On her first LP of all original songs since 2014, Joan Osborne finds herself swimming in familiar waters, singing about a slew of current social and political issues. Just two songs in, “What’s That You Say” tackles immigration in a remarkably relevant song. The track is about a real immigrant, Ana Marie Rea, who came to the U.S. from Mexico seeking asylum. Osborne not only spoke to Rea to get an authentic and honest assessment of the difficulties she and her family faced, but she recorded Rea as well, who can be heard throughout the funk-heavy song speaking Spanish in lines that are woven throughout.
She also tackles obvious government corruption in “Hands Off” (that could have easily just been titled “Trump”), blatant misinformation campaigns on “That Was A Lie,” and sexism and misogyny on “Boy Don’t Cha Know.” All heavy topics, but perfectly appropriate for our current social and political reality. That’s not to say that Trouble And Strife simply plays out like cable news in the background; there is the fantastic, upbeat love song “Never Get Tired (Of Loving You),” the best moment off the record, the slower love song “Whole Wide World” and the driving title track, an anti-love song about couples who are just not good for each other. But the bulk of themes here focus on our current situation, a long in-the-making reckoning on sexism, our country’s treatment of immigrants, racial prejudices and corruption from the top down. Lyrics aside, musically the album is a mix of blues, funk and plenty of classic straight on rock, with nods to the 70s on up – more familiar territory for Osborne.
The most politically minded album of her career, Trouble And Strife is a record tailor made for 2020, one of the most politically significant years in a generation. Following up her last record, 2017’s Bob Dylan covers album, Osborne picked the right time to speak with her own voice again.
Photo credit: Jeff Fasano
