From: les@jmdl.com (JMDL Digest) To: joni-digest@smoe.org Subject: JMDL Digest V2002 #238 Reply-To: joni@smoe.org Sender: les@jmdl.com Errors-To: les@jmdl.com Precedence: bulk Unsubscribe: mailto:joni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe Archives: http://www.smoe.org/lists/joni Websites: http://www.jmdl.com http://www.jonimitchell.com JMDL Digest Monday, June 3 2002 Volume 2002 : Number 238 The Official Joni Mitchell Homepage, created by Wally Breese, can be found at http://www.jonimitchell.com. It contains the latest news, a detailed bio, Original Interviews, essays, lyrics and much much more. The JMDL website can be found at http://www.jmdl.com and contains interviews, articles, the member gallery, archives, and much more. ========== TOPICS and authors in this Digest: -------- Re: JMDL Digest V2002 #236 -- Ten songs vs. 11, Facelift in '94 ["Kakki" ] CPR benefit review (tiny Joni content) ["Kakki" ] RE: Need a librarian! njc ["Jim L'Hommedieu \(Lama\)" ] For the roses seen in new light ["Mike Pritchard" ] samples NJC ["Mike Pritchard" ] Re: Need a librarian! njc [Vince Lavieri ] Re: For the roses seen in new light [Catherine McKay ] Re: samples NJC [anne@sandstrom.com] Re: DIY divorce - njc ["Grace" ] Re: Need a librarian! njc [Vince Lavieri ] Re: Need a librarian! njc [Vince Lavieri ] Re: Need a librarian! njc [Catherine McKay ] Hejira and Esquire Magazine [mann@chicagonet.net] Re: DIY divorce - njc [Catherine McKay ] Re: samples NJC [Catherine McKay ] Re: Need a librarian! njc [Vince Lavieri ] Re: Need a librarian! njc ["mack watson-bush" ] njc ["mack watson-bush" ] Re: "Joni's Four Periods", an essay 100+% JC, very long [Vince Lavieri] njc Why D'ya Do It [AzeemAK@aol.com] Re: SoCal Lister Question (sjc) ["Brenda" ] Re: Covers #30 is bustin' out all over! [FMYFL@aol.com] Re: samples NJC [SCJoniGuy@aol.com] Re: "Joni's Four Periods", an essay 100+% JC, very long [Catherine McK] Re: "Joni's Four Periods", an essay 100+% JC, very long [Murphycopy@ao] Re: Joni's peak voice [] Re: njc Why D'ya Do It [] Re: "Joni's Four Periods", an essay 100+% JC, very long ["Kakki" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 1 Jun 2002 22:55:54 -0700 From: "Kakki" Subject: Re: JMDL Digest V2002 #236 -- Ten songs vs. 11, Facelift in '94 Hi Bryan, I have the KSCA interview and Joni had written Facelift by then (although the songbook says copyright 1998, but that may have just been when she registered it) and was perfroming it live for a few years before TTT was released. I can't give you the cites right now, but from various interviews and recordings, it seems that Joni and Klein had personally separated in the very early 90s, but continued to work and record together. Joni met Donald shortly after separating from Klein in I think 1993. In her KCRW interview in March '98 Joni said something about their divorce just becoming final that month after many years of separation. Kakki ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Jun 2002 23:55:08 -0700 From: "Kakki" Subject: CPR benefit review (tiny Joni content) The CPR benefit for Walden school Saturday night at Pasadena City College was just lovely! I had bought random tickets without a seating chart online at Ticketmaster and was stunned when the usher brought us down to third row center! (I was kicking myself for not bringing my camera). I was also happily surprised to see Kate B.'s pals Anastasia and John Gonzales performing as one of the opening acts! They were excellent and my friend loved them. Next up was Joe Henry, who reminded me of Hugh Grant meets Lou Reed meets Tom Waits. Great voice, interesting lyrics but a bit too quirky-edgy when you are looking forward to the beautiful music of CPR. A woman in back of me gushed "he's SO cute" to which her boyfriend drolly replied "he has a weird name." LOL About this time I noticed that the woman in front of me had on a black leather jacket with Joni's Both Sides Now self-portrait intricately reproduced in embroidery on the back! I tapped her on the shoulder and asked where she got it and she said a friend made it for her and that a photo of it is posted on http://www.jonimitchell.com/Frames1.html (go to the Gallery and then to artist Mardeen Gordon to see it) Of course, I asked if she was on the list but she isn't. Finally Crosby, Pevar and Raymond (with Steve DiStanislao on drums and Andrew Ford on bass) arrived. Crosby was the most relaxed and funny I've ever seen him. Made jokes about his failing memory and reminded all he was in the 60s and then made a pointed joke about how they could make more money if they had Britney Spears as their lead singer. (This was an inside joke because he made some disparaging remarks about Britney in print a couple months ago that started a whirlwind of backlash and a flame war on the CSN list ;-) Croz was in stunning voice, Pevar tore up the room with his playing and Raymond, although faltering a little in voice at times, knocked everyone out with his musicality on several different keyboards and harmonica. Raymond is also the chordal heart of the group and a brilliant composer. They played Map to Buried Treasure, Morrison, One For Every Moment, Rusty and Blue, Little Blind Fish, Eye Too Blue, an amazing Song With No Words, Deja Vu, Long Time Gone, Eight Miles High and for the encore they all channeled Neil Young on Ohio. Towards the end of the show I suddenly saw sweet photographer Henry Diltz scurrying down besides me to take photos! For a big donation through the Guacamole Fund one could attend the artists' after party - out of my price range but it sure would have been nice. Darice was going to try to come down from San Fran for the show but couldn't make it. I know if she had, we'd have been at the after-party with her Guac Fund connections ;-) It was a beautiful night and I hope it becomes an annual gig for the school (attended by Raymond's children). I think they made a lot of new fans tonight. Most of the crowd was there for the benefit but many were not familiar with the band. They went crazy for them with many standing ovations and bravos. It was a beautiful night and I hope it becomes an annual gig for the school, which is attended by Raymond's kids. Kakki NP: CPR - Coyote King ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 2 Jun 2002 09:48:56 -0400 From: "Jim L'Hommedieu \(Lama\)" Subject: RE: Need a librarian! njc Thanks Brenda. This is a help and I'll be posting my essay later today. Thanks for taking some time to help me out. :) Lama > -----Original Message----- > From: Brenda [mailto:music@codetalk.net] > Sent: