Bledsoe: With foray into the blues, Armatrading mines its soul

By WAYNE BLEDSOE 
April 22, 2007

"Into the Blues," Joan Armatrading (429)

When Joan Armatrading began making a name for herself in the mid-1970s, she seemed like a folkie acoustic singer-songwriter with a deep voice and a distinctive guitar style. However, Armatrading quickly revealed that she was much more. At the dawn of the 1980s, Armatrading could rock out with the big boys, yet retain the depth and mystery of her acoustic work.
While Armatrading's past few efforts have been lackluster, "Into the Blues" (due in stores May 1) returns Armatrading to fore. This is both the Armatrading you know and one you don't. Her fine voice and songwriting skills are all on display, and she includes folkie tunes and a couple of first-rate rockers, but, true to the album's title, Armatrading is digging deeper into electric blues guitar. Armatrading has never been a show-off in any respect, and when she plays blues licks, it's generally understated. She's not demonstrating how fast or flashy she can deliver the tune; she's searching for its soul. When she plays "My Baby's Gone," it's as much fun listening to her cut off the notes as it is to hear her hit them. And while in "Something's Gotta Blow" she plays some well-chosen long sustaining notes, she doesn't overdo it.
Overall, though, the disc is only marginally a blues disc. The mountain dulcimer-infused "Baby Blue Eyes" is a lovely folk love song. And, "There Ain't a Girl Alive" is a spirited rocker about a vain girlfriend that is as catchy as Armatrading's most popular work from the '80s.
Armatrading indicates on the liner notes to the disc that she's been wanting to make a blues guitar disc for a long time. Maybe she should simply do what she wants more often. (four out of five)