Joan Armatrading - Live at Asylum Chapel

by Nick Dent-Robinson

published: 20 / 2 / 2023

Joan Armatrading - Live at Asylum Chapel

Label: BMG
Format: CD X2

intro

Eclectic double CD live album from iconic singer-songwriter and guitarist Joan Armatrading, which celebrates her fifty years in the music business.

The iconic singer-songwriter and guitarist Joan Armatrading has released a new live album, at the age of 72 recorded in 2021 in the historic Asylum Chapel in South London, celebrating her fifty years in the music business. The performance was filmed and produced by Armatrading and originally screened by the BBC last year. The record, 'Live At Asylum Chapel', shows how Armatrading can still hold an audience even under the unnatural conditions of lockdown in which it was recorded. The two-disc set features perennial favourites such as ‘Love And Affection’ and ‘Drop The Pilot’ as well as giving a live debut to songs from her latest acclaimed Top 10 studio album ‘Consequences’, accompanied by a spirited, empathic band. Recalling the occasion, Armatrading said: “Fifty years is a long time but for me it’s flown by and I still get the same thrill from writing songs as when I started. This live album is a great way to look back and also bring my story right up to date… I absolutely loved doing the concert at Asylum Chapel. Loved the atmosphere of the place, working with the musicians and just playing.” Highlights of this twenty-six-track collection include: the soulful opener ‘Into The Blues’; the plaintive, atmospheric ‘All The Way From America’; a soaring, jazzy version of ‘Mama Mercy’; the emotive ballad ‘The Weakness In Me’; the electric love song ‘Already There’ with its crescendo frisson; an exuberant, riotous, jazz-tinged ‘Kissin’ And A Huggin’; an ebullient rendition of ‘Me Myself I’; and the spine-tingling ‘Willow’. Eclectic, crossing genres and landmark times in her career, reflecting her rich diversity as a musician, ‘Live At The Asylum’ marks an invigorating next stage in this unconventional, distinctive artist’s journey.

Track Listing:-

1 Into The Blues
2 Down To Zero
3 Travel So Far
4 All The Way From America
5 This Is Not That
6 Invisable (Blue Light)
7 I Like It When We're Together
8 True Love
9 Heading Back To New York City
10 Mama Mercy
11 Empty Highway
12 The Weakness In Me
13 In These Times
14 Natural Rhythm
15 Already There
16 Consequences
17 Better Life
18 Glorious Madness
19 Promise Land
20 No More Pain
21 Love & Affection
22 Kissin' & A Huggin'
23 Drop The Pilot
24 Me Myself I
25 Willow
26 To Anyone Who Will Listen

Band Links:-

http://www.joanarmatrading.com/
https://www.facebook.com/joanarmatrading
https://twitter.com/armatradingjoan
https://www.instagram.com/joan_armatrading/

Label Links:-

https://www.bmg.com/uk/
https://www.facebook.com/BMGRM
https://twitter.com/BMG
https://www.facebook.com/bmgchrysalisuk
https://twitter.com/bmguk

Play in YouTube:-

Have a Listen:-

interviews

Interview (2015)

In the wake of her appearance at Oxfordshire's Towersey Festival, Nick Dent-Robinson speaks to Joan Armatrading about her decision to make her present major tour - which she is doing on her own - the last of its kind.