| To the Limit | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 29 September 1978 [1] | |||
| Recorded | 1978 | |||
| Studio | Olympic (London) | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 41:12 | |||
| Label | A&M | |||
| Producer | Glyn Johns | |||
| Joan Armatrading chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from To the Limit | ||||
| ||||
To the Limit is the fifth studio album by British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading, released in September 1978 by A&M.
The album was Armatrading's third and final studio collaboration with producer Glyn Johns. It was recorded at Olympic Studios in the London suburb of Barnes and mastered at The Mastering Lab, Los Angeles. To the Limit marks a departure from her previous work, as she wanted to move away from the formal sound of a studio album and aim more for the feel of a live performance while retaining the quality of a studio. To this end, she used half the number of musicians she previously had, used a live studio band, and kept overdubs to a minimum. [2]
Dave Markee and Henry Spinetti stayed on from Armatrading's previous album Show Some Emotion while Red Young and Quitman Dennis joined from her live band and Dick Sims from Eric Clapton's band. Phil Palmer had previously worked with David Bowie and Frank Zappa, and is the nephew of Ray and Dave Davies of The Kinks. [3]
Annie Leibovitz, who did the photography, was the first woman to photograph Armatrading for an album cover. The pictures show Joan relaxing at her home, which was then in Sutton. Leibovitz spent four days with Joan at her home to capture the pictures. [4]
To the Limit is an "aspects of love" album with the songs being a series of letters or private conversations addressed to the lover, and it reached number 13 in the British album chart. Armatrading did not tour following its release, the first time she had not done so.
"Bottom to the Top" was Armatrading's first flirtation with reggae (although there were reggae influences on Show Some Emotion) and the song arose from hearing some records which her younger brother had. She wanted to get as close to an authentic sound as possible, so the song was recorded in one take. [5]
"Barefoot and Pregnant" was written after a conversation with her agent, during which Armatrading heard the expression "barefoot and pregnant"; used in the women's movement at the time. She was intrigued by the expression and wanted to write a song with that title.
The idea for "Your Letter" arose from a conversation Armatrading had with the American singer Bonnie Raitt who described finding a letter "she shouldn't have seen". [6]
"Taking My Baby Up Town" extends the theme of the song "Kissin' and a Huggin'" from Show Some Emotion and it was put to Armatrading by Penny Valentine of Melody Maker that the song was about gay relationships, though she denied this was the case. [7]
The song "Wishing" is a blues influenced number and was described by Armatrading as "the first bit of poetry I've ever written". [8]
"Let It Last" is influenced by country and gospel music.
The songs "Bottom to the Top", "Barefoot and Pregnant", "You Rope You Tie Me" and "Your Letter" have subsequently appeared on compilation albums. "Barefoot and Pregnant", "Bottom to the Top" and "Takin' My Baby Uptown" were released as singles. "You Rope You Tie Me", "Barefoot and Pregnant" and "Takin' My Baby Uptown" were included in the set list for Armatrading's seminal concert at the Rockpalast in Cologne in 1979. "You Rope You Tie Me" was included on Armatrading's 1979 live album Steppin' Out .
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [9] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B+ [10] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [11] |
| Record Mirror | [12] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [13] |
The album was critically well received and made it to number 13 in the UK Albums Chart, and number 42 on the Australian Kent Music Report albums chart. [14] [15]
Reviewing for Record Mirror , Geoff Travis gave the album 5 out of 5, writing that Armatrading "provides a vocabulary that is full of feeling and understanding and infused with her own character that is streets ahead of her rivals in articulating her emotions In a rock and roll song" and lauded her as "without doubt one of the greatest artists that there is making music at the moment. The fact that she is one of the least pretentious and one of the most courageous people without courting the sensationalist press that she could count on if she were to be more explicit about the meaning of many of her songs, does nothing but enhance her stature as a writer, singer and artist." [12] Phil Sutcliffe for Sounds summed up that "musically To The Limit is a small step within Joan's known area of excellence. It's very satisfying but there could be something more radical next time. In terms of lyrics though this is her most potent collection yet." [16]
Reviewing retrospectively for AllMusic, Dave Connolly described it as "one of her better albums", stating that "nothing on To the Limit is great, but nearly everything is good". [9]
All songs written by Joan Armatrading.
Side one
Side two
Musicians
Production
| Chart (1978) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [17] | 42 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [18] | 13 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [19] | 21 |
| UK Albums (OCC) [14] | 13 |
| US Billboard 200 [20] | 125 |
Joan Anita Barbara Armatrading, is a Kittitian-English singer-songwriter and guitarist.
Enrico Antonio Giorgio Spinetti is a Welsh session drummer whose playing has featured on many prominent rock and pop albums.
"Love and Affection" is a song by Kittitian-English singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading. Her fourth single, and her third for A&M Records, it was her first chart success. It reached number 10 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1976. One of her best-known recordings, it has been described as a "deceptively feisty ballad ... an instant classic." It appeared on her eponymous third album. The song has twice been used as the title track of compilation albums, for 1999's Love and Affection: The Best of Joan Armatrading and 2003's Love and Affection: Classics 1975–1983.
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, as her first two albums – Whatever's for Us and Back to the Night being 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.
Pamela Agatha Nestor is a former singer, songwriter and actress who was active in the entertainment industry in the 1960s and 1970s. She left the music industry in 1979 and in later life took to academic pursuits, gaining a doctorate in 2009 from Birkbeck College, University of London.
Whatever's for Us is the debut album of British singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading. The album was a collaboration between Armatrading and singer-songwriter Pam Nestor. At the time the two were musical partners and wrote over a hundred songs together. Armatrading sings lead vocals and plays piano and acoustic guitar, while Nestor co-wrote most of the songs.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
