From: owner-joni-digest@smoe.org (JMDL Digest) To: joni-digest@smoe.org Subject: JMDL Digest V2013 #481 Reply-To: joni@smoe.org Sender: owner-joni-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-joni-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk Unsubscribe:mailto:joni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe Website:http://jonimitchell.com JMDL Digest Monday, April 15 2013 Volume 2013 : Number 481 ========== TOPICS and authors in this Digest: -------- Re: JMDL Digest V2013 #479/ Joni Photo [Anita ] Re: Instagram number 2 [Anita G ] Re: JMDL Digest V2013 #479/ Joni Photo [Laura Stanley ] Re: Review of Ladies of the Canyon, as reissued on LP by Reprise [Dan Ols] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 15 Apr 2013 09:35:52 +0100 From: Anita Subject: Re: JMDL Digest V2013 #479/ Joni Photo Hi Mary. Sounds like I was not alone in flinching and having buttons pushed. My buttons get pushed about things I struggle and I struggled with your choice of the word 'sad' simply because there is some truth in it. Watching my Mum age was the saddest and I hear you saying how hard it for you to see Joni in these photos. Thanks for clarifying your feelings a bit more and I think you might also mean 'mortality' rather than 'immortality'. LOL! That's how hard it is! Anita On 14 Apr 2013, at 23:22, Mary Morris wrote: > I did not mean to push so many, as others have e-mailed me. Perhaps sad is the wrong word...or the wrong feeling I was trying to get it. Sad, because the passing of time is inevitable, not sad just because you are old. It was just kind of shocking to see her look a little old & perhaps frail. Others have remarked that in the first picture of her that she looks like she's grieving, etc. I don't subscribe to any of that. I think the camera just caught a realistic moment & I applaud her for letting that photo go out. Seeing her old just reminded me of my own immortality & how little I've really accomplished & wonder if I've made a difference to anyone or anything at all. I like the age on her.....but I hold her up on some impossible pedestal & am shocked to see her looking older than her years: does that mean her health is at stake ? Polio ? That damn smoking ? I don't wish her any ill will, or anyone for that matter. I would love, however, to hear some new music. Hear her vitality. Not all of us are so lucky as to see her paintings. We can all listen to her music, however. She is & remains a goddess to me, but human, too. I would love it if she performed live somewhere. I would try, hell or high water, to get one of those tickets. > > > GREETINGS FROM THE TRIPLE M Down a gravel road, where the barb wire meets the sky. MARY M. MORRIS ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Apr 2013 09:45:18 +0200 From: Marian Russell Subject: Re: Instagram number 2 There are quite a number of other photos of Joni at this link (page down to find them). In many, she looks very happy. Thank you for finding this site, Marianne. Marian On Apr 13, 2013, at 8:46 PM, Marianne Rizzo wrote: > http://statigr.am/p/433489127322930339_13696266 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Apr 2013 13:31:38 +0100 From: Anita G Subject: Re: Instagram number 2 I had a browse following on from your email, Marian, and there certainly looks like some really good fun going on! Anita On 15/04/2013, Marian Russell wrote: > There are quite a number of other photos of Joni at this link (page down to > find them). In many, she looks very happy. Thank you for finding this > site, Marianne. > > Marian > > On Apr 13, 2013, at 8:46 PM, Marianne Rizzo wrote: > >> http://statigr.am/p/433489127322930339_13696266 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Apr 2013 08:28:42 -0500 From: Laura Stanley Subject: Re: JMDL Digest V2013 #479/ Joni Photo Hi Anita, Beautiful post. And you and Steph are beautiful as you age. So is Joni. Coming to realize life as a bell curve is not easy for me... "Everything comes and goes..." "Briefer than a falling star..." "Sweet bird of time and change..." When I saw Joni last Fall, my first thought was wow she is an old woman. Then when I met her it was an experience of her timeless essence. I see life as a story we tell all along and especially when we are old if we are able. We have a hand in writing our own story. Have you heard Johnny Cash's song "Hurt"? I hated this song at first because it just didn't seem like him. Now I admire him for showing himself as a weak old man to the world. The song is him being himself more than he was when he was all wrapped up in his empire of the music business. I love the scenes of his little house in