Today, The Second Disc welcomes a new voice!  Please give a warm welcome to our newest contributor, Sam Stone.  Sam brings deep knowledge and tremendous passion for the world of catalogue music, and we’re confident that his fresh perspective will put his news and reviews for The Second Disc on the top of your must-read list.  You can read a little more about Sam at the end of this post.  We couldn’t be more thrilled to have him on board.   Without further ado…take it away, Sam!

Intervention Records–the label well-known for crafting sonically marvelous, high-quality releases–has announced the newest title in its (Re)Discover series:  Joan Armatrading’s 1976 self-titled classic.  The artist’s breakthrough release will be reissued on 180-gram vinyl on February 15, 2019, followed by a stereo hybrid SACD release (playable on all players) on February 22.

With classic tracks like “Love and Affection” and “Down to Zero,” the Glyn Johns-produced Joan Armatrading was the British singer-songwriter’s breakout album.  Armatrading’s soulful vocals, sparkling guitar work, and first-rate songwriting are on full display on the celebrated recording, which first arrived on A&M Records in the autumn of 1976.  Forty-plus years after its original release, it still stands as a high-water mark of the singer-songwriter genre, as much on its musical merits as on its production value.

Joan Armatrading is now receiving the Intervention treatment to the tune of a 180-gram, RTI-pressed, ultra-quiet LP reissue, as well as a hybrid SACD pressing.  Both the new LP and the SACD feature all-analog remastering by Kevin Gray at CoHEARent Audio and are derived from the best-available source: the analog, ½” safety copy of the original stereo master tape.  Gray mastered the SACD direct to DSD, using the same mastering as the LP.  Intervention promises that the result will be more “rich, resonant, and dynamic” than ever before.

Meanwhile, the album art has been restored by Intervention Records’ Tom Vadakan and will be housed in a film-laminated, old-style, tip-on gatefold sleeve printed by Stoughton.  The hybrid SACD will be housed in a Super Jewel Box.

Both titles will be available February 2019 and are now available for pre-order directly from the Intervention Records website.  We’ll update this post with Amazon pre-order links as soon as they become available!

Joan Armatrading, Joan Armatrading (A&M LP SP 4588, 1976 – reissued Intervention Records IR-029/IR-SCD5, 2019)

LP: Intervention Records
Hybrid SACD: Intervention Records

1. Down to Zero
2. Help Yourself
3. Water with the Wine
4. Love and Affection
5. Save Me
6. Join the Boys
7. People
8. Somebody Who Loves You
9. Like Fire
10. Tall in the Saddle