Joan Osborne’s “Trouble and Strife” Reflects 2020 Life
Trouble and Strife is Joan Osborne’s 11th studio album and her first release of original material in six years. Always a skillful songwriter, her deep dive into the works of Bob Dylan in recent years, including her 2016 album Songs of Bob Dylan, appears to have given her craft an even sharper edge.
Joan Osborne /photo by Jeff Fasano / courtesy of All Eyes Media
The album kicks off with the roots-rock love plea, “Take It Any Way I Can Get It,” harkening back to her countrified tunes on Pretty Little Strangers. From there things take a political turn with the soulful, immigration-themed “What’s That You Say.” It includes spoken passages in Spanish by Ana Maria Rea, whose family emigrated to the U.S. from Mexico when she was a child. In the chorus, the title refrain is sung responsively to the lines “Growin’ strong just like a tree” / “Comin’ now to set you free” / “Risin’ up for all to see” / “Baby was a refugee.”
Trouble And Strife Album Cover
In “Hands Off” Osborne takes on political and corporate abuse of power and the consequences thereof, with lines such as “the guns are firing and the children fall” and “the ice is melting and the woods are ablaze.” “That Was a Lie” thrashes media spin doctors who shill for corrupt officials, while “Boy Dontcha Know” lashes out at sexism and gender conformity. Osborne never lets the politics weigh down the music, letting the listener get caught up in the rhythms and melodies as the messages soak in.
These songs are also complemented by upbeat numbers such as the ‘70s soul-inflected, “Whole Wide World,” which looks “past the anger and the fear” on a journey to “that better place.” The sweet, funky “Never Get Tired (of Loving You)” was written for her teenage daughter, but it also works as a universal love song. Another feel-good tune, “Meat and Potatoes,” is a nod to her days as part of the rock band Trigger Hippie.
The title track, with its offbeat characters and quirky plot twists, is lyrically the most Dylanesque song on the album. Quoting lines out of context would not do it justice. Biting, Dylan-worthy wit fuels the closing track, “Panama,” a deceptively bouncy tune with lines such as “The truth is tarred and feathered now / They’ve run it out of town.” It’s a strong finale to Osborne’s strongest album to date.
Joan Osborne produced the album herself, with nine of the 10 tracks recorded at her own Window Well Studios.