Dyess, Arkansas. There is something powerful in him looking thru the window of the house into his childhood. The blink of an eye... I find the song encouraging. Here is a link for the song: http://youtu.be/o22eIJDtKho Love, Laura Sent from my iPhone On Apr 14, 2013, at 2:47 PM, Anita G wrote: > Mary, I have to say I flinched when I read your post. It's a little > about Joni, but equally about my own struggles with ageing. I know > Catherine said a few bits and bobs about ageing recently and I know I > find it hard. You say it's sad to see someone get old. I could ask why > it's so hard to accept something that is part of life, completely > natural and inescapable. I know there are lots of comments on Joni.com > from Joni herself about ageing. Why does it have to be 'sad'? My hair > is now completely grey. Do I dye it? I have jowls, dark rings etc. > etc. Do I get them lifted or prize every wrinkle as a manifestation of > my journey through life? Today, you could show me the way to the > plastic surgeon because I feel so scared about my march towards Death. > Yet tomorrow, I may be more accepting. Damien Hirst said why bother > with moisturiser when in 50 years you'll be a skull? (I am reaching > for the Oil of Olay as we speak :~) > > Joni is no longer the woman of my/our youth. The transitions Joni has > made in her music from that high pitched voice of LOC, through to the > maturity of 'Hejira' the extraordinary music of DJRD or Mingus, > through to the simplicity of 'Shine' - all of it feels like I am > witness to her journey, too. Joni may have struggled to be in life > without the drug of her choice, she may not be able to sing like > others from her time (Baez or Emmylou) and she may have a turkey neck. > But, to me, she remains immensely human. When I look at the photos, I > feel hopeful that I can manage my own ageing, like her, in a way that > respects the true turning of the Wheel and the truth of my own life > journey, > Anita > > On 14/04/2013, Mary Morris wrote: >> My first impression of the first photo in the kitchen was that Joni looked >> soooo old. That turkey neck - it was something my gramma had in her 90's - - >> not in her 60's. I wanted to give Joni a "Lifestyle Lift" - just the neck. >> But now that the pictures are out, you can't do it. I like the second >> instagram better. Both show Joni looking like Joni's always looked - that >> peculiar way of looking & seeing that she has, along with the distinctive >> mouth - there were moments in Joni's youth that I thought she looked older >> & >> very striking. It's sad to see someone get old. You know the cigarettes >> take >> their toll on the skin & such & I don't like that aspect. I would love to >> see >> her with her grandchildren, all smiles, you know ? I think it's nice we >> get >> to see these, though. >> >> GREETINGS FROM THE TRIPLE M Down a gravel road, where the barb wire >> meets the sky. MARY M. MORRIS ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 14 Apr 2013 11:11:36 -0400 From: Marianne Rizzo Subject: Instagram number 2 It looks like a magnifying glass Marianne > I'm curious about the object in the forefront of this picture. While others have suggested its a mirror, and it probably is, it reminds me a great deal of a magnifying glass that is used by Grahah Nash in a wonderful portrait he did of Joni. > > Marianne Rizzo wrote: > >> http://statigr.am/p/433489127322930339_13696266 >> >> Look ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Apr 2013 10:47:33 -0500 From: Dan Olson Subject: Re: Review of Ladies of the Canyon, as reissued on LP by Reprise Not to quibble, but the first sentence states the distance from NYC to Woodstock as 300 miles (it's more like 100). Here's the excised paragraphs: Comparing the different LP pressings I had on hand with this Rhino reissue was both instructive and enlightening. On some records, and on some systems, this album can sound a bit thin and bright. Most every track has plenty of upper midrange and lower treble and not much else. In other words, its a bare bones recording. This album needs a sympathetic mastering for all that compelling imagery and emotional insight Mitchell has carefully crafted to have any chance of succeeding. Thankfully, the Rhino reissue avoids any of those issues. Pressed at RTI with near flawless surfaces, my copy is quiet and flat. Most importantly, this mastering from the original analog tapes by Chris Bellman of Bernie Grundman Studios is absolutely superb. My original US first pressing (WLP with A-1A/B-1A lacquers) lacks low-end weight and transparency in comparison, even if it does sound a bit warmer. It may have been