Back And Forth

Album: How Did This Happen and What Does It Now Mean (2024)
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Songfacts®:

  • Joan Armatrading has never been one to do things by halves, and her 2024 How Did This Happen and What Does It Now Mean album is proof of that. Take "Back and Forth," for example: a bluesy, rock-infused number with guitar work that soars like it just got its pilot's license. It's one of a couple of full-throttle, string-melting instrumentals on the album, and Armatrading absolutely lets rip in a way that might leave longtime fans blinking in surprise.

    "If people go back and listen to my records, they might not have realized it's me playing the electric guitar solos, but I always have done," she told Uncut magazine.
  • Armatrading did put a guitar instrumental on her previous album, Consequences, but it wasn't full-on shredding. On "Back And Forth," she woke up one morning "feeling like I just wanted to play guitar loudly, so I went into this studio and were recorded it. I was in the mood to shred."
  • Armatrading took complete creative control on the How Did This Happen and What Does It Now Mean album. She wrote all 12 tracks, producing, programming, engineering, and playing every instrument.

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