White Sugar (album)

White Sugar is the debut studio album by British blues rock musician Joanne Shaw Taylor. Recorded at Bessie Blue Studios in Counce, Tennessee with producer Jim Gaines, it was released on 23 February 2009 by Ruf Records. The album reached number 36 on the UK Independent Albums Chart and number 13 on the UK Jazz & Blues Albums Chart.

Reception
Reviewing the album for the website AllMusic, Rick Anderson described White Sugar as "A spectacular debut from a major talent," praising Taylor's "fiery take on blues-based rock" which he likened to the styles of blues-rock pioneers such as Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Anderson highlighted "Heavy Heart" as the best track on the album, hailing its "brilliant chord progression and sly bluebeat outro".

The album entered the UK Independent Albums Chart at number 36 and the UK Jazz & Blues Albums Chart at number 13. It remained in the top 30 of the latter chart for four weeks, while in the former chart it returned a few weeks after its initial debut at number 47. White Sugar later returned to the UK Jazz & Blues Albums Chart top 30 in October 2016, shortly after the release of Taylor's fifth studio album, Wild.

Personnel
Musicians Additional personnel
 * Joanne Shaw Taylor – vocals, guitar
 * David Smith – bass
 * Steve Potts – drums
 * Jim Gaines – production, mixing
 * Uli Eisner – mastering
 * Michael Van Merwyk – artwork
 * Andreas Dahlmeier – photography