Saturday, June 01, 2002 4:56 PM > To: Jim L'Hommedieu (Lama); Gerald Notaro > Cc: JMDL > Subject: Re: Need a librarian! njc > > > It's origin is definitely in Job 1:21....the question is whether > it is in one of the various > translations or if it is some kind of derivative. > > KJV is "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away;" > > Hope that helps! > > B > > > ------------------------------ > Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 02 Jun 2002 13:54:23 +0000 From: "Mike Pritchard" Subject: For the roses seen in new light Having left most of my albums in Wales and worn out the cassettes here in Spain I have been on a long term project of getting CDs of Joni's albums for some time now. Usually the shops here have so little of her (usually just Mingus, Hits and Turbulent Indigo) that they never reduce the price, but the other day I managed to find the Both Sides Now CD (and DVD) as well as a copy of For The Roses at an irresistible price. I bought both the CDs but would like to know if the DVD has anything going for it (extra tracks etc). Apart from that, I was able to listen to FTR for the first time through good headphones and a quality source and I have to say that I was really impressed by the album. I then played BSN and heard the differences in her voice today. I was expecting not to like this CD but it was much better than I had expected. I am happy with my purchases and will definitely keep my eyes open for more bargains in the 'early' joni. I write as a 'middle-period' man, with Hejira as the highpoint but with a LOT of time for DJRD, Mingus and HOTSL. Leonard Feather's review of Mingus starts with (quoting from memory, don't sue me) "This is a wonderful piece of work". I agree entirely and don't know why people don't 'get' it. The only joni I don't care for is Wild Things Run Fast. I don't know why people criticise Dog Eat Dog so much, because, for me, WTRF is far and away the clunker of the collection. Anyway, I'll listen to FTR and possibly add my two centims worth when I get through, maybe even my thoughts on Electricity. Busy with the 'Murder' paper lately so I'm always running behind the times, just like this train of thought (Hi Fred, Pat Metheny plays in Barcelona in July, as does the Keith Jarrett trio and Lou Reed/Laurie Anderson. Want me to say 'Hello' for you?) (Hi Stephanie, I'd love to talk more re your research but too busy right now. I'm available off-line anytime. Good luck with everything) Mike in BCN NP Ludwig's Tune - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: Click Here ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 02 Jun 2002 13:59:25 +0000 From: "Mike Pritchard" Subject: samples NJC I would love to hear the music made by Kate, Sherelle, Fred, Marian and many many more of the jonilistas but am unable to attend a jonifest. With all the technology and goodwill available here (not to mention Bob's cover expertise) is there no way in which these and other artistes on the list could send, say, a couple of tracks each to someone, say Bob, for instance, and then the people out of the loop would be able to buy them. I would certainly be interested in getting to hear these people and would willingly pay the price of the CD and the postage. Can't we put our heads together and get this moving?mike - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 02 Jun 2002 10:00:09 -0400 From: Vince Lavieri Subject: Re: Need a librarian! njc You would probably find that "the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away" as a phrase in those precise words is found in old English books of common prayer. I define as "old" as Reformation era and later, through the varous editions of prayer books in the 1500s and 1600s. I'd dust off my liturgy books and look it up if it can be found in what I own, but you asked for a librarian, not a minister! :-) (the Rev) Vince, heading off to Sunday worship "Jim L'Hommedieu (Lama)" wrote: > Thanks Brenda. This is a help and I'll be posting my essay later today. > Thanks for taking some time to help me out. :) > > Lama > > > Brenda wrote: > > > > It's origin is definitely in Job 1:21....the question is whether > > it is in one of the various > > translations or if it is some kind of derivative. > > > > KJV is "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away;" > > > > Hope that helps! ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 2 Jun 2002 11:10:02 -0400 (EDT) From: Catherine McKay Subject: Re: For the roses seen in new light - --- Mike Pritchard wrote: > Leonard > Feather's review of > Mingus starts with (quoting from memory, don't sue > me) "This is a > wonderful piece of work". I agree entirely and don't > know why people > don't 'get' it. > The only joni I don't care for is Wild Things Run > Fast. I don't know why > people criticise Dog Eat Dog so much, because, for > me, WTRF is far and > away the clunker of the collection. That's the way I feel too. If I had a choice between WTRF & DED, I'd choose the dog. Yes, I like Chinese Cafe (and really wish that Joni would make a full recording of "Unchained melody" by itself - maybe on he new disc? Wouldn't that be nice? Joni, if you're listening....??) but I'm not as blown away by it as so many people are. I can't put my finger on the reasons why WTRF doesn't do much for me (I don't out-and-out hate it - let's face it, even Joni at her least-best is, well, Joni!!!) Maybe it's because she's too gosh-darn happy (heh-heh). I never heard Mingus when it first came out, so I wonder how I'd have felt about it if I had listened to it back then. I wonder whether I would have liked it, or just not gotten it at all. I only bought the album - - and heard it for the first time - a few years ago, but I love it. When I first got it, I played it over-and-over-and-nothing-but for weeks - my kids were going crazy. I think Joni's voice (her singing) was at its best during that period, when she had matured, but where smoking and age hadn't dried it out so much. My favourite of all for her vocal style is probably Don Juan. There is so much exuberance in her singing - Cotton Avenue is so full of life and joy and fun. Listening to Joni's stuff after not hearing it for a while is always a new discovery. I find things I hadn't noticed before - after all these years, the music, the lyrics, the singing, everything are still fresh and timeless. ______________________________________________________________________ Find, Connect, Date! http://personals.yahoo.ca ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 2 Jun 2002 11:13:47 -0400 (EDT) From: Catherine McKay Subject: DIY divorce - njc Recognizing that laws differ from place to place, I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who has handled a divorce in their own - with no lawyer, or with only minimal use of lawyers. I have a friend who has done this & will discuss with her, but I'm appalled at how lawyers approach everything from an extremely adversarial position (when in most cases, it isn't necessary) and frankly, can't afford it. I'm not in a situation where either party could benefit to any great degree by going through this. If you've been through this and don't mind sharing, could you please contact me off-list to let me know how it went for you? Thanks. ______________________________________________________________________ Find, Connect, Date! http://personals.yahoo.ca ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 02 Jun 2002 08:21:39 -0700 (PDT) From: anne@sandstrom.com Subject: Re: samples NJC > I would love to hear the music made by Kate, Sherelle, Fred, Marian and > many many more of the jonilistas but am unable to attend a jonifest. With > all the technology and goodwill available here (not to mention Bob's > cover expertise) is there no way in which these and other artistes on the > list could send, say, a couple of tracks each to someone, say Bob, for > instance, and then the people out of the loop would be able to buy them. > I would certainly be interested in getting to hear these people and would > willingly pay the price of the CD and the postage. Can't we put our heads > together and get this moving?mike Mike, I think you're right. It's time to do another JMDL CD. So, what do you all think? Another Joni covers? Or originals? Or a mix? (OK, so I have a silly vested interest in this, because I'm happy with my cover of Dog Eat Dog and I'd love to have an excuse to record it.) Anyway, good suggestion, Mike. lots of love Anne ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 2 Jun 2002 16:49:50 +0100 From: "Grace" Subject: Re: DIY divorce - njc Haven't been thru this. heard of people who have. the main ingredient was a bullet. grace (serioiusly, good luck) - --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.368 / Virus Database: 204 - Release Date: 29/05/02 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 02 Jun 2002 12:24:58 -0400 From: Vince Lavieri Subject: Re: Need a librarian! njc Lama wrote: > My problem was I couldn't find the exact wording that I remembered so > clearly from my Episcopalian confirmation days. > Vince had previosuly written: > ou would probably find that "the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away" as a > phrase in those precise words is found in old English books of common > prayer. I define as "old" as Reformation era and later, through > the varous editions of prayer books in the 1500s and 1600s. Aha! Episcopalian confirmation days! That would lend support to my belief that you'll find that phrase in liturgy as opposed to Scriptures (and I should note Brenda's citation from Job was exactly right, the source of the liturgical phrase, especially in that Job also is the source for "I know that my redeemer lives..." which is another liturgical staple, especially in funerals, where the Lord giveth phrase is used.) The original text may have been penned by Cranmer or adapted by him from elsewhere . Beginning during the reign of Edward VI, the Church of England started producing prayer books which were modified repeatedly over the next 100 years as the various fortunes of the reformers waxed and waned. If one (not me!) were to look in the 1549 Prayer Book, the 1552 revision, the 1559 primer, 1560 Latin edition tranlsated back to English, 1662 book - or the 1789 American edition of the book of common prayer, or 1892 revision, or myriad others you will find it somewhere, I am sure. But Anglicans are perfectly capable of fussing from prayer book to prayer book over whether they say "in the joyful expectation of eternal life with those they love" vs "in the sure expectation of a joyful reunion in the heaveny places" so if you researched this out far enought you would have your doctoral thesis! (Lutherans say, "in a sure and certain hope..." and with such minor changes have the churches occupied themselves through the years., kind of arguning Joni lyrics sometimes!) Just came from prayers with one who is dying. Will be our second parsih death in two days. I just kind of free-formed a lot of the liturgy today, while yesterday used the book and the exact wording, and somehow it all comes out about the same. (the Rev) Vince ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 02 Jun 2002 12:33:32 -0400 From: Vince Lavieri Subject: Re: Need a librarian! njc "Jim L'Hommedieu (Lama)" wrote: > I did a Google search on the words "Bible Quotation" and I ended up with > dozens of links to every two-bit Christian with a GeoCities personal web > page. PS I thought this was the funniest comment I have seen in a while! Did you read them all? Were you saved? :-) (the Rev) Vince, who is without a GeoCities persoanl webpage but maybe should get one! ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 2 Jun 2002 14:09:33 -0400 (EDT) From: Catherine McKay Subject: Re: Need a librarian! njc - --- Vince Lavieri wrote: > Lama wrote: > > > My problem was I couldn't find the exact wording > that I remembered so > > clearly from my Episcopalian confirmation days. > > > > Vince had previosuly written: > > > ou would probably find that "the Lord giveth and > the Lord taketh away" as a > > phrase in those precise words is found in old > English books of common > > prayer. I define as "old" as Reformation era and > later, through > > the varous editions of prayer books in the 1500s > and 1600s. > Could it be from Eccliastes? "To everything there is a season... a time to be born & a time to die." It has that kind of balanced rhetoric - maybe it was another translation, or a paraphrase of this? ______________________________________________________________________ Find, Connect, Date! http://personals.yahoo.ca ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 02 Jun 2002 13:17:00 -0500 From: mann@chicagonet.net Subject: Hejira and Esquire Magazine JONI MENTION!! Esquire Magazine - July 2002 issue - (Al Pacino is on the cover). AMERICA or BUST. Two dozen pages of the best the open road has to offer. Under "Ultimate Car Tunes" on page 64 is 11 picks. The very FIRST pick is Hejira: "11 Records for the Road" Soundtracks for every scenario all across the land. 1. When pondering the urge to flee: Joni Mitchell, Hejira, Joni's nine-song rumination on blue motel rooms, black crows, and the high art of getting the hell away. 2. When actually fleeing: The Rolling Stones: Exile on Main Street 3. When sheepishly returning: The Silos, Cuba 4. When looking for parking: The Cars, The Cars 5. When struggling to stay awake: Minutemen, Double Nickels on the Dime 6. When it's as hot as the sun: John Patton, Memphis to New York Spirit 7. When it's cool and rainy: Keith Jarrett, The Melody at Night 8. When the road is black ice: Sigur Ros, Agaetis Byrjun 9. When in Kansas: The Feelies, The Good Earth 10. When crossing the Mississippi: Charlie Rich, Feel Like Going Home: The Essential Charlie Rich 11. When in gridlock: Dr. Dre, The Chronic. *****AND NOW............Drinks for everybody: (WARNING!!! NO JONI CONTENT BELOW) B1G1 Free Printable Coupon for 20 oz A&W Rootbeer (Walgreens usually runs A&W and other soft drinks 2/$1 in their sales flyers! So be on the lookout. This coupon doesn't expire until 8/4/02) http://www.whatflavorsyourthirst.com/ Win some candy or cash (you'll need some patience on this one. You can enter 25 codes a day per email address. Here's a start: http://www.chewtheclue.com/home.jsp You can just cut & paste these in (one at a time). No need to type them all out. THCS37485 OFCK85045 THCS57924 OFCK23579 THCL12772 WSCL28143 OHCS96443 WSCP45324 THCS47509 THCS62490 THCS10531 THCS28825 THCS96197 THCS18465 TFCP21831 TFCP60551 TFCP27440 TFCP13948 OFCL53659 OFCL97930 OFCL13465 OFCL68445 OFCL13340 OFCL66536 OFCL27993 Laura ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 2 Jun 2002 14:55:20 -0400 (EDT) From: Catherine McKay Subject: Re: DIY divorce - njc - --- Grace wrote: > Haven't been thru this. > heard of people who have. > the main ingredient was a bullet. > grace > > (serioiusly, good luck) I never used to get why people would resort to murder over divorce. Now I do (unfortunately) and wish I still didn't! ______________________________________________________________________ Find, Connect, Date! http://personals.yahoo.ca ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 2 Jun 2002 15:11:11 -0400 (EDT) From: Catherine McKay Subject: Re: samples NJC - --- anne@sandstrom.com wrote: >It's time to do another > JMDL CD. So, what do you all think? Another Joni > covers? Or originals? Or a mix? (OK, so I have a > silly > vested interest in this, because I'm happy with my > cover of Dog Eat Dog and I'd love to have an excuse > to > record it.) Anyway, good suggestion, Mike. > I love this idea. If I can ever figure out how to use my recording device (I just haven't had the time yet to focus on it that much) and if I can record something that doesn't sound like shite, I'd love to submit something. Right now I'm supposed to be getting ready for my Royal Conservatory Grade 5 classical guitar exam - it gets boring playing the same stuff over and over again, but it's necessary and I really do learn something new almost every time I play these pieces. And oh, the dreaded scales which also need doing (so many variations to remember - finger combinations, whether they're played in triplets or 16ths, free-stroke or rest-stroke, straight through or tremolando, whether your minor scale is a harmonic or a melodic... and so on.) I'd love to hear you do Dog Eat Dog, Anne! I'm leaning towards something from FTR, an album dear to my heart and timely too, given all the discussion recently of "Electricity", one of my favourite Joni-songs of all time. Or "Woman of heart & mind". Or... you know, there may be more. ______________________________________________________________________ Find, Connect, Date! http://personals.yahoo.ca ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 02 Jun 2002 15:25:53 -0400 From: Vince Lavieri Subject: Re: Need a librarian! njc Ecclesiastes is my favorite book in the Scriptures, but that is not the source of that phrase. However, that is the best book ever - a good evening to read it again. I find a lot in common between the philosophy of Ecclesiastes and the philosophy of Koni Mitchell. (the Rev) Vince Catherine McKay wrote: > Could it be from Eccliastes? "To everything there is a > season... a time to be born & a time to die." It has > that kind of balanced rhetoric - maybe it was another > translation, or a paraphrase of this? ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 2 Jun 2002 14:55:22 -0500 From: "mack watson-bush" Subject: Re: Need a librarian! njc Catherine, the source of those sayings are in Ecclesiastes, chapter 3. mack born & a time to die." It has > that kind of balanced rhetoric - maybe it was another > translation, or a paraphrase of this? > > ______________________________________________________________________ > Find, Connect, Date! http://personals.yahoo.ca ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 2 Jun 2002 16:02:28 -0400 From: "Jim L'Hommedieu \(Lama\)" Subject: "Joni's Four Periods", an essay 100+% JC, very long Contrary to popular opinion, I believe Joni Mitchell's recording career should be divided into four periods so far, not three. 1. Early Portraits 2. Master Storyteller 3. Intellect Engaged 4. In Pain No More - --- I apologize in advance for the amateur psychology contained here. Joni Mitchell is a person, of course, and I respect that very much, but reviewers have always been allowed a certain amount of latitude. As you will see, I've taken considerable liberty with mine. "And so, I sit up here, the critic." (1) - --- In historical context, here's my argument. From the beginning, Joni was an artist. As a child, she sang and painted. Her Mom developed her intellect and discipline. At 9, her backbone was twisted up with polio. She underwent "the application of scalding compresses to her legs. The compresses were then removed, bringing the raw skin to the brink of blistering. Many doctors would later question the efficacy of this method, believing that its most lasting effect was not the physiological but psychological: the memory of the searing pain." (2) To escape the pain she took refuge in art. In the next passage from Karen O'Brien's book the emphasis is mine. "She'd been sent a colouring book to keep her occupied; the pictures were of old-fashioned English carol *singers*, with the *lyrics* printed alongside. Joan used cotton swabs - stained purple from the gentian violet used to treat her mouth ulcers - to *colour the illustrations*." (3) I am sure that Karen did not notice when she wrote her book how much is in those two sentences. Joni's whole career is right there. Nine-year-old Joan was