From: les@jmdl.com (onlyJMDL Digest) To: onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org Subject: onlyJMDL Digest V2000 #188 Reply-To: joni@smoe.org Sender: les@jmdl.com Errors-To: les@jmdl.com Precedence: bulk Archives: http://www.smoe.org/lists/onlyjoni Websites: http://www.jmdl.com http://www.jonimitchell.com Unsubscribe: mailto:onlyjoni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe onlyJMDL Digest Monday, May 15 2000 Volume 2000 : Number 188 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. --- Ashara has set up a "Wally Breese Memorial Fund" with all donations going directly towards the upkeep of the website. Wally kept the website going with his own funds. it is now up to US to help Jim continue. If you would like to donate to this fund, please make all checks payable to: Jim Johanson and send them to: Ashara Stansfield P.O. Box 215 Topsfield, MA. 01983 USA ========== TOPICS and authors in this Digest: -------- Joni Greeting Cards are here!!! ["Debby Magill" ] Re: Joni Greeting Cards are here!!! [Janet Hess ] re: Joni Greeting Cards are here!!! [Janet Hess ] UKJMDL2000 [catman ] Re: Joni Greeting Cards are here!!! [FMYFL@aol.com] Re: Please!! Help me!! :) ["Mike Hicks" ] Re: The Time Of Our Lives [MDESTE1@aol.com] S.F. concert reactions on JM.Com [FMYFL@aol.com] Re: toontown in june [AngelinoCoyote@aol.com] Re: The Time Of Our Lives ["James L. Leonard" ] Re: Concert Reactions on JoniMitchell.com [AngelinoCoyote@aol.com] TRADE: TNT for JONI BOOTLEG ["Peg Eves" ] BSN Samples [Bounced Message ] BSN Samples [Bounced Message ] Those Swinging Rock 60s (md-3) Berry/Wilson [Howard Motyl ] Concert Programs [Richard Goldman ] Wynonna Pulls a Joni ["Lori R. Fye" ] And another voice chimes in....(Long!) [Steve Dulson ] LA Times article re: Friday concert [Les Irvin ] Joni Mitchell's Dull Twist On Standards (SF Chronicle review 5/15/00 - warning: concert material (and unkind at that!) [Richard Goldman ] San Francisco Examiner review of Saturday's concert [Les Irvin ] Joni/Toni Comparisons? [Don Rowe ] Re: Concert Programs - all gone now! [Richard Goldman ] Joni Greeting Cards are here!!! [mann@chicagonet.net] Joni at Woodstock/was: L.A. Concert Report--The Rest (Long) [Scott Price ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 03:14:23 -0400 From: "Debby Magill" Subject: Joni Greeting Cards are here!!! Hi all! I was ordering up some e-mail Mother's Day cards when I fell upon a section of Joni Mitchell e-greeting cards!!! There are a total of three of them. All three have a snippet of music and a moving animation of her paintings. The three song selections are "BSN", "Help Me" and "You Turn Me On, I'm a Radio". They are so cool!!! You can find them at www.egreetings.com Now, go check them out! Tilll later ~ Debby in Mad Beach P.S. To those of you that saw one of her shows in CA - was the whole show with the orchestra or did she do any solo or band stuff? Please let me know! ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 04:00:56 -0400 From: Janet Hess Subject: Re: Joni Greeting Cards are here!!! Hey, Debby, thanks bunches--these are terrific. And when you send a Joni card...I am not making this up...when you send a Joni card, you get to join her "fan club." You give them your email address and they say they pass it on to her or her label or something. I think the whole splendid bunch of us should join Joni's fan club. I think it's the least we can do. :) BTW, after you send a card, they also show you a link to her official web page, JoniMitchell.com. Nice! At 03:14 AM 5/15/2000 -0400, Debby Magill wrote: > >Hi all! > >I was ordering up some e-mail Mother's Day cards when I fell upon a section >of Joni Mitchell >e-greeting cards!!! There are a total of three of them. All three have a >snippet of music and a moving animation of her paintings. The three song >selections are "BSN", "Help Me" and "You Turn Me On, I'm a Radio". They are >so cool!!! You can find them at www.egreetings.com Let all these dogs go running free The wild and gentle dogs Kennelled in me. Joni Mitchell ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 04:05:35 -0400 From: Janet Hess Subject: re: Joni Greeting Cards are here!!! Here's the message I just received. I'll bet I'm the very first member of the Joni Mitchell fan club on my block. Hugz, Janet and Deanna Ivy the Wonderkitty, who is smug because she knows that Joni's been in *her* fan club for years Return-Path: Auto-Submitted: auto-replied Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 00:55:38 -0700 To: Subject: Thanks for joining ! From: E-greetings Customer Service Reply-To: E-greetings Customer Service Thanks for joining the Joni Mitchell fan club! We'll be passing along your submission to them and you should start receiving mail from them within 4 to 6 weeks. For more information on Joni Mitchell, check out her web site at http://www.jonimitchell.com/ We appreciate your enthusiasm and hope that you'll continue to have fun sending Joni Mitchell greetings. Your friends at Egreetings.com - ----------------- So when you see a man who's broken / Pick him up and carry him. And when you see a woman who's broken / Put her all into your arms 'Cause we don't know where we come from / We don't know what we are. Laurie Anderson, "Ramon" ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 11:39:31 +0100 From: catman Subject: UKJMDL2000 I don't have access to my other pc with all the addresses on, so Martin or Raphael please contact me regarding the printing. colin I haven't put NJC on this as I don't know which list these guys are on. