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I’ve Been a Bad Joan Osborne Fan.

I’ve been a bad Joan Osborne Fan. A VERY bad Joan Osborne fan. In the not too distant past, I worshipped the ground Joan walked on. My neighbor Doug told me that she’d come out with a country album so, after getting over the initial shock of her having put out a country album, I rushed to my computer to find to my horror that she’d put the album out LAST YEAR.

Joan Osborne disappeared from my radar for a few reasons. After being screwed by Mercury records for not cloning “One of Us” she moved to independent labels, thus keeping her music independent and characteristically awesome. She also had a child, which has added great depth to her songwriting.

The new CD, “Pretty Little Stranger” is Osborne’s best effort since “Righteous Love” and pulls together all the elements that make most of her previous albums great. The album features many of her original songs as well as some fantastic covers that make up for “How Sweet It Is,” a previous collection of lackluster covers.

For me the album brings forth a combination of musical deity that I haven’t experienced since Osborne toured with The Dead back in 2003 for the Summer Getaway Tour. Her heartfelt rendition of “Brokedown Palace” is no doubt a product of that union. What makes it even better is “What You Are” by Patty Griffin, who replaced Joan on my heavy rotation list. There’s also a Kris Kristofferson song thrown in for good measure.
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Although the album is honest and heartfelt, what’s missing is the brassy, belting and sexy tone that characterized her first three recordings and electrified her live shows. I miss the sheer power of “Early Recordings” and the crunchy guitar from the title song of “Righteous Love.”

Much of the buzz concerning the CD seems to be that it’s country. Not that there’s anything necessarily wrong with that. It’s slower than some of her previous albums, but otherwise not much different. I don’t care what you call her stuff, it’s just great to hear a new Joan album in any form.

Here’s a video of Joan taking the lead at a Phil and Friend’s show from last year.