Joanne Shaw Taylor "The Trouble With Love
- timcaple
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Joanne Shaw Taylor: Love, Honesty, and the Art of Staying True to Yourself
Joanne Shaw Taylor has never been one to fake it. In a conversation on the new show which you can see in full in "The Blues Lounge' the subject matter moved between new music, career reflections, and the realities of being a woman in the industry, she came across exactly as fans would hope: candid, funny, thoughtful, and completely grounded. With her upcoming album The Trouble With Love, Joanne explains that this record isn’t just another collection of songs — it’s a snapshot of where she is in life right now.“I am who I am,” she says. “I can’t fake it.”That honesty is at the heart of everything she does. Joanne doesn’t write to chase trends or manufacture an image. She writes because she has something real to say, and because she wants listeners to feel something genuine when they hear it.“My job is to make the audience feel something,” she says. “And if I’m singing about things that I don’t feel, then I’m not going to do it.”
An album rooted in love, not heartbreak
For Joanne, The Trouble With Love is exactly what the title suggests: an album built around love in all its forms.“Every song is actually about love,” she explains. “That’s why I called it The Trouble With Love.”She’s clear that this isn’t a breakup album, despite the assumptions that often get placed on female artists. Joanne pushes back on the tired idea that women only write from heartbreak.“You draw from different experiences,” she says. “Not everything is this journal of a heartbreak.”Instead, she wanted the album to reflect the full emotional range of love: romance, friendship, loss, longing, and self-respect. That honesty gives the record its strength.
“Hope for the best” — and trust the process
One of the most revealing parts of the interview came when Joanne discussed working with producer Kevin Shirley, a long-time collaborator and close friend.At one point she recalls the recording process in characteristically deadpan fashion: “You go to the studio, you let Kevin pour you a few martinis, the lights go off and start singing, hope for the best.”She laughs off the line, but it speaks to something deeper about her process: trust.“He’s become one of my closest friends,” she says. “It’s really nice to have that sounding board.”For Joanne, that partnership is about more than making a record — it’s about having people around her who understand her, challenge her, and help bring out her best work.
Why the songs feel so personal
One of the reasons Joanne’s music resonates is that it doesn’t feel detached or decorative. Even when the songs aren’t autobiographical in a literal sense, they still feel lived in.“I would never release anything that I didn’t think I could believe what I was singing,” she says.That commitment shows up again and again. On songs like “Hell or High Water,” she talks about the emotional pull of self-doubt and resilience. On “Tired of Being Right,” she reflects on the double standards women face in the industry.“I think the whole song is about sort of double standards,” she says. “A man can be authoritative, and a woman comes off as bitchy.”Her point is simple, but powerful: women in music are often judged more harshly, and no matter what they do, someone will always have an opinion.“You’re never going to please everybody,” she says. “You’ve just got to please yourself and hope that the audience finds you.”
The freedom that comes with age
Joanne also spoke openly about how much more comfortable she feels now than she did earlier in her career.“Night and day,” she says. “It’s just being more comfortable in yourself.”That self-knowledge has helped her let go of the pressure to fit into other people’s expectations.“I’m a different Joanne than I was when I was 22,” she says. “I’ll be a different Joanne in 20 years’ time, I hope.”That’s part of the beauty of her work: each album is a chapter, not a final statement. She sees her records as “journals and snapshots” of where she is in life.
The human side of Joanne Shaw Taylor
Away from the stage, Joanne is refreshingly ordinary in the best possible way. She loves cooking, books, tea, and, apparently, an ongoing battle with Yorkshire puddings.She also admits that life at 40 feels very different from life in her 20s.“In your 20s, you can stay up all night, have two hours sleep, get up, run five miles, do three shows,” she says. “At 40, it’s like being run over by a truck.”Still, she wouldn’t trade the journey. She remembers the young version of herself with real affection: the girl who dreamed of moving to America, becoming a blues guitarist, and building a life around music.“I hope she’d be very proud,” Joanne says. “I’m also really proud of her.”That might be the best summary of Joanne Shaw Taylor there is: proud, grateful, disciplined, and still deeply in love with the music.And maybe that’s why her work connects so strongly. She doesn’t just sing songs — she means them.
The album is due on October 23 and you can pre order here now https://amzn.to/3Qx646x
The latest show with Joanne is here now you can watch below .
If you missed this then check out Joanne's previous appearance on the show .
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