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 07:37:39 EDT From: FMYFL@aol.com Subject: Re: Joni Greeting Cards are here!!! Debby wrote: << The three song selections are "BSN", "Help Me" and "You Turn Me On, I'm a Radio". They are so cool!!! You can find them at www.egreetings.com >> Thanks so much for sending me one Deb. These animated cards are great! I already sent out a few last night and this morning. Now I'm going to send some to my Non-Joni friends so they'll truly think I'm whacko! Jimmy ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 08:20:48 -0500 From: "Mike Hicks" Subject: Re: Please!! Help me!! :) > Date: Sun, 14 May 2000 15:14:09 -0700 (PDT) > From: Ju Neitzke e Lea > Subject: Please!! Help me!! :) > To: Mike Hicks > I love Joni Mitchell and I was out of country when it > showed in TNT channel 40 "An all-star tribute to Joni > Mitchell". > I was so sad when I knew it. > Please, I really want to buy the video tape for this > event. > This is very important to me. Do you know how taped? I don't have a copy myself, but I'm sure someone on line can help. Can anyone help this person out? mike > I look forward to receive a reply. I appreciate so > much, > ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 08:00:06 EDT From: MDESTE1@aol.com Subject: Re: The Time Of Our Lives Loved this great review. Good details. thank you. marcel. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 08:06:17 EDT From: FMYFL@aol.com Subject: S.F. concert reactions on JM.Com Just read some of the reviews of the Concord Pavillion show on JM.Com and saw the *great* photos taken by Leslie Mixon! This one reviewer (obviously not on the JMDL) wrote: "The woman behind me had an orgasm during Both Sides Now--weeping and moaning, "You're not the only one, Joni. I love you, we all love you--you are not alone." Sweetheart, put a lid on it. Try medication--anything to pull your tired ass out of the 70s for chrissakes--oh, there's that mean-spirited streak again. I have to watch that." LOL,LOL I want to know which one of you he was talking about :~) Jimmy ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 09:35:40 EDT From: AngelinoCoyote@aol.com Subject: Re: toontown in june In a message dated 5/14/00 7:38:24 PM Pacific Daylight Time, katej@connect.ab.ca writes: << Would everyone attending the Mendel opening consider wearing a nametag identifying themselves as a JMDL member? You'll know me -- I'll be the one accompanying the kid on silver crutches -- but how will I know you? >> Hi Kate: I'll do it. Infact, I'll even wear a heart on my sleeve! Agree it would be fun to meet everyone as well. No regrets, Coyote (Rick) Casa Alegre Hollywood, California I'll be dancin' on a pony keg. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 09:41:48 -0700 From: "James L. Leonard" Subject: Re: The Time Of Our Lives Ditto. All the reviews have made for great reading, and vicarious living. Thanks to everyone. "Boston Jim" - ----- Original Message ----- From: To: ; Sent: Monday, May 15, 2000 5:00 AM Subject: Re: The Time Of Our Lives > Loved this great review. Good details. thank you. marcel. > ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 09:49:33 EDT From: AngelinoCoyote@aol.com Subject: Re: Concert Reactions on JoniMitchell.com In a message dated 5/14/00 9:48:23 PM Pacific Daylight Time, MGVal@aol.com writes: << Some of the LA people remarked about people in the audience moving about throughout the songs. I think that at the Concord, the majority of the audience was simply spellbound. There were, of course, the dragged along partners, (I had one to my immediate right), but they were well trained and stayed in their seats. (:-D >> My dragged along patrner loved the show and stayed quiety seated, as instructed. I was amazed, however, when the couple next to me (strangers) left before Ludwig, right in the middle of JM's story. They told me they were going to get out before all the traffic. I asked if they had preferred parking, they said, nope, they were up the hill. Hello. It's stacked parking! I was glad they left. My group got to move over two seats closer to center stage. I bet they are still waiting to get out of the lot. No regrets, Coyote (Rick) Casa Alegre Hollywood, California I'll be dancin' on a pony keg. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 09:52:13 -0400 From: "Peg Eves" Subject: TRADE: TNT for JONI BOOTLEG Dear Comrads, Does anyone have a copy of TNT All Star Tribute I could borrow or buy? Or TRADE for Joni BOOTLEG 3 record set from BBC 1972!!! Peg New lister ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 08:09:35 -0600 From: Bounced Message Subject: BSN Samples From: "Jim L'Hommedieu" Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 04:12:18 -0400 Reprise has short but high quality samples of all 12 tracks at: www.repriserec.com/jonimitchell/index_main.html You'll probably have to reassemble that link though as the long ones seem to g.et mangled. I concur with Janet (what's she doing up at 4 am?) Hess about http://www.egreetings.com/ What no one has mentioned is that the e- greeting cards are free. Hoping I'm not hogging the bandwidth this weekend, Jim L'Hommedieu near Cincinnati This message boun_ced on it's way to Joniland - usually a result of the address from which it came not matching *exactly* any subscriber's address. If this message is from you, contact me so we can resolve the problem. -Les. - -------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 08:09:35 -0600 From: Bounced Message Subject: BSN Samples From: "Jim L'Hommedieu" Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 04:12:18 -0400 Reprise has short but high quality samples of all 12 tracks at: www.repriserec.com/jonimitchell/index_main.html You'll probably have to reassemble that link though as the long ones seem to g.et mangled. I concur with Janet (what's she doing up at 4 am?) Hess about http://www.egreetings.com/ What no one has mentioned is that the e- greeting cards are free. Hoping I'm not hogging the bandwidth this weekend, Jim L'Hommedieu near Cincinnati This message boun_ced on it's way to Joniland - usually a result of the address from which it came not matching *exactly* any subscriber's address. If this message is from you, contact me so we can resolve the problem. -Les. - -------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 09:56:11 -0500 From: Howard Motyl Subject: Those Swinging Rock 60s (md-3) Berry/Wilson This is a multi-part message in MIME format. - --------------29ED394DB28A57DE88B20867 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; x-mac-type="54455854"; x-mac-creator="4D4F5353" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 00-05-14 13:12:05 EDT, jll@tampabay.rr.com writes: << I believe "Surfin' USA" (1963) pre-dates Martha and the Vandellas "Dancin' In The Streets." >> >It may have predated Dancing in the Streets but it didnt predate "Sweet >Little Sixteen" of which surfin USA is pretty much a knock off. >Now if Surfin USA didnt duplicate everything about this song then I give up./ In fact, it is fact that Brian Wilson did indeed use the tune for Sweet Little Sixteen for Surfin' USA. Chuck Berry sued him and easily won--there was no contest. In some convoluted law agreement, Berry got sole credit for the tune until the early 80s, I think, then Berry and Wilson got co-credit, with Berry's name clearly coming first. You will be glad to know that Brian Wilson has never received any royalties from Surfin USA, everything has gone to Berry. >After this the question is not whether Brian Wilson was a tallent or even >groundbreaking etc. he was. the fact that as the sixties got going Brian went t>ube city assurredly crippled his chances to make contributions. But the fact >is the sixties were mainly political music wise. they were also cutting edge >in terms of concerts and multi media presentations. The Beach Boys were >missing all those elements. >As all kinds of other bands from the san Francisco sound group (The Dead, >Airplane, Quyicksilver, Country Joe, Santana, etc etc etc produced album >after album Brian was suffering in his own world. had he been around maybe >he would have been among the leaders of the whole thing. But history cant be >rewritten. That is all I have said. Im not anti-beachboy. Im a realist. That >doesnt necessarily diminish his career. Hmm, Country Joe and the Fish vs. Brian Wilson? Quicksilver Messenger Serivice vs. Brian Wilson? Hmm. In terms of longevity and ourright influence on other people, including the Beatles, I'd say that Brian Wilson wins hands down, and then some. And I think that simply to state that the Beach Boys were not doing protest songs, Brian Wilson's music/output should be dismissed is facile at best. Maybe everyone was jumping on the protest bandwagon at the time. And to say that the 60s were mainly political music is also wrong. There was lots of bubblegum, there was lots of surfing songs, there was lots of Burt Bachrach, there was lots of Motown. Hell, there was lots of Frank Sinatra. And I don't think these were the exceptions, take a look at some of the Billboard charts from the 60s. "Somethin' Stupid" sung by Frank and