meditating on singing, lyrics, and painting to offset her pain. It's all right there, at nine years old. Joan, nicknamed "Joni", evolved into a teenaged performer then began playing in coffee houses. As an art college student she obviously had tons of undeveloped talent but couldn't raise the dues to become a unionized nightclub singer. Her career was deadlocked. Then came Kelly/Kilauren. Joni kept an enormous and painful secret; she kept her daughter a secret from her parents. Ultimately, there was only one solution for her; she gave up Kelly/Kilauren for adoption. She must have been in severe anguish. She coped exactly as she did when she was nine. Joni meditated on singing, lyrics, and painting to offset her pain. Carrying an unbearable secret compelled Joni to become the exact opposite of a secret-keeper. She became the epitome of, the very embodiment of, the overtly open poet. I believe that withholding information was so disturbing that it empowered her to compensate by beautifully saying what was left. "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away..."(4) It was impossible to express a single secret to her mother, but she became a vividly gifted lyricist, expressing everything else to the whole English speaking world. "In the beginning," Joni said, "I had a soprano voice so everyone compared me to Baez. I'd written a couple of songs but I just decided that the only way that I was going to be able to differentiate myself from any other of the singers was to have original material."(5) When others picked up on the quality of the early songs, some, were covered by others in the coffeehouse circuit. A few, like "Both Sides, Now" had lives as a singles on the radio way before Joni had a recording contract. "The cover versions of her songs had inevitably brought interest from the recording industry, but the offers were far from irresistible: 'Record companies offered me terrible slave labour deals in the beginning and I turned them down. I turned down [independent folk label] Vanguard. They wanted three albums a year or something. In the folk tradition, they come and stick a mike on the table in front of you, and they collect it in an hour and that's the album. And that output - I already saw Buffy [Saint-Marie] struggling under the weight of it. So I thought, no way.'" (6) She hired Elliot Roberts as her manager and apparently, assigned to him the task of getting the "right" deal. He said, ".... It was a transitional period in society and in history and you either *got* it or you didn't get it. We had to search for people who got it and once we did and found them, we found that there were an awful lot of them but they were just either underground or just coming [up], society was just changing, the long-hairs were just coming in, the war was just becoming a major issue, civil rights were [in] transition... we didn't have a niche yet, there was a very small underground, [Greenwich] Village, everyone had their little quaint, Bohemian areas, but there were very few forums for artists like Joan or for poetry or poets." (7) So Elliot kept looking for an understanding and flexible company. Karen noted, "Major labels like Columbia - an obvious choice given that it was home to Bob Dylan - and RCA turned him down."(8) This next bit is crucial to understanding what releasing records means to Joni. "Electra had another chance to sign Joni but again opted out. Danny Fields, an Electra A&R man, had urged the company to take her on. Electra's high profile and acclaimed roster of folk-rock and neo-folk artists seemed to hold out the promise of fame and fortune - until, says Fields, Joni asked to design her own album covers. The Electra art department refused and the corporate hierarchy supported the decision. 'They said, no way. Our art department does the covers. You write the songs, you sing the songs. That's as far as it goes,' Fields recalled."(9) Elliot visited Mo Ostin at the only record company on America's west coast at Warner Brothers. "Elliot Roberts flew out to California armed with twenty of Mitchell's songs - almost all of the material that would later appear on her first two albums, including 'Both Sides, Now', 'Chelsea Morning', 'Michael From Mountains', 'That Song About The Midway', 'I Had A King', and 'I Don't Know Where I Stand'. He didn't have to do much persuading: 'Those are some of the greatest songs in history. How could you not hear that and go, 'I'd take a risk on that person'? And that's really what it was... the songs spoke for themselves literally, they really did.' The success of the cover versions of Mitchell's songs had also put Roberts in a strong bargaining position and he was able to negotiate an almost unprecedented concession, particularly for a new artist; his client was given complete artistic control over her albums, ranging from the cover art to sleeve notes and musical content: 'That was the hard part. They were not used to anyone saying, 'It has nothing to do with the money, we need creative control.' We had a long-term goal, Joan had a long-term goal and knew how her record should sound. She hadn't learned the craft yet but she knew she was going to. It was new and a bit different for [Warners] to give up control but they could see that times were changing drastically... Mo [Ostin] was an innovative man, he did the same for Hendrix and Van Morrison and Van Dyke Parks in that era, where he let them have pretty much creative control. No one understood the music, there were all these young kids, ... [the major labels] understood that there was a whole new generation and they looked a lot different [from] the generations they had previously been selling music to.'" (10) She naively and rightfully saw the albums as art projects. Each one a whole. With the early albums, her palette of colors was with words and open tunings on acoustic guitar. On the debut album, "Song To A Seagull", Joni plays guitar almost exclusively. Later, her new palette was different instruments, including dulcimer and a fully-exploited piano. The first period I'll call "Early Portraits". The lyrics were largely about personal reflection or portraits in isolation. The characters, like "Nathan LaFraneer", were usually set in isolation, not in interaction. In the second period, "Master Storyteller", she rendered exquisitely detailed stories and worked with a larger palette of players and layers. The stories were often about love engaged, entangled, dissolving, or disassembled. She included "found" objects like the Burundi warrior drummers. She consciously sought out a jazz-rock