produced during the golden age of Warner Brothers/Reprise, but it sounds a bit rolled off. So does a later A-1B copy (which suffers from sibilance), as does an obscure RCA Dynaflex pressing with two-tone labels and a stamped 1S in the dead wax (its even brighter). An early 90s non-gatefold German heavyweight reissue actually sounds pretty good. It has improved clarity and a fuller presentation compared to the US original, but its a bit dry and clinical. Its important to remember that this recording features a young Mitchell, with her high airy voice intact. Also, the only other instruments besides piano and acoustic guitar are woodwinds and percussion. And there is no bass guitar. Consequently, anything that adds richness to the lower midrange without sacrificing detail is welcome. Thats what Bellman has achieved here. Everything has clarity with exceptional low-level resolution, but without a hint of being overly detailed. There is a new depth to the midrange, and the vocals are convincingly life-like: rich, nuanced, transparent and without sibilants. In other words, Bellman nailed it. In fact, I think he knocked it out of the park. The labels and gatefold jacket also replicate the original Reprise LP successfully. Not to be missed. There was a DCC mastering of this album scheduled to be released in the 90s, but, unlike the DCC LP and CD of Court and Spark and the DCC CD of * Blue*, it never made it to print. So this audiophile 180-gram reissue is a very welcome addition to the used LPs available. Also included in the Rhino LP reissue series are *Blue* (mastered by Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman) and *Court and Spark* (mastered by Chris Bellman), both of which were previously reviewed on this site by Michael Fremer. The *Hissing of Summer Lawns* (also mastered by Chris Bellman) is the fourth in the series. On Mon, Apr 8, 2013 at 12:48 PM, Jim L'Hommedieu wrote: > I was reading reviews of the LP re-issues of some of Joni's Reprise > records when I found this review. He talks at length about the songs > themselves before he gets around to reviewing the quality of the reissue. > On a scale of 10, he rates the music as a 10 and the technical quality of > the sound as 10 also. > > http://www.analogplanet.com/**content/joni-mitchell%E2%80%** > 99s-laurel-canyon-rediscovered > > Reprise/Rhino R1 6376 180g LP > Produced by: Joni Mitchell and Henry Lewy > Engineered by: Henry Lewy > Mixed by: Henry Lewy > Mastered by: Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering > -------------------- > "Joni Mitchell s Laurel Canyon Rediscovered" > Posted By Randy Wells on June 28, 2012 > > Joni Mitchell s decision to stay in New York City instead of traveling 300 > miles north to attend a three-day rock festival in August of 1969 was > probably a good idea. If she had actually seen Woodstock for herself, she > may not have created such an intense and idealized song by the same name. > > David Crosby of the group Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (CSNY), which > made Mitchell s Woodstock a big hit in 1970, said that she captured the > feeling and importance of the Woodstock festival better than anyone who had > been there. Her songs about Los Angeles Laurel Canyon community written > around the same time received similar attention to detail. > > The resulting album, Ladies Of The Canyon, revealed a more confident > singer-songwriter. Still restless and introspective, her music showed more > lyrical maturity and rhythmic drive compared to her previous release, the > 1969 Grammy award winning Clouds. Her delicate vocals seemed to have gained > another octave as she reached deeper to convey her feelings about life, > love and its complexities. > > In 1969, the Aquarian themes of Woodstock (peace, love and music) were > being played out on a smaller scale in the secluded Los Angeles > neighborhood of Laurel Canyon, which is defined by a road that links > Hollywood Blvd. to Mulholland Drive. Two years earlier Mitchell had > purchased a wooden cottage surrounded by cypress trees that had been built > by a jazz musician into the side of a hill on Lookout Mountain Avenue. > Living in Laurel Canyon also meant that friends surrounded her, including > Crosby, Stephen Stills, John Sebastian, Linda Ronstadt, Carol King, and > Cass Elliot. > > Several of the songs Mitchell wrote at the time, including the title > track, were a direct result of her embracing that slice of bohemian > counter-culture while maintaining a sense of domesticity. They also > reflected her close ties to the members of CSNY, who helped sing back up > harmony on the album s The Circle