Review by Paul Sabin for MPM
Having been discovered by Dave Stewart at the tender age of 16, Joanne Shaw Taylor’s career has gone from strength to strength. Now with numerous awards under her belt, she has released her tenth album on Joe Bonamassa’s record label.
`Black & Gold’ contains eleven tracks produced by Kevin Shirley and sees the singer-songwriter laying down her trademark Blues-rock riffs whilst pulling in influences from Americana, Eighties pop and Indie Rock.
The first track, `Hold Of My Heart’, has an infectious groove, slide guitars and of course, Shaw Taylors warm, husky vocal as well as some blisteringly food guitar soling makes this a winner. `All The Things I Said’ takes a trip into pop territory with electric piano, clean guitar parts and sweet choruses. It has an air of U2 about it but without the huge repeating delays.
Photo by Rob Bondurant
The title track and lead single is up next. Guitars on the edge of break up and a jangly backing rhythm provide the foundations for a soulful delivery both vocally and on the fretboard from Shaw Taylor. `Who’s Gonna Love Me Now?’ is an atmospheric track filled with synth pads, a more intimate vocal and delicate tom patterns. This is a truly beautiful song with some fantastic, understated Strat playing contained within.
`I Gotta Stop Letting You Let Me Down’ is dripping with sass from the very first note. Wailing Hammond organ, gritty slide guitar and blistering fretboard solos leap out of this track as Shaw Taylor takes no prisoners here. `Summer Love’ takes us back to a lighter mood where Americana meets brit-pop in this bright, middle of the road track.
We hit a major highpoint with `Grayer Shade Of Blue’. Acoustic guitars, violins and sultry vocals mix into a track that would sit well on a Fleetwood Mac album. This is true class! `Hell Of A Good Time’ gets things rocking as the crunchy guitars ring out and the drums lay the way for this superb foot tapper. This will be sure to get the crowd bouncing in a live set!
`Look What I’ve Become’ continues the rockier vibe with elements of Led Zeppelin,coming through in the riff styles and The Moody Blues in song structure. `What Are you Going To Do Now? Is an altogether more modern sounding track that reminds me of the late, great Tina Turner. Powerful vocals and screaming guitar riffs are the order of the day here.
We finish with the calmer, piano led, `Love Lives Here’. Shaw Taylor can hold down a ballad with passion and style and does so exquisitely on this track.
Joanne Shaw Taylor’s songwriting ability is simply beyond reproach and continues to grow not just musically but also with the subject matter being sung about. The production on this album makes it a joy to listen to as there’s a perfect balance between instruments and vocals. No one is fighting for space here which leads to an expansive, legendary sound. Shaw Taylor hasn’t played it safe by staying in one style of music, but by encompassing many genres she has not only proved her ability to write in different ways but also to appeal to a wider audience than ever before. This surely must be the highpoint of this legendary lady’s career (so far!).
The album is available to pre-order worldwide from https://bit.ly/OrderBlackandGold
Feature photo by Stacie Huckeba