band then recruited particular players who had been innovators from Miles Davis's work. The "Master Storyteller" period includes an long, unbroken string of brilliant and innovative albums that no solo Beatle has yet matched. Her collaborators pushed her musically, taking her albums far beyond the beautiful-chick-with-a-guitar clichi to which she is forever bound in the public eye. The third period, "Intellect Engaged", saw her create 'thinking-woman' takes on poverty, famine, AIDS, and the myriad collection of what the modern world considers problems. Joni had come to an uneasy but long-lasting truce with her secrets. She often reflected on irony. Her main collaborator during this period, her long-time husband Larry Klein, brought a cool reserve and technical polish to these albums. These are very much studio creations; she commissioned countless sax solos, and moved them around as desired. This period was characterized by guest vocals from artists who happened to be renting studio time down the hall. As if the "kiln" had cool, each project took longer to "fire" than the last. The third phase was nearing an end when the divorce with Larry was happening and Turbulent Indigo was being formed in 1994. Divorce is never easy. Ripe to revisit her own pain, Joni immediately became inspired by a tabloid article and wrote about the societal misery inflicted upon unwed mothers in a bygone era. Kelly/Kilauren was in the foreground again. The third and fourth eras overlap but they are very different. In my opinion, 'hits' and 'misses' were the beginning of the fourth phase, "In Pain No More". Gone is the studied art work. Instead of taking months to paint cover art for 'hits', she used the first pun that popped into her head- a person who has been "hit" by a car. For "misses", she decided that mooning the viewer was a good way to express her distain for a public who had ignored her bravest work. The photo shoot for both albums was done in one day, as if on a single roll of film. The sudden, even reckless packaging decisions are certainly a break with the studied and endless polishing of the "Intellect Engaged" phase. The person who worked and reworked "Turbulent Indigo" is not the same person who pasted up deliberately skewed, misshapen letters for her greatest hits cover. Known in the past to take deliberate pains with sequencing an album, she swiftly, even recklessly, chose the cuts for "Misses" in a single day. In the past, she revisited canvases over and over again, tweaking and daubing. Not now. The perfectionism is gone. Joni delights now in delegating and making decisions quickly. The greatest hits collection helped the press and the public "put a frame around her" so to speak, to see her in the context of artists who have made rich contributions. Joni's career began to get recognition again as an innovator. By September 1996, she had won Billboard Magazine's Century Award, a Grammy for Turbulent Indigo, and was reluctantly inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. To steal a line from Shawn Colvin, Joni was "knee deep in accolades". I suggest that something eased inside her. Perhaps more confident than ever, in December 1996, she suddenly granted lots of interviews and talked at length about an old topic that was suddenly open for public discussion: Joni was searching for Kelly/Kilauren. Joni was looking to stop running, to right a wrong, to move on, to get past the pain. Next came the album, "Taming The Tiger", and the rapid-fire approach continued. She invented a spirited carnival sound in "Harlem In Havana", swallowed Donald Freed's words for "The Crazy Cries Of Love", and threw a drink in "Lead Balloon". The cohesiveness of the lyrics from the "Master Storyteller" phase has been replaced with broad brush strokes. Taking a scattershot approach to modern ills, Joni swipes attorneys, rapists, sunshine, pawnbrokers, and astronauts in "No Apologies". Ironically, she even insults those who provided reefer in the old days, fearing that "Drug lords" are buying up the banks. The old brilliance shone through though. Read as text, this lyric beautifully expresses a new kinship, possibly a reunion. 'This is really something. People will be envious, But our roles aren't clear, So we musn't rush. Still, we're burning brightly, Clinging like fire to fuel. I'm grinning like a fool. Stay in touch. We should stay in touch. Oh! Stay in touch In touch Part of this is permanent. Part of this is passing. So we must be loyal and wary Not to give away too much Till we build a firm foundation.' (11) Joni's secret daughter was revealed to the world in an AP story on March 20, 1997. The reunion brought a resolution to her pain of giving up her Kelly/Kilauren. She was relieved of hiding from her mother. Pain-free, her interest in writing began to wane. Who needs catharsis if you don't have a problem? Joni has often said, "I sing my sorrow and I paint my joy." Here's the proof. Joni decided to sing rather than write for the next project. She hired Vince Mendoza to write new arrangements. She even delegated to Larry Klein the joy of picking songs. "Both Sides Now" was a critical success. Still under contract and possibly without the 'fire in her belly' to write new songs, suddenly her first-ever sequel sounded like a good idea. I can't wait to see if "the next one in the nest will glitter for them so." (12) The audience tapes of the "Both Sides Now" tour clearly show that Vince has done some more wonderful arrangements. My personal favorite is the upcoming "Judgement Of The Moon And Stars, (Ludwig's Tune)". Even if she never writes another word, she's given the world so much superlative work that her place in history is assured..... Not that she was aiming to secure a place in history. She was just working through her pain. Jim L'Hommedieu June 02, 2002 Sources - ------------ 1. "For The Roses", JM 2. "Shadows and Light: The Definitive Biography", Karen O'Brien, Virgin Books Ltd, London 2001, p 24 3. Ibid, p 25 4. King James Bible, Job 1:21 5. Ibid, p 48 6. Ibid, pp 63-64 7. Ibid, p 67 8. Ibid, p 66 9. Ibid, pp 66-67 10. Ibid, pp 68-69 11. "Stay In Touch", JM 12. "For The Roses", JM 13. "California", JM Thanks to Stephanie Morrison for getting me inspired. Thanks for the research assistance go out to Deb Messling, Brenda of JMDL, Jerry Notaro, Catherine McKay, and Vince Lavieri. As always thanks to Les Irvin, Jim Johanson, and the late Wally Breese for hosting the articles and discography (consulted but not noted, eh?) at jmdl.com & jonimitchell.com. All glories to Joni, always. "Will ya