Game a song that was inspired by > fellow Canadian Neil Young s Sugar Mountain . Mitchell s blossoming > relationship with her boyfriend Graham Nash was also significant. They had > fallen in love the previous year and were living together in Mitchell s > home (with two cats in the yard). > > Willy was Nash s nickname and the song Mitchell composed about him. It > was written during a trip they made together to shoot the inside gatefold > photograph for CSN s debut album. That song laid out their relationship > bare for all to see. Nash would respond with Our House on Dij` Vu and > later with Simple Man on Songs For Beginners when they broke up after > Ladies Of The Canyon was released. > > Everything about Ladies... had been honed to a fine edge, but that > polishing also meant more work. Drawings by Mitchell were featured on the > soft matte cover, and her handwritten lyrics graced the inside gatefold > (with a line missing from Woodstock ). At the time she observed, The > drawings, the music and the words are very much tied together. (It s) the > kind of material I want to write I want to be brighter, to get people up, > to grab people. So I m stifling my feelings of solitude. > Mitchell would return to those feelings of solitude on her next album, > embarking on a confessional journey that would produce her dark > masterpiece, Blue. But that record of painful beauty was a year away. > Ladies, while just as sparse in its arrangements, remained mostly innocent > and was far less self-questioning. > > The songs were performed on piano and guitar in a style that was changing > from the acoustic folk of her first two albums to something like the pop > sound she would later achieve on her best selling record, Court and Spark. > Like that release, Ladies... was recorded in nearby Hollywood at A&M > Records Studio - because the piano at A&M is the best in the whole world, > said Mitchell. Henry Lewy handled engineering duties and provided guidance > in producing the additional cello, clarinet, saxophone, flute, and > percussion. > > Released as RS 6376 on Reprise Records in the spring of 1970 when Mitchell > was 26 years old, the LP sold quickly and became her first gold record. It > confirmed Mitchell s ability to convey complicated emotions in a simple > way. Take for example the charming Morning Morgantown . This lead off tune > echoes the sunny Chelsea Morning from her previous album, but adds a > poignant tone to her soaring vocals, making it much more introspective. > > For Free could have been written about today s abundance of struggling > artists. It portrays a street musician who keeps playing even though he isn > t really getting paid. Mitchell questions her own good fortune of becoming > successful while wondering what freedoms she may have given up in the > process (this struggle between art and commerce would be revisited). > Conversation is her first soft rocker that churns away on the back of > strumming guitars and bop vocals by The Saskatunes (in actuality a > multi-tracked Mitchell). > > The environmental anthem Big Yellow Taxi with its unforgettable line > they paved paradise and put up a parking lot may be her best-known track > on the album. The lyrics were inspired by a view Mitchell saw from her > Honolulu hotel room. Amazingly, she effectively connects the betrayal of > the land to a taxi that takes her lover away. Who else could diffuse an > ecological protest song by wrapping it up in romanticism and finishing it > off with a laugh? And then there s The Circle Game which remains one of > her most magical songs if simply for the reason it s the archetype of a > vision that is both achingly personal and universally thematic without > becoming too sentimental. > > eh? JL> > > In retrospect, Joni Mitchell was blossoming as an artist on Ladies Of The > Canyon. It provided a personal platform on which she could paint her > ever-evolving canvas. Conflicted between her desire for love and a need for > independence, Mitchell expressed a variety of emotions based on her > experiences, including those in Laurel Canyon. Like her earlier work, it s > optimistic - but it s also significantly more mature in outlook. The hopes > and dreams of a generation of California baby boomers may be gone, but we > still have this album to listen to. Essential. > -------------------- > All the best, > Jim L'Hommedieu > Columbus, Ohio ------------------------------ End of JMDL Digest V2013 #481 ***************************** ------- To post messages to the list, sendtojoni@smoe.org. Unsubscribe by clicking here: mailto:joni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe -------