Songs For Your Day

Every now and then, when I need a little zing in my life, when I need a reason to dance while I clean the house or cook a meal, I listen to R&B.  The old stuff, of course.  The Faces do a pretty good R&B/Rock sound that gives me methamphetaminic energy levels.  And I can wash the dishes to the sounds of Marvin Gaye, or shovel the driveway to Aretha Franklin’s best with all the joy and rhythm of a Stomp performance.  Minus the fluidity of motion and general talent, of course.

Yesterday, while stirring a pot of fettucine, I needed a little pick-me-up.  I went through my record collection and found, tucked behind two Willie Nelson collections and a kaleidoscopically-colored Chuck Berry’s Greatest Hits, I found Joan Armatrading’s eponymous third album.  I had bought the record about four years ago at Half Price books, drawn in for some reason by the cover, a shot of Joan standing behind her guitar, looking just a little serious.  I’d never heard of her before, and if I can say this without sounding stupid, I’ve never really heard of her since, despite the fact that she has recorded steadily ever since 1972, releasing at least three albums every decade, with her latest album set for release at the end of next month.

Her sound, or at least her sound on Joan Armatrading, is a very folksy R&B.  Or maybe Soul would be a better tag, though I’m not sure I’ve been exposed enough to know the difference.  She’s got a killer voice.  I put the record on the turntable, digitally cranked the volume up so that I could hear it from every room in the house, and stirred my noodles with Love and Affection.