The first time I heard "Love & Affection", I was a snotty-nosed 16 year old who thought Genesis and E.L.P. were the cat's meow. When I heard her rich, deep, soulful voice sing about the price of love and the cost of friendship, when I heard the gorgeous ear-candy pop arrangements that underscored such a beautiful voice, I knew then and there that heaven would sound exactly like Joan Armatrading. I rushed out to buy JOAN ARMATRADING, a wonderful album released at a time when her label (A&M) boasted incredible pop smarts and a great promotions team (especially in Canada); their hard work meant pop radio stations sometimes took chances and played music just like hers thereby impressing a younger generation (like mine). Her voice has been a constant companion since then. From the jazzy inflections of "Show Some Emotion" to the new-wave electro-pop of "I'm Lucky", the edgy eighties soft-rock of "Drop The Pilot" to romantic ballads like "Willow", Joan's music has always been there to pick me up when I'm down. A&M's remastered hits anthology is a breath-taking collection of all her best moments (fans should try to find a double CD anthology released by A&M U.K. in the mid-nineties that was even better!). It's to her credit that this stuff still retains all its passion, power and soul.

The most surprising thing about Joan Armatrading is how so few people--particularly in the U.S.--are familiar with her work. She deserves much more recognition than she gets, and this wonderful greatest hits collection proves it. With a career that spans almost three decades, she ought to be a household name.

Her rich, husky vocals are beautiful and unique, but she also shows an impressive range when she occasionally slides into a sweet falsetto. It's easy to see how she has influenced such artists as Tracy Chapman and Fiona Apple.

Her songwriting is extraordinary, and as varied and diverse as her vocal prowess. She can be funky ("Show Some Emotion"), heartbreakingly honest ("The Weakness in Me"), or pleasantly folky ("Whatever's for Us, For Us"). She shifts musical styles so effortlessly, able to swing from a bouncy reggae number like 1979's "Rosie" to keyboard-heavy 1980s New Wave on such songs as "Me Myself I" and "I'm Lucky."

Armatrading's guitar playing is also a treasure. She has been called "Jimi Hendrix on nylon strings," and that's not a bad description. She has great instincts, managing to choose notes that pleasantly catch the listener off guard. Her wailing solos positively soar over the steady bass and drums on "(I Love it When You) Call Me Names." She displays very pretty acoustic strumming and flutter-picking on "All the Way from America," but then she gets crunchy and raw on the driving "Drop the Pilot," with a rhythm hook so catchy you'll want to set your CD player on repeat. It's impossible to get tired of this one.

A great introduction to this artist's catalogue, "Greatest Hits" is the perfect escape for the open-minded listener from the often bland, traditional, mainstream pop/rock. As Armatrading says on "Heaven," "You came into my life/Made me feel like I was really something." Oh Joan, you ARE.

While this compilation covers more of her songs than "Track Record", it still isn't complete. Either way you look at it, you really need to buy all her early albums to fully appreciate the magic of Joan Armatrading.

This compilation is ideal though for those just discovering her because it features early gems such as "Whatever's for Us" and "Love & Affection".

Joan was recently voted in the top 200 influential women of rock of all time. Well deserved.

Joan is underrated in many countries, and almost forgotten by radio now. It's sad that so many only know her for the success of "Drop the Pilot" in 1983. That song is not really representative of her magic.

...is one of the great opening lines of pop music ("Love and Affection.") Story goes that Armatrading thought she'd be a songwriter. Fat chance. Way too idiosyncratic. Hard to imagine others covering these songs, though there must be a tribute album in the works somewhere.

Standard greatest hits (and near hits). Standard greatest hits package gripe: no documentation. None of the musicians who played on any of these pieces is credited, so if you want to know who played the bass...well, you're out of luck.

About 20 years ago an out of town friend came to visit. Wanted to go see Joan Armatrading. I went along to be hospitable. Expected singer-songwriter wimpiness. Instead, I was treated to a much more energetic show than I had expected. This comes across in the closing "bonus track" of this disk, a previously unreleased live version of "Kissin' and A Huggin'". The inclusion of this track really sets this disk off from the other collections and compilations of Armatrading's music which are currently available.

Joan Armatrading was born to do this. Her songs traverse the emotional spectrum from one end to the other with the grace and agility of a dancer. Her voice is at times rich with joy and at other times, drenched in pain. Her writing is sometimes sublime, sometimes frivolous but always compelling. She is a genius.