RGG July 2015 - p.9
Joanne left school at and ran straight into
her big break as a twist of fate directed her
demo into the hands of Eurythmics icon Dave
Stewart after a charity gig Reflecting on his
first impressions Stewart recalls that “she
made the hairs on the back of my neck stand
on end ” His call the following day proved the
start of a lasting friendship with Joanne
seeking his advice on the industry and
accompanying his DUP supergroup across
Europe in
Stewart gave Joanne her first
deal but when the label ran into financial
trouble it gave her a chance to regroup and
work on her songwriting Until then original
material had perhaps been a neglected side of
her talent
“I never really wrote songs until I was
”
Suddenly the dam broke In
Ruf won the
rush for Joanne’s signature and soon she was
working with veteran producer Jim Gaines
(Carlos Santana Johnny Lang Stevie Ray
Vaughan) bassist Dave Smith and drummer
Steve Potts on the songs that became debut
album White Sugar “We recorded it in this
little backwater town in Tennessee ” she
recalls “and if we needed a break we’d walk to
the shop and buy root beer ”
When White Sugar dropped the following
year taking in gems like Bones and Kiss The
Ground Goodbye it turned out the press had a
sweet tooth with Classic Rock crowning it
Blues Album Of The Month and Guitarist
noting “she plays with more attitude and flair
than most – massive potential here” Soon
enough the buzz was building with Joanne
both raising her profile supporting Black Coun
try Communion and honing her craft on
’s
Diamonds In The Dirt This second album was
another step up from the explosive lead breaks
on Can’t Keep Living Like This to the heavier
influence of her adopted Detroit hometown on
the crunching country blues of Dead And
Gone Not bad considering she had written the
material in just two days and recorded it in less
than a fortnight: “It’s the dreaded second
album curse You have ten years to do the first
one and ten days to do the second!”
By then she was unstoppable with Diamonds
In The Dirt proving not only a classic record
but also a skeleton key to every door in the
industry Having received a nomination for
Best New Artist Debut at the auspicious British
Blues Awards for White Sugar Joanne scooped
consecutive wins in the Best British Female
Vocalist bracket at both the
/
events:
a haul that cements her position as Blues
Matters put it as “the new face of the blues ”
Since then it’s gone stratospheric with Joanne
breaking into the notoriously hard to crack US
market beating the stereotypes of her age and
gender and being watched by
million
viewers as she played an angel winged solo
during Annie Lennox’s set at the
Diamond
Jubilee Concert That same summer gave us
Almost Always Never; a bar raising third album
that found Joanne dodging expectations
writing the songs her muse dictated and diving
in at the deep end with just her talent to keep
her afloat Recorded in Austin Texas these
twelve cuts moved from the savage Les Paul
solos of Soul Station and the strutting hooks of
Standing To Fall to the failed relationship
achingly depicted on You Should Stay I Should
Go and the title track’s refrain of “You crash
you burn/you live you learn” She’d never
sounded more open and honest “I’ve loved
every album I’ve made for many different
reasons ” reflects Joanne “But I’m so proud of
these songs It’s the perfect and truest example
of who I am as an artist to date ”
Maybe so but if you only know Joanne Shaw
Taylor as the songwriter and studio magician
then it’s time you heard Songs From The Road
Released November
on Ruf Records it’s a
candid snapshot from the road that makes your
front room feel like the front row “That night
was just really good fun ” she reflects “And I
think that translates on the album ”
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www joanneshawtaylor com
Celebrating Years
r
gg
since
1995
We have 2 Tickets to giveaway - just send an email with Joanne in the subject to:
