Joan Armatrading
Album: Starlight
Label: Proper
Tracks: 10
Website: http://www.joanarmatrading.com/

Joan Armatrading is a national treasure and this is her 20th album [ her debut "Whatever's For Us was released in 1972].In the intervening 40 years Joan has gone from strength to strength as a songwriter, singer and musician. On her last 3 albums she has played all of the instruments, except for drums and horns. She is highly regarded as a guitarist, making her the British counterpart to America's Bonnie Raitt. Joan has won countless awards, has had several honorary degrees conferred on her and has been honoured by the Queen with an MBE. She has performed for Nelson Mandela, not once mind you, but twice!

Throughout her career, Joan has made consistently good records and her latest, Starlight, is no exception.

Joan is comfortable in different musical styles, her previous album, 2010's This Charming Life, was in a pop/rock style but the one before that, 2007's Into the Blues, explored [you've guessed it] the blues. With that album, Joan became the first female British artist to both enter the Billboard Blues Chart at number 1 and be nominated for a Blues Grammy.

Her latest album, Starlight, moves firmly into jazz territory. As with all her work, this new album is a highly accomplished piece of work, which clearly demonstrates Joan's proficiency as a songwriter, singer and musician.

A recurring theme of the album is love, although in the funky opener "Single Life ", Joan considers the merits of, yes, being single. Many of the songs deal with the search for and finding of love. "Close to Me" is a piano based love song with a catchy chorus [ " I can feel you close to me and I've finally found what I am looking for"].

"Tell Me " is rhythmically complex with some great, funky bass, jazzy piano and a superb sinewy guitar solo. Again, love is the theme [" Love is the answer, Love is what heals"]. A wonderful track and classic Joan.

"Back on Track" is a soulful, Sade-like number in which Joan pleads with Mother Nature to help "Get us back on track " and " Get love back". The love theme continues with "I Want That Love", which is self-explanatory ["Love is all I'm after"] and which features some powerful vocals from Joan.

The tempo slows down for " The way I Think of You ", which is a classic Joan Armatrading song, with a simple piano backing, in which she poses the question to her lover " I want to know why you chose me of all of the people in the world ". Again, Joan's vocals are a tour de force.

We temporarily leave the theme of love, for the title track "Starlight", which considers fame and how to achieve it ["Even if you see an outside chance, You gotta grab it and big up yourself "]. I wonder, when Joan talks about "A little skinny kid with shining bright eyes", she is thinking about herself when, as a child, she pestered her mother to buy her a guitar from a pawn shop. Another excellent track, with a tasteful, jazzy guitar solo.

"Busy With You" reverts to the theme of love ["I want to get with you, babe "]. This is one of the most jazz-influenced tracks with some great drumming and a horn arrangement.

The closing track "Summer Kisses" is a lovely, slow, jazzy track with gorgeous vocals by Joan backed by atmospheric electric piano.

Overall, this is a highly accomplished, classy album by a consummate artist who truly deserves to be regarded as a national treasure.

Peter Cowley