Nancy Jr was a hit in the 60s, and not a minor one. And "The Ballad of the Green Beret" certainly ain't the kind of protest song you be thinking of. I think we tend to mythologize the 60s to be one thing when it was not--just as the 90s are not all Britney and N'Sync. Brian Wilson is a much bigger deal than you think. You should listen to the amazing Surf's Up, if you think he was writing only surfing songs, becuz that album ain't about surfin--at least not on the waves of the ocean. Howard M. - --------------29ED394DB28A57DE88B20867 Content-Type: text/x-vcard; charset=us-ascii; name="howard_scptv.vcf" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Description: Card for Howard Motyl Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="howard_scptv.vcf" begin:vcard n:Motyl;Howard tel;fax:312-421-7714 tel;work:312-421-7711 x-mozilla-html:FALSE org:SCPtv Worldwide adr:;;400 N. May St., Suite 201;Chicago;Illinois;60622;USA version:2.1 email;internet:howard_scptv@interaccess.com title:Director, Creative Development note:"Any time you have the opportunity to accomplish something for those coming behind you and you don't, you are wasting your time on this earth." Roberto Clemente x-mozilla-cpt:;1 fn:Howard Motyl end:vcard - --------------29ED394DB28A57DE88B20867-- ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 11:20:16 -0400 From: "Russel Springham" Subject: 2 tickets for DC show Hey now Joni lovers, I still have those 2 tickets for Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. 13th row (M) right center. I would like $150 for the pair which is a loss of the TM charges, but oh well. You can still get tickets but not seats this good and you'd have to pay the TM charges. Hopefully a ticketless lover of Joni will see this and feel the magnetic "urge for going" to the show. Seeya there! Peace, Russ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 09:02:28 -0700 From: Richard Goldman Subject: Concert Programs Wow...I figured the program would show up on eBay... Well... without placing judgement...now I wished I'd gotten about a hundred extras, but... only got 4. And so... the first 4 folks who email me and want one, they're yours. Just send me your address, and off they go. Richard Goldman richard2sf@earthlink.net np - I Wish I Were in Love Again ===== original post: >Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 00:51:42 -0500 >From: mann@chicagonet.net >Subject: Program Pictures > >For anyone interested in seeing the concert >program..............there are pictures >of it already on eBay. >http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=331699786 >http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=331869991 > >For anyone interested in a Free >Meatball dinner at Ikea.......go to: >http://www.ikea.com >click under the section called > "spring forward" then >go to "empty stomach"... >and print out coupon for >Buy 1 Get 1 Free. > >Laura +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Richard Goldman richard2sf@earthlink.net http://www.home.earthlink.net/~richard2sf/ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 09:35:38 -0700 (PDT) From: "Lori R. Fye" Subject: Wynonna Pulls a Joni I'm a little behind on reading digests ... were any other JMDLers at the WMZQ music festival in Bristow, Virginia, this past Saturday? Wynonna's performance -- the last of the day -- was nothing short of AMAZING! Previous to the concert my partner, Mary, and I debated whether Wy would sing "Help Me." Mary thought Wy wouldn't dare sing it at a country music festival that featured the likes of Mark Wills and Toby Keith. Despite the preponderant rebel caps, cowboy boots, and necks that were red before the bright sun made its contribution, I thought Wy might give it a whirl. WELL! Not only did the lovely Wynonna sing "Help Me" as the fourth song of her set, she preceded it with a little tale along these (paraphrased) lines: "When I was 10 years old, I knew that one day I would wake up someplace, maybe in a place like Virginia [loud cheers], and sing these kinds of songs. I've always wanted to sing them, and I think I've earned the right." Guitars were already strumming the opening chords, and when Wy launched into "Help Me" with her gospel trio as backup, it was ... heavenly. Mary and I noticed a few eyes widen and look askance, and a number of folks got up and left. Most stayed, however. But this was just the beginning ... Mid-song, Wynonna said "Joni Mitchell is ..." and I couldn't make it out clearly, but I think she said "my hero." Another verse, and then these spoken words: "Never be afraid to take chances." Between songs, Wy gave a little inspirational speech about life being short, saying (paraphrased again), "If you're not doing what you want, stop right now, and start doing what you want!" Was anyone hearing her message? I certainly was!!! Wynonna continued her set with the familiar Eric Clapton tune, "Change the