| Steppin' Out | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Live album by | ||||
| Released | August 1979 | |||
| Recorded | live in the US | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 42:34 | |||
| Label | A&M | |||
| Producer | Glyn Johns | |||
| Joan Armatrading chronology | ||||
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Steppin' Out is a live album by the British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading. The title is taken from her song of the same name which was first released in 1975 on her second studio album Back to the Night . A DVD with the same title, containing concerts recorded by WDR in 1979 and 1980, was released in 2004.
The album was recorded live during the North American leg of her To the Limit tour and released in the UK in October 1979 by A&M (AMLH 64789). It was also released in Canada and Europe but not in the US. This is said to be because, although Armatrading was enjoying success in the States, it was felt she did not sell enough recordings there to justify a live album. [1] However, a US issue of the album was released on CD in 2006 as a limited edition.
Armatrading's last studio album before this was To the Limit , released in July 1978, and her next would be Me Myself I , released in May 1980. The reason given for this near two-year gap between studio albums was that Armatrading was in dispute with her record company A&M during this time. [2] According to Sean Mayes' biography of Armatrading, Armatrading was suing A&M in the American courts for $10 million, alleging that they were interfering with her attempts to negotiate a contract with a new label. A&M obtained an injunction in the UK courts preventing Armatrading from recording for any other label, and she refused to record anything for A&M until the dispute was resolved. To plug this gap between studio albums, A&M decided to release a live recording of one of her concerts from the "To the Limit" tour, and this became the Steppin' Out live album. In the end, the dispute was settled amicably and Armatrading continued her association with A&M for many more years.
The album was her final collaboration with Glyn Johns, who had produced her three previous studio albums. It features songs from her previous four studio albums, Back to the Night , Joan Armatrading , Show Some Emotion and To the Limit and also features two new songs: "How Cruel" and "Love Song". It does not include any songs from her first studio album, Whatever's for Us . According to AllMusic, the album reflects elements of blues, rock, jazz, pop and "Caribbean folk-soul". [1]
"Mama Mercy" opens the album and is a funkier version of the studio recording from Show Some Emotion, "with some unusual stops". [2]
"Cool Blue Stole My Heart" is an extended (at over seven minutes) and blues-influenced version of the song from Back to the Night. It recalls a holiday Armatrading had in Amsterdam five years previously. [3] Armatrading mentions during her live concert (see Steppin' Out DVD, below) that she began writing the song in Amsterdam and finished it in London three months later.
"How Cruel" is one of two new songs first featured on this album. It is the first song in which Armatrading broaches the subject of skin colour and is about being a black woman and the attitudes of some towards her in relation to this.
"Love Song" is the second new song and is only found on this album.
"Love and Affection", her first hit single, appears in a slower version on this album, with Armatrading exploring "the gospel rhythms of the vocal line". [3]
"Steppin' Out", the title song of the album and originally found on Back to the Night, appears here in its solo version and features extended guitar work from Armatrading.
"You Rope You Tie Me" and "Kissin' And A Huggin'" are segued together in this live set.
After the release of the album, Armatrading continued to tour until the end of 1979, and only stopped when she became unwell in Australia and needed a minor operation. She then took a three-month break, during which she began work on new songs. [4] In 1979 she released an EP called How Cruel , whose title track first appeared on Steppin' Out, [5] and in February 1980, she released the single "Rosie"/"How Cruel".
The album was produced by Armatrading and Henry Lewy; therefore the live album Steppin' Out marked the end of her collaboration with producer Glyn Johns. Armatrading said of this: "I just wanted to hear a different sound. It's like changing musicians – not because you've lost respect for the players – it's like moving on." [6]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [7] |
The album received a rating of 3.5 out of 5 on AllMusic. [1]
Armatrading's biographer Sean Mayes commented in 1990: "with a band of this calibre, performances of such commitment and fresh insight as Joan gives, plus two interesting new numbers, this is a live album which easily earns its place in the collection." [3]
However, a 1979 review by Ian Penman of New Musical Express was not so positive. He described Steppin' Out as a "standard rock and roll live album" and a "plain, depressing affair", saying of the solos in "Kissin' and a Huggin'" that "Only Richie Hayward (drums) and Bill Bodine (bass) of the five-piece band manage to avoid their respective instrumental clichés." [8]
A Steppin' Out DVD was issued in 2004 by WDR. It has all the tracks from the live album except "Love Song" and many more, and lasts for 172 minutes.