take me as I am? Will ya take me as I am? Will ya? Will ya take me as I am?" (13) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 2 Jun 2002 16:04:20 -0500 From: "mack watson-bush" Subject: [none] Get Joni Digest v2002.n723 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 2 Jun 2002 16:06:09 -0500 From: "mack watson-bush" Subject: njc Sorry folks, I know I didn't do that right. mack watson-bush ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 02 Jun 2002 17:14:08 -0400 From: Vince Lavieri Subject: Re: "Joni's Four Periods", an essay 100+% JC, very long Jim, very insightful, and I learned a few things, and thank you! A great deal of work and a labor of love! Thanks so much! Vince ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 2 Jun 2002 18:03:15 EDT From: AzeemAK@aol.com Subject: njc Why D'ya Do It Hi folks, I've been listening to Marianne Faithfull's masterpiece Broken English (yeah, not in the best of moods right now!), and as this last song Why D'ya Do It - if you can call it a song - assaults my ears in all its incendiary brilliance, I'm moved to wonder if there's ever been a more vitriolic lyric set to music. I guess there has, but this must be right up there, and her delivery - at once deadpan and incandescent with rage - makes it downright frightening. A footnote is that I've seen her perform it live twice, and got the version on the live album Blazing Away, and the studio version beats them hands down. Azeem in London NP: Beth Hirsch - Titles & Idols (she's the singer from the first Air album) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 2 Jun 2002 15:49:38 -0700 From: "Brenda" Subject: Re: SoCal Lister Question (sjc) On 31 May 2002 at 14:41, Lindsay Moon wrote: > For all you So. Cal. listers, here's a question. As I mentioned in > another post, I am transcribing an interview Joni did in 1994 at KSCA > (in Glendale) for a program called Music Hall. The female interviewer > never identifies herself. Any idea who she is? (I'd rather have a > name for her other than "Announcer.") > I would bet it was Merilee Kelly who was the music director and a DJ at that station at that time. Brenda n.p.: Sheryl Crow benefit show on VH1 - ------------------------------ Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 2 Jun 2002 20:09:40 EDT From: FMYFL@aol.com Subject: Re: Covers #30 is bustin' out all over! Hey Bob, I'll give you a spit cup :~) Thanks again for another wonderful Joni's cover CD's. I've been listening to it all weekend. I've realized that not only do I love all these covers and the hard work you do, but your reviews of the songs are accurate and funny as Hell!!!! Just a few comments: <8. Carl Verheyen - Cactus Tree: Carl's an ace session guitarist and also a luthier in his own right. This is a gorgeous electric-guitar instrumental and one of my favorite tracks on this volume. Great player, great song - what more do you need?> Not only is Cactus Tree one of my favorite songs, but this guy does a fantastic arrangement of the song. Truly brilliant!!! <12. BB Gabor - Big Yellow Taxi: I REALLY dig this one, Canadian new wave from the 80's. Gabor starts in one groove, and then changes in the middle and rocks out with it. VERY unique!> I've heard the zillion covers of BYT, but it is so nice to hear it played in such a totally different way. GREAT!!!! <13. Bill Comeau - Both Sides Now: Simply dreadful. Makes you want to grab the guitar and smash it into splinters ala Animal House. This guy has the wimpiest voice in history, I'll bet even tiny Nikki could take him in a fair fight.> This songs like Andy Williams got castrated LOL. You're so right! This is the wimpiest voice in history. How campy! <18. David Syme - Both Sides Now: Solo piano, could be your kid playing at a recital, although if it was you'd probably pay closer attention then you will to this.> I think David Syme *was* playing this for piano 101. It is sooooo bad it makes me laugh. Again Mr. Muller, thanks for all your hard work, and for the rest of you people: Get this CD or I'll slap you! Jimmy 21. Jennifer Hollywood - River: Another Dressed to Kill track, so you don't really know if "Jennifer Hollywood" is a real name or not, but it's hard to mess up 'River', and this one sticks pretty close to the original recipe. Bob ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 2 Jun 2002 22:25:07 EDT From: SCJoniGuy@aol.com Subject: Re: samples NJC <> Mike, as for the artists selling on CDBaby, both Kate & Victor have samples you can listen to...just do a search at CDBaby.com. If you like what you hear, I'm sure they'll have no problem shipping to Spain. There are CD's of the previous fests also available. I would be happy to make you copies, or perhaps someone in Europe could. I'd be happy to assemble/assist on another "CD of You" project...if there's enough interest, let's talk about it. Bob NP: Princess Superstar and the High & Mighty - "Bad Babysitter" ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 2 Jun 2002 22:42:43 -0400 (EDT) From: Catherine McKay Subject: Re: "Joni's Four Periods", an essay 100+% JC, very long - --- "Jim L'Hommedieu (Lama)" wrote: > Contrary to popular opinion, I believe Joni > Mitchell's recording career > should be divided into four periods so far, not > three. Jim, that was brilliant! (You should get it published, man!) ______________________________________________________________________ Find, Connect, Date! http://personals.yahoo.ca ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 2 Jun 2002 23:19:15 EDT From: Murphycopy@aol.com Subject: Re: "Joni's Four Periods", an essay 100+% JC, very long Jim Lama writes: << Pain-free, her interest in writing began to wane. Who needs catharsis if you don't have a problem? Joni has often said, "I sing my sorrow and I paint my joy." >> Bravo, Jim! This is very well done. For people who usually delete long posts, this is well worth reading -- so read it! --Bob ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Jun 2002 12:54:33 +0800 (PHT) From: Subject: Re: Joni's peak voice Although the only albums I don't have of Joni are STAS and DJRD, I think that her voice's peak was during the time of MINGUS. The agility when combined with the darkening of her tone color (?) is heady stuff. Although most people I know consider MINGUS her worst album (MINGUS is my second favorite album next to HOSL), I think the singing is topnotch and made even more apparent that her voice can be seen as a jazz instrument with its many hues. Like the late 80s-era Ella, Joni's voice in BSN have a limited range but the improvisational quality remains blue chip. joseph np: anita baker "fairy tales" > I think Joni's voice (her singing) was at its best > during that period, when she had matured, but where > smoking and age hadn't dried it out so much. My > favourite of all for her vocal style is probably Don > Juan. There is so much exuberance in her singing - > Cotton Avenue is so full of life and joy and fun. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Jun 2002 13:02:52 +0800 (PHT) From: Subject: Re: njc Why D'ya Do It > I've been listening to Marianne Faithfull's masterpiece Broken English > (yeah, not in the best of moods right now!), and as this last song Why > D'ya Do It - if you can call it a song - assaults my ears in all its > incendiary brilliance, I'm moved to wonder if there's ever been a more > vitriolic lyric set to music. I guess there has, but this must be > right up there, and her delivery - at once deadpan and incandescent > with rage - makes it downright frightening. Funny but I was listening to that album of Marianne Faithfull last night. I was completely unaware of the song's incendiary lyrics, but when she started spewing those words in, you're right, that deadpan way of hers (some will say matter of fact), it came across as even more terrifying for its calm and, is this allowed?, serenity. > NP: Beth Hirsch - Titles & Idols (she's the singer from the first Air > album) I like Beth's contribution on that seminal album of Air, but I was a tad disappointment with her first solo album -- not quite the brilliant singer who dazzled me in Air's albums. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 2 Jun 2002 21:13:19 -0700 From: "Kakki" Subject: Re: "Joni's Four Periods", an essay 100+% JC, very long Another beautiful essay, Lama - I think you should write an entire book on Joni! Please forgive for chafing just a bit at one statement, which I know you cited from Karen O'Brien's biography: > Elliot visited Mo Ostin at the only record company on America's west coast > at Warner Brothers. Capitol Records founded in L.A. in 1942 by Johnny Mercer Reprise Records - L.A. - 1960 - Frank Sinatra A&M Records - L.A. - 1963 - Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss Dunhill Records - L.A. - 1965 - Lou Adler There were also some other fairly large record labels on the west coast at the time including Twentieth Century Fox and I think MCA had an office here, too, back then. There were also numerous small but significant labels such as Specialty, and founded and based in L.A. decades ago. Brenda would probably have more information. Sorry for the input but the statement made me feel like we were the "outback" here on the west coast! Gathering martini vapors now to calm down ;-) Kakki ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 03 Jun 2002 01:43:26 -0400 From: Vince Lavieri Subject: Need a clergy! njc Woo Hoo! A recap: Jim looks for a Biblical citation for The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away. I said look in English liturgy. Brenda cites a variant, but not the exact, text in Job in the Scriptures. I respond that the exact text won't be in the Scriptures, that Job is the underlying, adapted text for the exact, precise phase which would likely be in the English prayers books of the Reformation era, and suggest that my hunch is that one should "look in the 1549 Prayer Book, the 1552 revision, the 1559 primer..." as my first 3 probable sources for the exact, precise citation in the funeral liturgies, in connection with the other Job citation, "I know that my Redeemer liveth..." The result: Brenda looks, and finds: "Check it out....from the 1549, 1552 and 1559 Books of Common Prayer: http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/Burial_1549.htm http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/Burial_1552.htm http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/Burial_1559.htm I love a good puzzle...." My hunches were right! Woo hoo! This may sound like small potatoes... but since I think that a VG8 is vegetable drink (commercial: "wow, I could have had a V8") and I have no clue what an open tuning is, and all other kinds of stuff, I finally found something technical about which I was right! Thanks Jim for asking,. it got me thinking about liturgy, and I thank Brenda so much for her finding those common prayer book funeral texts which I shall save for future reference, which show the connection of the two Job variant sources as familiar texts as a bonus! I wish my grandson Gage were here now to do the "uh, I'm cool" dance on my behalf! :-) The reason that I am awake now is that I got a phone call, we have lost our second ministry member, Wally, to death in two days, for both Vern and Wally, an end to their suffering and a release, a transition, to the next level of life. I won't be doing Vern's funeral; he was a member of a local Methodist congregation and they are doing Vern's funeral (not that they ever came to see Vern when he was alive, and I was the one who ministered to Vern and found him, in the end, on the floor, and did last prayers with him). Whether Wally gets a funeral is up to the guardian, and the guardian will probably wisk the body away before we can have a funeral, but we'll do a memorial service for Wally if we get screwed out of being able to do his funeral. Wally deserves that much respect, to be bid farewell and remembered and consigned to God's care. That is my ministry: the people on the fringes of society, the forgotten, those with no familes, those with no one else to be there but me, people with public guardians sunce there is no family who will look after these old and dying people.It is our 6th death in 10 months - but that is what this ministry is all about, to be with people in their penultimate moments on earth when there is no one else for them. I am working my way through my emotions now: within days the home will have a few more residents, and when when I look at the folks in the two homes that I serve, unlike the usual ministry, I look at them and know that within a few years each one of them will be dead, and my job is to be their pastor and friend as they approach death, because they have no one or damn few others to care about them in this situation. and the circle, it goes round and round... (the Rev) Vince ------------------------------ End of JMDL Digest V2002 #238 ***************************** ------- Post messages to the list by clicking here: mailto:joni@smoe.org Unsubscribe by clicking here: mailto:joni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe ------- Siquomb, isn't she?