The album will be released via Joe Bonamassa’s independent blues label KTBA Records. It was produced and recorded by Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith at Ocean Way Studios in Nashville, Tennessee. a b "British Blues Awards 2011". Britishbluesawards.com. Archived from the original on 19 October 2011 . Retrieved 15 October 2011. The Little Richard ballad [I Don't Know What You've Got] was a big one, because I always loved that song; I like the subject matter. I think we have all been in that position where we have fallen in love with someone and think, ‘Why am I in love with this person? They are an arsehole.’ Y’know!? [Laughs] And I think he approaches that subject very well. He was already acting as a mentor as well as an unofficial producer on The Blues Album, so I asked him if he’d fancy the job, officially,” says Joanne. “Thankfully, he accepted. The Blues Album has been everything I hoped it would be. It’s been a labour of love, overseen by an artist, producer, and friend who I trust beyond measure.” Joanne’s covers album pays tribute to artists and bands that are not obvious choices including Little Village, Little Milton, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, James Ray, but, at the same time, she covers seminal blues icons including Albert King, Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green and Magic Sam. Some of the songs covered are B-sides of singles.

Joanne: I guess so. You don’t usually blend those lines. To have my best friend producing an album, and as you mentioned, he’s incredibly talented and at the top of his game and certainly at the top of this genre. It’s a little intimidating. I was worried about that. I think it made us better friends because after two weeks of being in the studio, he’d seen me play the good notes and all the bad notes. Once you’ve seen someone in their yoga pants, watching The Crown and eating popcorn, if you can still respect them as an artist, you’re onto a winner, really. (Laughter) Joanne Shaw Taylor: Blues From The Heart Live". All About Jazz. 11 June 2022 . Retrieved 29 June 2022.

He was already acting as a mentor as well as an unofficial producer on The Blues Album, so I asked him if he’d fancy the job, officially,” says Joanne. “Thankfully, he accepted. The Blues Album has been everything I hoped it would be. It’s been a labor of love, overseen by an artist, producer, and friend who I trust beyond measure. I had about five or six songs, blues songs I just loved – not necessarily blues songs, because I think this doesn’t fit the criteria of what people think of as blues. I have a broader sense of the blues. For me, so long as you sing it with a certain attitude or play with a certain feel it is blues. It doesn’t have to be a 12-bar shuffle. I also get nervous performing in front of people I know. I always find that a very strange experience. Like my dad comes to a lot of my gigs and I love him being there, but also there is a slight thing of, I wouldn’t go to my dad’s job and stare at him while he works at a desk for 10 hours. It would be really weird. (Laughter) Sometimes you have to do that. It really is good to hear that the label was supportive. Like you say, it can be a 24/7 grind, and the relationship with the instrument almost becomes adversarial. As a musician and a recording and performing artist, Joe Bonamassa has always been a fan of Joanne’s music. Ultimately, what did Bonamassa set out to achieve by co-producing this magnificent, rich, and beautifully recorded and performed album for Joanne? Joe explains, “If you focus on what people might not associate with an artist and work hard on those areas it allows her fans to discover things and sets her up in a different light. Joanne’s a great singer and always has been. The guitar unfortunately has over-shadowed it until now. A lot of us in the business have the same problem. "

When the pandemic put the brakes on from musicians from touring during 2020 and most of 2021, Joanne thought it was the right time to head into the studio to record The Blues Album. Joanne: Yeah. In about two weeks. I’m really looking forward to it. I know Devon and all the boys, but I also know a lot of the guest artists. I’m going to have to pace myself. I’m going to be very excited to see everybody, like Christmas.

Joanne Shaw Taylor’s UK tour dates:

There had been a lot of behind the scenes stuff, mismanagement that caused extra stress, and they said to me that in 2021 they wanted me to take six months and hit the reset button. But obviously that was forced upon me with Covid, so I took three months off, didn’t do anything, didn’t touch a guitar, didn’t write, just enjoyed being home and having a normal life. Martine: (Laughter) Did you play at all with your band during the pandemic or did you take a break from everything?