Joanne Shaw Taylor - 'Heavy Soul'

Another excellent addition to a back catalogue that is already an embarrassment of riches.

I discovered Joanne Shaw Taylor three albums into her career as a recording artist in her own right. I first saw her opening for Glenn Hughes and I had no idea who she was. A couple of weeks later, by happenstance, I was assigned her third album, ‘Almost Always Never’, to review. I loved it, played it to death and have been following her ever since – musically, not like a stalker, your honour.

It’s been interesting listening to her evolve through really strong Blues Rock albums like 2014’s ‘The Dirty Truth’ and 2016’s ‘Wild’ which I highly recommend. 2019 saw Sony Music release ‘Reckless Heart’, but it’s been since her migration to her good friend Joe Bonamassa’s KTBA label where she’s really gone up a gear.

Pigeonholing her under the Blues banner may be convenient but is not wholly accurate, for while 2021’s ‘The Blues Album’ was precisely that, 2022’s ‘Nobody’s Fool’ saw her expand beyond that to include Pop and Soul influences, all cohesively held together by her tasteful guitar work and distinctive, husky voice which seems to improve with every album.

‘Heavy Soul’ is her latest record and sees production duties shift from Bonamassa and Josh Smith to heavyweight Kevin Shirley. Musically, the album is hard to define – in a good way. It’s a long way from being simply a Blues album. ‘Sweet ‘Lil Lies’ is a great Rock opener, her take on Joan Armatrading’s ‘All The Way From America’ sails along on a breezy acoustic vibe, whereas ‘Black Magic’ takes us right back to her Blues roots. The funky seventies wah-wah feel of ‘Drowning In A Sea Of Love’ is exquisite and the title track is electric Blues Rock at its finest.

‘Devil In Me’ shows Taylor can rock out with the best of them, while ‘Change Of Heart’ is a gloriously cheerful Pop infused ending to the record. Her ability to shift from different styles throughout the album only makes it more appealing, setting her stall out as a skilled singer-songwriter as well as an excellent guitarist. As I mentioned, I’ve been a fan since 2012 and not only is Taylor prolific with her releases, to my ears she just keeps on getting better. Another excellent addition to a back catalogue that is already an embarrassment of riches.