Tag Archive: Joanne Shaw Taylor


“Who Do You Want Me to Be” asked singer/songwriter Joanne Shaw Taylor on her 2009 debut, White Sugar. 11 studio albums and 17 years later she takes a more direct stance with “This Is Who I Am.” That tune is the lone cover from The Trouble with Love. The ten-song set further defines who she has become as a veteran roots artist who has gradually coalesced her approach and strengths. Taylor’s blues roots have always been on display, specifically through guitar solos like she and guest Joe Bonamassa ignite on the opening title track. For the following Bad Company-styled “Hell or High Water” she sings about her career with “I’m just a soul/trying to exist/All on my own/And I’ve given it my best.”
That’s just one of the truths expressed on…

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Since Joanne Shaw Taylor so effectively recaptured her roots in 2022 with Blues from the Heart Live, her studio efforts have been a mixed bag. In her earnest endeavors to expand her style, she issued a pop-oriented, highly polished studio outing titled Nobody’s Fool, thereby setting the stage for the R&B-influenced Heavy Soul, a second outing with producer Kevin Shirley (he also oversaw 2016’s Wild).
But on Black & Gold, the supervision of the former studio collaborator of Iron Maiden and Led Zeppelin–who also mixed the Nashville recordings for mastering by Bob Ludwig–results in a glossy veneer that too often camouflages the inviting intimacy by which the British guitarist/songwriter most benefits. Fortunately, on…

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