"Joan Armatrading" – Joan Armatrading (g,voc); Jimmy Jewell (sax); Peter Wood (org, p, keyb); Bryn Haworth (g, man); Graham Lyle, Jerry Donahue (g); Dave Markee (b); Tony Carr (dr), a.o. “Where are all the voices gone?” A good question in today’s bizarre musical world of video clips and techno where one searches in vain for a tender, sweet-perfumed flower. But it’s really not so important – as long as we can still find music’s bedrock, so to speak, or are even lucky enough to have it in our audiophile treasure chest. Now that numerous pop groups have finished crossing the dark valley of electronic sensationalism, and “unplugged” sound is accepted as the true ideal in the ‘90s, it is precisely the music from years gone by that has suddenly become “in” once again. Here we find all the ingredients of good, basic song tradition: a great deal of natural singing, refined guitar sound, a little steel guitar, and a pinch of Wurlitzer organ. This recording from 1976 was Joan Armatrading’s first step on the ladder to a sensational career which has not yet come to an end – perhaps because she has remained to her own original style. The album is just right for teenies and twens wanting to discover the soft, rock-like ballads from the days when their dads had long hair and wore “John-Lennon” glasses. For the older generation it is like re-visiting old times – times when music was really “handmade”.