Review: Joanne Shaw Taylor – Black & Gold
Joanne Shaw Taylor – Black & Gold
Format: CD – Vinyl LP – Digital / Label: Journeyman Records
Release: 2025
Text: Martien Koolen
‘Black & Gold’ is Joanne Shaw Taylor’s tenth studio album already and I know it is a huge cliché, but it is definitely her best album so far, as the queen of the British blues really displays all her qualities as a musician here on this amazing album. ‘Black & Gold,’ produced by the legendary Kevin Shirley (Black Country Communion, Beth Hart, Iron Maiden, Joe Bonamassa) features an awesome line-up of backing musicians, being: Anton Fig (drums), Jimmy Wallace (keyboards), Alison Prestwood (bass guitar), Doug Lancio (guitar), Audley Freed (guitar) and guest guitar picker Joe Bonamassa, who plays guitar on All The Things I Said and Who’s Gonna Love Me Now?
The eleven new tracks on ‘Black & Gold’ showcase Taylor’s creativity at full force, mixing blues rock with musical influences from indie rock, Americana and retro pop, resulting in true heartfelt ballads as well as hard hitting rock and blues rock songs indeed. Taylor saves the best for last, as the real gems of this album are the two closing songs, What Are You Gonna Do Now? and Love Lives Here. The latter being a ballad-like blues rock song with emotional lyrics, lots of keyboard “walls,” soundscapes and a glorious, soaring end guitar solo which starts at the 2:50 minute mark!
Hell Of A Good Time (furious guitar solo) and Look What I’ve Become (really heartfelt with a soaring guitar solo) are excellent songs where Taylor and band really rock out, while the recent single called Grayer Shade Of Blue is a more pop-like track; a radio-friendly song which could be a hit fir sure! Hold Of My Heart, All The Things I Said, and the title track are three songs that are a kind of laid back, as they are a mix of country, pop, and soul.
Overall, I would say that ‘Black & Gold’ is a true musical treat, wonderfully performed, immaculately produced, proving that Taylor is among the leading musicians in this genre! Play it LOUD and Black & Gold even gets 25% better for sure! Listening tip: Hell Of A Good Time; and that is what you get when you listen to Taylor’s new album!
Tracks:
01. Hold Of My Heart
02. All The Things I Said (feat. Joe Bonamassa)
03. Black & Gold
04. Who’s Gonna Love Me Now? (feat. Joe Bonamassa)
05. I Gotta Stop Letting You Let Me Down
06. Summer Love
07. Grayer Shade Of Blue
08. Hell Of A Good Time
09. Look What I’ve Become
10. What Are You Gonna Do Now?
11. Love Lives Here
Website: https://www.joanneshawtaylor.com/
2025 European Fall Tour **
September 24 – Bath, UK – The Forum
September 25 – York, UK – York Barbican
September 27 – Wolverhampton, UK – Wulfran Hall
September 28 – Eastbourne, UK – Devonshire Park Theatre
September 30 – Arnhem, NL – Luxor Live
October 1 – Tilburg, NL – Poppodium 013
October 3 – Leipzig, DE – Anker
October 4 – Torgau, DE – Kulturbastion
October 5 – Berlin, DE – Columbia Theater
Octover 7 – Mainz, DE – Kultursentrim Mainz
October 9 – London, UK – Cadogan Hall
** Tickets on Sale June 6, 2025