Album of the Day-May 15
Joan Armatrading — This Charming Life
Joan Armatrading — This Charming Life
15.May.2020
Joan Armatrading
This Charming Life
2010
Throughout her career, Joan Armatrading has been many things: songwriter, singer, rock star, icon, guitar player, troubadour, and always the consummate artist.
While she scored chart success in the 70s, a result of her sheer talent and tenacity as well as that of those of the people she worked with like producers Glyn Johns (The Rolling Stones) and Richard Gottehrer (Blondie). She had great support and a lengthy career with her record label A&M Records and had a big fan in the legendary John Peel. She even made the rounds on the shows that “mattered” and were “of the moment” like appearing on the second season of the then white-hot Saturday Night Live.
Yet somehow Joan Armatrading just never had that “break-out” hit here in America and she remained an “album artist.”
Don’t worry if none of that makes any sense to you. It just means there was a time when people bought and listened to albums as entire pieces of work. No, not concept albums necessarily (although those existed). Albums were meant to be consumed at least once. I’ve written in a few other posts that album sequencing is a lost art form and you realize it most when you listen to an album in its entirety in one sitting.
Joan Armatrading is the type of artist, even today, whose albums you listen to in one sitting.
While she has achieved tremendous success, perhaps the best kind of success, the kind that’s on her terms. This has allowed her the freedom to pursue her own artistic visions and This Charming Life is one of those.
For those thinking the album may be a response to The Smith’s “This Charming Man”, I hate to disappoint you.
This Charming Life is the second album of a three-album cycle conceived by Armatrading. Each album, released over a five-year period, focusing on a particular genre:
Into the Blues — Blues (2007)
This Charming Life — Guitar Rock (2010)
Starlight — Jazz (2012)
This Charming Life is an album of doing Joan Armatrading doing what she does best…everything.
As singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer the album continues to prove that Joan Armatrading, after 40+ years in rock and roll, remains what she’s always been…the consummate artist.
Perhaps more importantly, This Charming Life continues to prove that Joan Armatrading isn’t taking this artistic career that she’s been blessed with for granted any more than we should take the gifts she offers us for granted.