Proving that the blues is an entity you feel rather that being a thing related to creed or culture, the UK’s Joanne Shaw Taylor has been painting the world a unique shade of azure for almost 25 years. Bringing us the sound of the Deep South (via the West Midlands), Ms Taylor has left a tantalising trail of vinyl in her wake whilst picking up a host of awards en route. Of course, as a purveyor of the blues Joanne is just coming into her prime and indicative of this is latest album The Trouble With Love, a ten track affair that evidences an artist at the peak of their powers.
If there were any doubts surrounding Joanne Shaw Taylor’s veracity then they are succinctly blown out of the water by the opening (and title) track. ‘The Trouble With Love’ confidently charges out of the speakers, laying down a riff that is muscular and grabs your attention like a thief in the dark. With a little help from Joe Bonamassa, Joanne sets sparks flying with an amphetamine-fuelled workout that ensures the blues have never sounded so vibrant. The pair trading blistering solos to tie the listener up in all sorts of knots and setting the bar extremely high for the coming forty minutes. It’s a standard the following ‘Hell Or High Water’ attains by crashing down a few gears and hypnotising us with some slide guitar that seems to emanate from the bayou. This is the type of album that’s built on shifting sands, with no two songs inhabiting the same sonic space there’s no danger of things becoming staid; the circular riff (think Presence-era Zeppelin) of ‘This Is Who I Am’ descends downwards like Dante’s Inferno and is soothed somewhat by ‘Tired Of Being Right’, the guitar and keys dancing a strange kind of erotic tango.
Having played the blues for a quarter of a century, it’s fair to say that Joanne has learnt a thing or two over the years and this is undoubtedly her most mature, well-rounded album. Time has also been very kind to her voice and it’s attained a nice whiskey-and-cigarettes croak that adds a world-weariness and an air of authority to tracks such as ‘Bad Boy’ and ‘Never Gonna Please ‘Em All’, the former awarded instant earworm status and the latter tailor made (pun intended) for the biggest venues. Long time fans needn’t worry because Joanne’s signature guitar tone is still very much present and is the thread that stitches these ten diverse tracks together and the solo that floats throughout evocative closer ‘Death Wish’ could belong to no one else.
The sound of an artist approaching their prime, The Trouble With Love signposts a bright future.
- The Trouble With Love is released via Journeyman Records on 23rd October 2026.
- Joanne Shaw Taylor Official Website
Track List:
- The Trouble With Love (featuring Joe Bonamassa)
- Hell Or High Water
- This Is Who I Am
- Tired Of Being Right
- Bad Boy
- What Good Is My Love (featuring Orianthi)
- The Girl That You Loved Before
- Never Gonna Please ‘Em All
- You And Me (Rachel’s Song)
- Death Wish
