Search - Joan Armatrading :: Love & Affection: Best of

The best Joan Armatrading album yet...

07/11/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This cd is the best and most comprehensive Joan Armatrading collection yet. If you only buy one of her cd's, let this be the one."

Comprehensive collection, but deficiencies of presentation

Hindburn | Church Stretton, Shropshire, England | 10/24/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a very thorough and comprehensive collection, covering Joan's whole recording career from the early 1970s to the mid 90s, and running to over 2.5 hours overall (the list of tracks given above omits some songs which are on the album). The style and production sound varies throughout, reflecting Joan's evolution as an artist and her changes of musical direction. However, in relation to this, the fact that the tracks are in no kind of chronological order makes listening to the album rather disconcerting, as the style and sound often changes quite noticeably from one track to another. This sense of disorientation is increased by the absence of musician credits on a track by track basis; producer credits are given in small print, but they are hard to follow and the recording dates include some minor errors. There is also no comment from Joan herself, or anyone else for that matter, explaining why the particular tracks were chosen; the only background information is a fairly superficial account of her career. All this perhaps suggests that Joan was not actively involved in putting this compilation together. So whilst the music is excellent, the information accompanying it is rather sparse. Despite the above criticisms, however, it's ultimately the music that counts, and I feel this deserves full marks as a comprehensive overview of Joan's work. But whilst her classic eponymous album from 1976 is well represented here, that record is so good that I consider it an essential accompaniment to this collection."

Wonderful mix of studio and live recordings

the_last_naiad | Dunedin, New Zealand | 01/18/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've loved Joan Armatrading ever since I was a kid and my Dad used to play her 'best of' lp. But this collection took me way beyond the popular singles, well-known songs like Me, Myself, I and Willow, introducing me to a breadth of sounds and feeling in Joan Armatrading's work that I immediately embraced. She can shift from bluesy songs to funk or pop in the blink of an eye, and the eclecticism of her sound makes this double-album one that can be played over and over. It has wonderful gems on it like live recordings of Cool Blue Stole my Heart and Water with the Wine, rare from a singer that has always been shy about performing live. My only disappointment, now, having listened to more of her albums, is that this collection does not contain more songs from Joan's early song-writing partnership with Pam Nestor. It has My Family, City Girl and Alice, three of my favourites from that album, and I still feel that these are some of the best songs she's ever produced, young, fresh and less jaded than some of her later work... but some even better ones from that first album 'Whatever's for Us' are still missing, and I feel their absence."