Customer Reviews

White Sugar

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Never heard of her before, I bought this after it popped up on my recommended list. I was not disappointed. This young lady has a unique, beautifully husky voice, she was clearly born to sing the blues. All the tracks on here are very good, but for me track 5 "Time has come" is just sublime - mournful blues in that lovely husky voice, and then a 3 minute blistering guitar sequence - just superb, a real belter. Not only can she sing but wow, can she play! I would love to see her live. If you like BB King, Buddy Guy, Joe Bonamassa, Gary Moore etc. then you will love this, she really stands out. A rising star.

I know my blues guitarists and this girl is unbelievable quite frankly. Not quite in the top league, but blimey she's close! Lets put Joe Bonamassa, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Walter Trout, Johnny Winter fighting it out for the league championship but here we have a new player who plays the blues brilliantly. If anyone deserves to hit the big time and get into the big four its her! Already fighting and keeping her place in easily in the top 10, i believe her to be the most exciting new talent for years and years. Love blues? love smokin blues guitar and a voice that totally knocks you for six- don't be fooled by appearances - she does not sound like a 23 year old but sings with a maturity and resonance that has to be heard to be believed. If you love the blues buy this album and if you are anything less than blown away i will eat yesterdays underwear!

This came up as recommendation for someone who had bought Joe Bonamassa albums - and I have to say that it was spot on
She has a great voice , a friend described it as 'smokey' and I'd compare it to Joss Stone on her 'Soul Sessions' album
..and then there is some outstanding guitar as well
Standout tracks are 'Time to Change' and 'Blackest Day' and the quality of the playing is great throughout
The blues purists might say a couple of tracks veer towards lighweight R&B but overall an excellent blues album and on the strength of it I bought tickets to see her as support for Johnny Winter in a couple of weeks - so I guess I was really impressed ..

I first came across Joanne on Classic Rock's Guitarmagedon vol 2 free CD ~ with the track 'Going Home'. From the opening riff it totally blew me away ~ it was so different and yet so rooted in essential blues. Joanne sings a little bit ( and I emphasise the little bit ) like Alannah Miles with that husky approach to blues singing, but there is also something of Joss Stone about her ~ but better. ...and that's just the voice. Let's move onto the guitar playing ~ a cross between Roy Harper and Jeff Healey would be where I'd play it. There's a strong rhythm section running beneath it which is reminiscent of Jeff Beck's backing band ~ a strong driving rhythm that is very familiar but strangely different at the same time ~ a curious mix of blues with a hint of country behind it. Excellent ~ if you like good (make that great) blues driven rock with some sizzling guitar work then take a chance and get this album ~ better still listen to a segment and you'll know I'm right.

In my humble opinion, this offering from Joanne Shaw Taylor, whilst not as immediate as her follow-up release (Diamonds in The Dirt), is a superb collection of well crafted self penned songs in a classic blues / rock style. At only 24 years of age, she demonstrates a maturity well beyond her age musically, vocally and lyrically. Reading the blurb on her web site, she points to Jimi Hendrix amongst others as having been a major influence in her playing style and this is easily heard on this album (Listen to Kiss The Ground Goodbye, track listing No7). Her follow-up album at times reminded me musically of early ZZ Top, but on this release (White Sugar) that comparison is much less noticeable. One reviewer has linked her style on White Sugar to that of Status Quo, indicating that this is a negative thing. I however fail to pick up on any similarity throughout this recording. I for one would not have been disappointed if in fact she had imitated their distinctive 12 bar blues style, as in their early days, Quo were a force to be reckoned with. Unlike Diamonds in The Dirt, there is a greater variety of traditional blues and rock styles on offer throughout this album, and the closing track, Blackest Day, is a real classic blues number reminiscent of B B King. Overall this is a slightly softer sounding album than its follow-up (Diamonds in The Dirt) leaning more towards a Robert Cray sound with a touch of blues funk, but a harder edge is still noticeable at times. Vocally she sounds much softer, but still great. I look forward to future recordings by this superb new talent. She really deserves to be a major international sensation, but so long as the public continue to demand the bubble-gum tripe that makes the charts today, true talent such as that of JST will always be overlooked by all but a discerning few and she will remain a cult artist. Maybe this is no bad thing, as we have an extremely talented individual doing what she wishes and not what music executives interested only in profit think we want, and more importantly those of us in the know will feel that we have something only we have discovered to pass on to the un-educated masses. A superb guitarist who is almost on a par with the greats such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Billy Gibbons, Jimmy Page and dare I say it the greatest of them all Rory Gallagher. Get this or her follow-up album and I can assure you that she will blow your socks off.

This is an excellent album from an exceptional talent. Joanne Shaw Taylor might only have been 23 when she recorded this, but with her technique and mature sound you'd never believe it.

In this collection of 10 self penned blues songs Taylor reveals herself to be a major talent, and one who's music I will be following with interest. Her mastery of the guitar is stunning. After listening to this album I checked the album credits quite thoroughly, as I was sure from the sound that BB King had appeared on a few tracks, but no, it was Taylor all the way. A real achievement.

Currently Taylor lacks the one thing that really lifts any blues album to the highest of heights, and that is experience. Check out recordings by blues men such as Seasick Steve, or Howlin' Wolf, who have had hard lives full of first hand experience of the blues and you can see that this just lifts the music a notch. But Taylor makes up for this lack with energy and exuberance, and I am sure her music will be more informed as she travels along life's highways.

An excellent album full of fast paced electric blues a la Stevie Ray Vaughan. Accessible to a wide audience but of real interest to the blues purists as well. One that ends up in my CD player quite regularly. Recommended.

I purchased joanne's latest album first "Diamonds in the dirt". and was mesmerised by it. This is also superb. I was lying in the bath (not a pretty sight I know) and "White Sugar" was blasting up the stairs because I always play my music loud, that's the only way and I just could'nt believe how mature a guitar solo I was listening to. It made me think that Eric Clapton had better get off his backside as this young girl is leaving him in her wake. Not only that she does have a voice that reminds me of the fantastic late Dusty Springfield. I was imaginging Dusty singing with a guitar round her neck, that made me laugh.
I don't think I've ever heard a woman play the guitar so well and dare I say it for the fear of sounding sexist, sound so much like a man, if that is at all possible. If you like Blues, a great voice and superb guitar playing then this is for you and I'm sure you'll be off to purchase "Diamonds in the Dirt", enjoy.

I agree with the other reviewers, that her technical ability with the guitar isn't with the greats (yet), but the
combination of unbelievable vocals, writing talent and the noises she gets from her guitar; makes this an great album
for any blues fan. Yes there are a few stumbles in the fast bits, but this album has a rawness that is often lost
when artists become megastars.

I think I am in LURVE....

Wonderful music. I play this album at least once a week. She has talent!!!!

And yes, I am a girl.

If you like blues on the rocks, and by that, I mean some really quite blistering guitar work accompanied by 'Deep South' style vocals, then Joanne Shaw Taylor is it. I took it for granted that she was American, but no, she's British. And she has written nearly all the songs on the album. Okay, let's just cut to the chase: this is an album of the top order. Highly, highly recommended.