CoronaVinyl Day 214 (A): Track Record by Joan Armatrading

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We are starting our third trip 'round the alphabet, back at "A."  Today's selection is Joan Armatrading's 1983 compilation album Track Record.  The album cover shows Armatrading in a sprinter's stance on top of a piano.  It seems dangerous, but I guess she must not have suffered any serious injuries because she's still alive 38 years later. 

Armatrading is one of those artists who I've heard of and have maybe heard a handful of songs here and there, but really don't know much about.  Born in St. Kitts, she moved to Birmingham, England at age 3.  As a teenager, she began writing songs and playing the piano and guitar, and she eventually released her first album in 1972.

Track Record contains 13 songs she released between 1976 and 1983.  I wasn't sure exactly what to expect, and I must say that I enjoyed Track Record.  Armatrading shifts among genres pretty easily and adeptly, and the songs on the album range from pop to rock to reggae to singer-songwriter to blues to R&B.  The album went to #18 on the UK album chart and #113 on the Billboard album chart, as well as #4 on the Australian album chart.

While Armatrading didn't enjoy a ton of success across the pond here in the U.S. (her highest-charting album, 1980's Me Myself I, reached #28), all seven of her studio albums released between 1976 and 1985 broke into the Top 15 of the UK album chart.  She has had a long career in music that continues to this day.  In 2007, she topped the Billboard Blues album chart with her album Into the Blues.

Favorite song from Side 1:  "(I Love It When You) Call Me Names"

This one is originally from her 1983 album The Key, and it's a saucy little early '80s rocker that could have just as easily been on a Pat Benatar or Joan Jett album of that time.  It's catchy, and it has some humor (or humour, if you will).

Favorite song from Side 2:  "Rosie"
This song is from her 1979 EP How Cruel, which was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance in 1981.  It's a poppy reggae song, complete with steel drums.