Journeyman Records [Release date 23.10.26]

Joanne Shaw Taylor is my favourite of all the current blues guitar slingers around. I think one of the reasons is her pop sensibility in her song writing. She packs as much punch in one of her succinct songs, as ten elongated guitar solos. And her voice, she is not a screamer, au contraire, she has one of those warm rare contralto voices, which she uses with restraint, feeling and maximum effect. And of course her guitar playing , tasty, not overblown, but just right for every song, from funky little riffs to carefully picked notes to tingle your spine.

She was discovered by Dave Stewart of The Eurythmics at the age of sixteen and went on to join his band D.U.P. She released her first solo album in 2009, and this one, The Trouble With Love is her 11th. It features 10 new songs in her own inimitable style, one featuring Joe Bonamassa, and one featuring Australian guitarist Orianthi, with one written by Celeste, I mean really, just saying that last statement tells you how respected Joanne is, and how good this album is going to be. You don’t get artists of that caliber trifling with n’er do wells.

So the first and title track of the album is the one featuring Mr Bonanmassa, and he does what Joe does best, blowing the cobwebs off his guitar. It starts with some telecaster Bo Diddley type choppiness and soon the ear worm hits you, that’s the trouble with love. Joe does the first solo then Joanne answers with a real raunchy raw riposte. Man can she rip the blues out of that guitar.

Hell Or High Water drops the level at first, with a banjo and BV’s gospel type intro, but soon builds, with the drums and some seering slide playing coming in after the first verse.

Track three sees a powerful piano and orchestra led version of Celeste’s This Is Who I Am, originally used in the TV drama Day Of the Jackal. On this song about self acceptance and love Joanne makes it her own, grasping the root of the song and wrapping it around her, in a joyous celebration of self.

Tired Of Being Right brings out the soulful side of her, with her voice sitting right in the pocket of this lament of betrayal which wouldn’t have been out of place on The Rolling Stones Some Girls album.

Bad Boy rocks like a mother, and what bad girl doesn’t love a bad boy. Every song on this album is memorable, and none more than this.

What Good Is My Love features Orianthi and is a jaunty pop rocker, in the vein of Katrina And the Waves Walking On Sunshine, or Fleetwood Macs Don’t Stop. It really bounces along with the two girls trading some mean old licks.

The mid tempo The Girl That You Loved Before, brings a country element into the picture, and all these elements, blues, soul, country, all contribute to making Joanne Shaw Taylor the unique artist she is, and one that stands out from the crowd.

Never Gonna Please Em All had my foot tapping and my head shaking before ten seconds into the track with it’s classic blues riff, four to the floor drums and Hammond organ, all laying the foundation for another stirring chorus line. She’s never gonna please em all, but she is having a damned good try, and pleasing me right down to the core.

You And Me (Rachels’s Song) finds Joanne in dreamscape mode, with some ethereal guitar/piano play laying down the groove of this laid back song, adding another texture to an already varied collection of songs

Death Wish finishes this album of various aspects of love, by declaring that she is the wrong person to fall in love with. It finishes with one of her unmistakable solos, the emotion just dripping from the neck her fingers are gliding across, almost like she is saying don’t forget this is what I do, I may write amazing songs, but I am an extraordinary guitar player, this is who am.

Joanne Shaw Taylor is in a place of her own, and she could easily take over the mantle of Fleetwood Mac’s pop rock crown. Somebody has to do it. This is who she is – Joanne Shaw Taylor, guitar player, stella vocalist, writer of phenomenal pop rock blues crossover tunes, never more demonstrated than on this new album The Trouble With Love, which was produced by Beth Hart and Joe Bonamassa producer Kevin Shirley. *****

Review by Andy Sharrocks

Feature: GRTR! Greats – JOANNE SHAW TAYLOR

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,

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Josh now hosts “Taerk’s Tracks” as part of the Singer Songwriter Sunday sequence on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio.

This is the first show broadcast on 27 September. Josh presents some of his inspirational artists and tracks.

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Power Plays w/c 12 October 2026

TAKEDA – Lion’s Den (Drongo Records)
SCARDUST – Symphony (Frontiers)
AMBERLIN – Gravity (Rude Records/Equal Vision Records)
MISSING TOYS – Lifeline (Pride & Joy Music)
SWEET GORILLA – It’s Your Life (5000 Records)
ROYAL BLOOD – Dead Company (Warner Records)

Featured Albums w/c 12 October 2026

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Singer Songwriter)

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