Joanne Shaw Taylor – Black & Gold
Journeyman Records – 2025
11 tracks; 49 minutes
Originally from the UK, Joanne Shaw Taylor has established herself on the blues-rock scene over a series of well received releases, the last few involving Joe Bonamassa, on whose label this release appears. The album was recorded in Nashville (now Joanne’s home base), produced by Joe’s longtime engineer, Kevin Shirley and features nine originals, alongside two covers. Joanne handles lead vocals and guitar, Anton Fig is on drums, Alison Prestwood bass, Jimmy Wallace keys, Doug Lancio and Audley Freed on guitar; Joe Bonamassa plays guitar on two tracks and Savannah Madigan plays violin on two cuts. Background vocals are by Joanne, Savannah and Sheridan Gates.
The album opens with “Hold Of My Heart”, acoustic guitar and violin giving the tune a folk feel; the tune builds in intensity and is capped by a spiraling guitar solo from Joanne. “All The Things I Said” has a lighter, poppier sound with bright rhythm guitars and an earworm chorus. The title track was written by Australians Samuel Falson and Jesse Rogg and originally released by Sam under his stage name, Sam Sparro. It’s a dramatic tale of love and despair with a superb guitar solo mid-tune. A similar lyrical theme emerges on the slower-paced “Who’s Gonna Love Me Now” and it is clear that Joanne’s natural vocal rasp is ideally suited to such songs.
Next up is the tongue-twisting title “I Gotta Stop Letting You Let Me Down” which starts with some real blues guitar, soon overlaid with a series of powerful riffs and rock-tinged vocals from Joanne who sounds genuinely angry here! You can certainly appreciate the three guitarists on this one, Joanne again taking the main solo but all three heavily involved. “Summer Love” has a suitably melodic touch with attractive riffs and another catchy chorus, including the fine couplet “It’s only forever, forever till September”.
“Grayer Shade Of Blue” is the second tune with violin, again giving the tune a wistful tone that suits the reflective lyrics: “Oh, tell me where the time goes, am I the only one who wants to know?” Joanne then lets her hair down and rocks out, determined to have one “Hell Of A Good Time” before “Look What I’ve Become” which switches between probably the heaviest guitar riffs on the album and quieter moments. “What Are You Gonna Do Now?” is another of the lighter tunes here; vinyl lovers should note that this is the tune that does not appear on the ten track LP version.
The album concludes with a cover of a rather obscure English song, “Love Lives Here” which originally appeared on The Faces’ 1971 album A Nod’s as Good as a Wink… To a Blind Horse. The verses are played pretty straight but Joanne explodes into an extended solo on the outro that moves the ballad into Blues-Rock territory.
After a couple of albums that concentrated on the blues and one with a gentler approach, Joanne has now given us a blend of styles that should please her fan base; an enjoyable album of melodic Blues-Rock.