World," followed by a powerful blues number (although I can't remember the name; my memory always fails me when it comes to set lists), backed again by her gospel trio. Some audience members were beginning to get visibly pissed off now, since they had come to hear Wynonna sing country tunes -- in fact the couple directly in front of us were muttering to each other, "This is terrible!" "I'll never come to see her again!" But the vast majority, especially those on the pavilion floor (who, I might add, were mostly women) stayed and danced and enjoyed! For her encore, Wy was genius enough to return to the stage and sing, a'capella with her trio, "How Great Thou Art." There wasn't a soul in the house who wasn't moved by her rendition. At its end, she declared, "That's where I get that power!" Wy's last song was one of her country classics, and that mollified anyone who had remained miffed. On the way home, Mary told me she loved Wynonna's concert but felt bad for the folks who were unprepared for Wy's change in musical directions, since they had come to a "country music" festival and had paid to hear that kind of music. On one hand I can see Mary's point, but on the other hand I would say to those who were disappointed: "Open your mind." (I said the same thing to my friend Bear when she complained about her disappointment in 1974 when she went to hear Joni do LOTC and Blue but heard Court and Spark instead.) Since her second solo CD, "Tell Me Why," which concluded with the very bluesy "That Was Yesterday" (penned by her mother, Naomi Judd), I've known that Wynonna has what it takes to successfully cross musical genres. In my opinion, she's fixin' to "pull a Joni" and there's no better time to do it than now - -- when she's at the top of her career. While she may lose some of her country-music-faithful fans, Wynonna will undoubtedly pick up plenty more new fans who will appreciate the power and range of her voice, not to mention her highly entertaining stage presence. I think Wy's appreciation of the career risks Joni has taken time and again have influenced Wynonna's own decision to break away and sing ALL of the music she loves. BRAVO for this brave woman!!! Lori in DC __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send instant messages & get email alerts with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 09:46:30 -0700 From: Steve Dulson Subject: And another voice chimes in....(Long!) Monday morning, back to the computer after a LONG weekend, and I have to chime in with my thoughts on Friday night. This will be very disorganized, but forgive me. The evening was really in two halves, the concert and the jmdl get-togethers. Both were fantastic. The Kakki-shack now has a rival for LA jmdl party HQ - Rick and Brad's house is beautiful, and they are two very generous and charming hosts. I am touched, stunned, amazed, thrilled at the wondrous community that the jmdl and JoniMitchell.com, Les and Wally, have created. Where have you people been all my life? :) As I tried, incoherently, to explain to someone Friday, before '98 I could gush about my Joni fixation to maybe 1 or 2 people who had any notion (or interest) in what I was saying. Now there is a whole bunch of you - and everyone I've met I really, really like. The time at the Bel Air was fabulous, too - and the piano player did "Both Sides Now" for us, before he packed up at 1 am. I was a little taken aback when I came to pay my bill - it turns out that the (very generous) glasses of (excellent) Merlot Michele and I were drinking were $19 apiece - but well worth it, given the ambiance and the company! Now, the $5 cups of white Zin at the Greek - that was a ripoff! :) (I heard one wag ask if he could have Bearnaise sauce with his hot dog). What can I say about the concert that hasn't already been written? Maybe just some comments that occured to me while reading other posts. Yes, Kakki, FTR was the highlight for me, too. I never thought I would hear her sing that again, and I was doing MG's "insane bobbsey twin" act all through it, just reveling in the gorgeousness of it. ACOY was also magnificent, and received a standing ovation. The audience in the south terrace was WAY respectful - I only noticed one person get up during a song, and there was NO talking during the music - I am very sensitive to that, and this was the most reverential audience I've been in for a long time. And "predominantly female audience"? I didn't count, but it looked like a pretty even split to me. And there were empty seats down in sections A and B, and two in front of us for that matter, so not quite a sell out, or maybe some no-shows. I think that she had two video monitors on stage, along with three sound monitors, so I was suprised when she used the lyric sheet. I thought Joni was in a very "up" mood and almost girlish at times. Some of the orchestra (especially the concert master!) were having a blast, but