#42
February 4 1985
Joan Armatrading
Secret Secrets
Genre: MOR Rock
3 out of 5
I’ve never cared much for Joan. I feel like her reputation is the result of management and PR success. Every album has been an exercise in aiming for the middle, imo.
So, I almost pulled her from this list because she doesn’t ever seem to fit into the “rock” idiom. I was convinced that this one is different and, it sure starts off that way. “Persona Grata” sounds like 80s Prog Rock and “Temptation” follows it with some close approximation of Eurythmics. Both songs are really good but, these sounds are played out by this point so Joan just sounds like she’s a few steps behind the rest.
Joan can sing. She can write perfectly good MOR pop songs. But she leaves me wanting. Always has.
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