Joanne Shaw Taylor has never been short of attitude, and The Trouble With Love pushes the British blues-rock powerhouse into even more emotionally charged territory.
Produced by Kevin Shirley, the album tackles love, heartbreak, resilience and self-discovery, but there is nothing soft-focus or sentimental about Taylor’s approach. Her blues remains tough, muscular and firmly guitar-led.
The title track immediately sets the tone. Featuring Joe Bonamassa, The Trouble With Love rides a driving groove as Taylor’s gritty vocals wrestle with the contradictions of love. When the guitars open up, the song delivers the kind of soaring release she does so well. It is blues-rock with plenty of bite, balancing restraint with full-throttle guitar fire.
“This is blues-rock with heart, muscle and plenty of scars”
Colin Campbell
Hell Or High Water digs deeper into the blues, bringing a gospel-inflected sense of determination to its message of resilience, while Tired Of Being Right introduces a more confrontational edge. Bad Boy keeps the swagger firmly intact, with Taylor sounding every inch the seasoned blues-rock veteran as she turns up the heat.
What Good Is My Love? brings Orianthi into the frame, adding another formidable guitar voice to a song steeped in rejection and emotional frustration.
Perhaps the biggest surprise is This Is Who I Am, Taylor’s soulful interpretation of the Celeste song. Rather than simply reproducing the original, she makes it her own, delivering a powerful vocal performance before unleashing a passionate guitar solo. It is a striking moment of vulnerability from an artist more commonly associated with firepower.
Elsewhere, The Girl That You Loved Before, Never Gonna Please ’Em All, You And Me (Rachel’s Song) and Death Wish take the record into darker emotional territory.
The Trouble With Love is blues-rock with heart, muscle and plenty of scars.
Joanne Shaw Taylor’s new album “The Trouble With Love” is released by Journeyman Records via www.joanneshawtaylor.com
by Colin Campbell
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