The Steppin' Out DVD comprises recordings of two of Armatrading's concerts in Germany for the Rockpalast TV series: the concert on 15 February 1979 at the WDR studio in Cologne, and the concert on 19 & 20 April 1980 from the Grugahalle in Essen. The DVD also includes an interview with Armatrading, conducted in English and German. During the interview Armatrading wears the house key around her neck that was later to become the title of her studio album The Key , and is questioned about it by the interviewer.
According to the DVD sleeve notes, the two concerts give "a fascinating contrast between the earlier low-key show and the upbeat, more electric style of the later concert". The first concert was given to a small crowd and the second to a much larger one in the "vast surroundings" [9] of the Grugahalle, reflecting Armatrading's increasing popularity and success at that time.
All songs written by Joan Armatrading
Steppin' Out live album, 1979Side 1
Side 2
| Steppin' Out DVD, 2004Cologne concert, 1979
| Steppin' Out DVD, 2004Essen concert, 1980
|
Steppin' Out live album, 1979
| Steppin' Out DVD, 20041979 Line-up: Cologne
1980 Line-up: Essen
|
| Chart (1979) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [10] | 23 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [11] | 11 |
Joan Anita Barbara Armatrading is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. Her first major commercial success came with her third and fourth albums, Joan Armatrading (1976) and Show Some Emotion (1977), and she continues to play live and record studio albums. A three-time Grammy Award nominee, Armatrading has also been nominated twice for BRIT Awards as Best Female Artist. She received an Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contemporary Song Collection in 1996.
Angus Boyd "Gus" Dudgeon was an English record producer, who oversaw many of Elton John's most acclaimed recordings, including his commercial breakthrough, "Your Song". Their collaboration led to seven US No. 1 albums, and established John as one of the most successful singles artists of the 1970s.
"The Weakness in Me" is a song by Joan Armatrading, from her seventh album Walk Under Ladders, released as a single in the US and Netherlands in November 1981. Despite not charting, the song has become one of Armatrading's better-known songs. Armatrading has said "it's about somebody who has an affair and they've fallen for the person that they're having the affair with, but they love the person they were with whilst they were having the affair."
Joan Armatrading is the third studio album by British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading, released in 1976 by A&M Records. It was her first album to be recorded entirely in London; her first two albums – Whatever's for Us and Back to the Night were partially recorded in France and Wales, respectively, in addition to London.
"Down to Zero" is a 1976 song by British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading. It features pedal steel guitar by B. J. Cole and drums by Kenney Jones of the Faces.
Show Some Emotion is the fourth studio album by British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading, released in 1977 on A&M. It reached No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart, No. 52 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart, and No. 18 on the Australian Kent Music Report albums chart.
Back to the Night is the second studio album by the British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading. The album was released in April 1975 by A&M Records.
To the Limit is the fifth studio album by British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading, released in September 1978 by A&M.
The Key is the eighth studio album by the British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading, released on 28 February 1983 by A&M Records (AMLX64912). The album was recorded at Townhouse Studios in Shepherd's Bush, London; Polar Studios in Stockholm and also in New York.
Secret Secrets is the ninth studio album by British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading, released on 4 February 1985 by A&M. The album was recorded and mixed at Battery Studios, in Willesden, London. It reached number 14 on the UK Album Chart and was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry for sales in excess of 60,000 copies. The album peaked at number 18 in Australia. The album had little success with singles, with its only charting hit, "Temptation", stalling at no.65 on the UK Singles Chart.
