Artist Joan Armatrading

Joan Armatrading set the table for all sorts of confessional folkies in the early ’70s, when she started fusing soul and reggae with the gentle string-sweep of that softly lit era. Most impressive about her body of work is its success rate: Though she doesn’t avoid new tactics that might backfire, she’s never made a truly bad album in more than 30 years. From stinging message songs to lighter-load diversions, her work has remained tight and on-point. Armatrading tours here behind her new This Charming Life, a self-produced venture into rock 'n' roll that ably combines her sultry swagger with late-'70s grooves epitomized by “Heading Back To New York City.”  

Updated 06/29/2010