, and it may be inspired by Armatrading’s creed. Her personal conviction is: You don’t have to make your life unnecessarily complicated.
Sounds like a phrase, but it’s not a phrase. When she hit a record label with her first songs, they didn’t know how to market her at first. Today this problem would simply be characterized as the “missing target group”.
Joan Armatrading never needed one. She also found her way – three Grammy nominations alone prove it. Now she moves between jazz, blues, pop and rock and lives up to her reputation as an excellent guitarist. The instrumental “Sunrise” alone can be heard again and again with pleasure.
As I said, it was never “target group-friendly”. The idea of “My Myself I” – published in 1980 – from now on just varying it was alien to her. It has certainly been able to hold its own for so long because of its versatility. Will there be a follow-up album? Joan Armatrading will reveal when it’s done. Or maybe she’s doing something completely different: Between her work as a musician, she just got a Bachelor of Arts in five years …
Joan Armatrading: Consequences. (BMG Rights)
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