Sleight of Hand is the tenth studio album by British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading, released on 12 May 1986 by A&M Records. It was recorded and produced by Armatrading at Bumpkin Studio, her own purpose built studio in the grounds of her home. The album peaked at No. 34 on the UK Album Charts, No. 70 on the US Billboard 200, and No. 39 in Australia. It was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry for sales in excess of 60,000 copies.
The Shouting Stage is the 11th studio album by the British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading, released on 29 June 1988 by A&M Records. It was written, arranged and produced entirely by Armatrading herself, and recorded at her home studio (Bumpkin), with mixing done at Olympic Studios, London.
Hearts and Flowers is the twelfth studio album by British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading. The album was written, arranged and produced by Armatrading; recorded at Bumpkin Studios, her own studios in the grounds of her home; mixed at The Grey Room in Los Angeles and mastered at Sterling Sound, New York. Armatrading began writing the album in 1989 and finished it in April 1990. It was released on 4 June 1990 by A&M Records.
What's Inside is the fourteenth studio album by British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading. The album was written, arranged and produced by Armatrading, co-produced by David Tickle and recorded at the A&M Recording Studios in Hollywood. The strings were recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, with the Kronos Quartet's contribution recorded at The Plant Recording Studios, Sausalito, California and The Memphis Horns recorded at Kiva Recording Studio, Memphis, Tennessee. The album was released in 1995 by RCA and was Armatrading's only album for the label. She had left A&M in 1992 after an eighteen-year association with the company.
Lovers Speak is the fifteenth studio album by British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading, and was released on 25 March 2003. Three tracks from the album were released by Telstar on 10 March 2003 as a sampler.
Into the Blues is the sixteenth studio album by British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading, released on 1 May 2007. The album was recorded by Armatrading at Bumpkin Studios, her own purpose-built studios. It was released on the 429 label (17625) and on the Hypertension label. The album was released in 2008 as a deluxe edition, with a DVD.
"Dry Land" is a 1975 song written by Joan Armatrading and Pam Nestor. It was released as an album track on Back to the Night in May 1975 and then as a single on 28 November 1975. The song has a simple arrangement, with a solo vocal, a number of choral-style backing vocals, an acoustic piano, and a Moog synthesizer. All of these were performed by Armatrading herself, with the exception of the Moog, which was played by her producer, Pete Gage.
Live: All the Way from America is a live album by the British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading. It was Armatrading's second live album, following the 1979 release of Steppin' Out, and was, therefore, the first live album she had released in twenty-five years. Armatrading was on tour following the release of her 2003 studio album Lovers Speak, and a concert from this tour was recorded on 25 June 2003 at the Lillian Fontaine Garden Theatre in Saratoga, California. The album takes its title from her 1980 song "All the Way from America", which originally appeared on the album Me Myself I. It was released in 2004 on digital format, CD and DVD by Savoy Records / SLG, and re-released in 2009 in CD format on the 429 Records label.
Live at the Royal Albert Hall is a live album by the British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading. It was recorded live on tour in 2010 and 2011, following the release of Armatrading's seventeenth studio album This Charming Life. The album was released as a digital album, CD and DVD by 429 Records / Savoy Jazz (FTN17814).
How Cruel is a 12-inch one-sided EP by British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading, which was released in November 1979 on A&M. The title track had previously appeared on Armatrading's live album Steppin' Out, which was not released in the US. The EP was released in the US and elsewhere, but not in the UK. It made it to number 10 on the Dutch Album Top 100 and peaked at #19 on the Norwegian Albums Chart. It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance at the 23rd Annual Grammy Awards in 1981. The single from this EP was "Rosie"/"How Cruel" (1979/1980), which reached #49 in the UK and #52 in Australia. "Rosie" was included on Armatrading's first compilation album, 1983's Track Record, as well as her 2004 live album Live: All the Way from America. All four tracks from this EP were placed at the start of the second CD of Armatrading's 2003 compilation album Love and Affection: Joan Armatrading Classics (1975–1983).
