Glorious Joan is back! Eleven years after her first covers album, with that very cheeky artwork, comes Joan Wasser’s celebration of "songs I adore" – 10 tunes that she’s been working on ever since 2009.
Those lucky enough to have caught her in concert over the past few years will have been treated to her particularly personal rendition of Prince’s “Kiss” and the shimmering, faultless version of Blur’s “Out of Time” that makes the Albarn original sound somewhat soulless. Apart from “There Are Worse Things I Could Do” (remember Rizzo in Grease?), these are all songs originally performed by men, which can’t be an accident. Wasser’s fully feminine remakes generally strip things back to their bare bones and rebuild from the start.
Her “Keep Forgetting” is a million miles from Michael McDonald’s (thank god) and traces a delicate, faltering line oozing with pent up emotion. Her Stroke’s cover (“Under Control”) features what she describes as ‘my best Bryan May guitar playing’ – she certainly gives him a run for his money. Frankly out-filthing Outkast on her cover of Spread, she is aided and abetted by Meshell Ndegeocello. The one song that doesn’t improve on the original, for me, is Talk Talk’s “Life’s What You Make It”. It’s a good interpretation but is one song that doesn’t feel particularly advanced.
Joan’s is a voice like no other – enveloping, smokily sensual, mesmerising (you should hear her cover of Rizzo’s “There Are Worse Things I Could Do"). She has more talent tin her little finger than Taylor Swift, Rita Ora, Dua Lipa et al combined could ever hope for. Definitely worth investigating.