Joan Armatrading 'Steppin' Out'

Joan Armatrading is one of a handful of artists who have avoided being pigeon-holed in any one particular genre, but who move smoothly from one to another. Although her greatest commercial success was with a series of rock albums in the '70s, her repertoire extends to blues, folk, pop, and jazz. This 1980 performance for the German TV series Rockpalast tips toward rock, but with enough of her other artful fusions to show off her musical versatility.

Joan Anita Barbara Armatrading was born in the West Indies (St. Kitts) and moved with her parents to Birmingham, England at the age of seven. In 1972, at age 21, she recorded her first album, Whatever's For Us while working in a London production of Hair.

By the mid-70s she was becoming a staple on album oriented rock stations with 1976's Joan Armatrading, 1977's Show Some Emotion and 1978's To The Limit. At the time of her performance for the Rockpalast TV series in Germany in 1980, she had just released what would become her most successful album, Me Myself I. Chart success continued throughout the '80s and into the mid-90s. In all, she has released 18 albums, most recently, Blues in 2007. In 2008 she went on the road with Cyndi Lauper's True Colors Tour.

Joan Armatrading Steppin' Out is the latest entry in Eagle Rock Entertainment's series of Greatest Hits Live performance DVDs. In fact, the title comes directly from the artist's only live album, released in 1979. Although production was often uneven (to put it kindly) on some of the Rockpalast performances of the era, this one is a cut above the average in most respects. The sole exception was that Armatrading was lit with one fixed spotlight, so when she moved around (as pretty much all performers tend to do) she was in the dark. Surely one lousy "follow spot" wouldn't have broken the budget.

Armatrading has always surrounded herself with first rate musicians, as is clear with the tour band lineup for this performance. They move as smoothly and effortlessly between styles as she does, often within a single song.

High Points
Great rock: the set opener, "Stone Free" and "Mama Mercy"; great rock-jazz fusion: "You Rope You Tie Me." They don't get much more bluesy than "Tall In The Saddle" or more soulful than "Turn Out The Light."

Actually, there's really nothing that's not to like on this DVD. Even the interview, although short on substance, is entertaining. If you're a longtime fan, this performance will remind you why. If you're new to Armatrading, this DVD is an excellent way to be introduced to a very talented performer.

Disclosure: A review copy of the DVD was provided by Kayos Productions on behalf of Eagle Rock Entertainment. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.