Joan Armatrading – Secret Secrets

If there was only one of Joan Armatrading’s records to choose from, I'd pick just this SECRET SECRETS, published in 1985. She is thirty-five bay that time and signing these songs she reaches the upper floors of expressiveness and writing skills. The result is an album well balanced in the rhythms, which optimally enhances the chiaroscuro of his alto voice. Already from the first piece, "Persona Grata" (strange title that looks like a Latin definition) you can perceive the leitmotif of the whole album, that is her classic concern about joys and sorrows of falling in love: "Make me feel good / It can make you feel good too" and then she goes off rhyming for the remaining nine pieces with intriguing variations on this canvas. Unlike the rock-blues approach of his youth releases however, we may find here a more sophisticated orchestration and a switch towards a kind of “new-wave pop”, thanks probably to a producer like Mike Howlett (who had already brought to success groups such as Berlin and OMD) and among the supporting musicians names like Joe Jackson on piano (excellent accompanist for "Love By You ») Pino Palladino on bass, Mel Gaynor on drums and Dave Bitelli on sax (pretty good solo on" Friends Not Lovers "). As for my favorite songs I would say the sparkling uptempo of "Temptation" next to the more intimate "Thinking Man" while my best ever is the heartfelt "Strange" which closes the album with disillusioned melancholy ("Strange / How the real stories end / No happy ever after / No beginning again”). The iconographic part of the record is very accurate, in shades of red and blue colors (like passion and melancholy, I would say) and integrating the ✓ sign to imitate the initial letter J - in italics - of the name Joan. On the front and back cover, as well as in the internal folder, the beautiful pictures by Robert Mapplethorpe (not just any one!), are a kind of extra-bonus. The lyrics of all songs are well reported as well as information about collaborating musicians. In conclusion, a truly valuable album for any pop music collector.

This photo is from a spanish pressing?I can't check without back cover

An Australian Tour Edition of this particular version comes with an outer golden cover for the 1985 Australian Tour. The front cover depicts a silhouette of Joan Armatradings portrait, with her signature beneath and the text "Joan Armatrading Souvenir Pack. The reverse side shows the silhouette of Australia and the tour dates:
Thursday 6th June, Perth Entertainment Centre
Sunday 9th June, Adelaide Entertainment Centre
Wednesday 12th June, Melbourne Entertainment Centre
Saturday 15th June, Canberra Bruce Stadium
Monday 17th June, Brisbane Festival Hall
Thursday 20th June, Sydney Entertainment Centre