Joan Armatrading - do i ever need to listen to her?

they are great

talk to any lesbian who came of age in the UK in the 1970s

s/t, to the limit, show some emotion are the albums I heard a lot growing up (glyn johns once said something to the effect of the latter being his favourite project ever or something) and I know them inside out but there's a lot more that I'm missing probably

rock critics have tended to "respect" her more than champion her and she's constantly been compared to tracy chapman which must be infuriating - joan is less of a folkie and much more of an auteur (though still sort of a folkie sometimes) but it would be nice if she had the chapman-esque renaissance she deserves because she's been slept on for too long

years before I knew about the whole gay sitting trope I used go through my mother's LPs and just stare at the album art for to the limit and if an album cover can change your life maybe this one did. I wasn't that impressed with the naked version of electric ladyland which my mum was proudest of owning but I just couldn't get enough of whatever joan was doing on that cover

Joan is definitely in my all time favourite artists. Such a pure talent. Walk under ladders is perfection.