some of the violin section were practically looking at their watches during passages they didn't play on. The LA traffic was way more horrendous than usual. Michele and I left Costa Mesa at 3, figuring we'd beat the rush hour and get to Rick's about 4. We got there at 5:20. It took us almost an hour to get from the Greek to the Bel Air...and I feel REALLY bad for telling Phil, Lindsay and others "Just take Sunset over to Stone Canyon". I should have remembered the age-old SoCal pastime of "cruising the strip". Argh. It was a great 12 hours, and I truly delight in the company of all of you who shared the experience. Thank you! ######################################################### Steve Dulson Costa Mesa CA steve@psitech.com "The Tinker's Own" http://www.tinkersown.com "Southern California Dulcimer Heritage" http://members.aol.com/scdulcimer/ "The Living Tradition Concert Series" http://www.thelivingtradition.org/ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 11:03:45 -0600 From: Les Irvin Subject: LA Times article re: Friday concert Monday, May 15, 2000 "Mitchell's Truly Fusing Both Sides Now" She showcases her singing in classy renditions of pop standards while hinting at a new approach to her own material. By ROBERT HILBURN, Times Pop Music Critic "What a thrill!" Joni Mitchell declared Friday at the Greek Theatre, referring to the chance to sing live with a 70-piece orchestra--and the reaction of her fans was surely mutual. Starting a brief U.S. tour, Mitchell gave a two-hour performance that was both classy and revealing. For more than a quarter century, Mitchell has not been seen by music observers as just a singer-songwriter, but perhaps the singer-songwriter; an artist whose sense of craft has been rivaled in the pop-rock spectrum only by Bob Dylan. While her singing has always been lauded, the acclaim has mainly centered on her songwriting, which combines a commanding feel for both lyrics and melody with penetrating insight into relationships and social rites. So it's fitting that Mitchell titled her latest album "Both Sides Now." The title isn't just the name of one of her best-known numbers, it also serves to underscore the fact that the album showcases the other side of Mitchell's art: her singing. On the album, Mitchell turns to a series of pop standards, some dating back to the '20s and '30s, to mirror the common ups and downs of a romantic journey--or, as she said from the stage Friday, to tell the story from the "smitten" part to the "heartbreak end." Her voice is much deeper now, of course, than in the '70s, when she was turning out such richly detailed and compellingly personal albums as "Blue" and "Court and Spark." Instead of the frequent falsetto edges, her voice is coated with the raspy feel of experience--all of which gives her aggressive, jazz-accented interpretations an extra sense of authenticity. After an opening overture, Mitchell performed the entire new album in sequence. The tunes--many associated over the years with such stylists as Frank Sinatra and Billie Holiday--ranged from the giddy exuberance of Sidney Clare and Jay Gorney's "You're My Thrill" to the dark undercurrents of Ted Koehler and Harold Arlen's "Stormy Weather" to the renewed anticipation of Lorenz Hart and Richard Rodgers' "I Wish I Were in Love Again." Despite the potential for opening-night rough spots, Mitchell and the orchestra, led by arranger-conductor Vince Mendoza, negotiated the songs' emotional twists and turns much like a race car hugs the road on a high-speed curve. As you'd expect from someone with Mitchell's artistic independence, the music was far more edgy than most of the conservative pop reexaminations we've seen in recent years. The music gained even greater personality when pianist Herbie Hancock, trumpeter Mark Isham and bassist Larry Klein (who is also the tour's musical director) joined her separately on a few numbers. Still, there was a sense at times that the whole show was really a warmup for what promises to be an even more exciting concert experience: orchestral versions of her own songs, which generally have a greater sense of emotional complexity than many of the songs in "Both Sides Now." Mitchell even gave a teasing preview Friday of what that show might be like. After the album sequence, she performed four of her own songs--most notably, inspired renditions of "Hijera," an exquisite tale of guarded emotions, and "For the Roses," a look at the loss of innocence. If Mitchell follows through on recording an album in that style, we will see the "singer" and "songwriter" truly joined. It would be a pop dream come true. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 11:07:31 -0600 From: Richard Goldman (by way of Les Irvin ) Subject: Joni Mitchell's Dull Twist On Standards (SF Chronicle review 5/15/00 - warning: concert material (and unkind at that!) Joni Mitchell's Dull Twist On Standards Joel Selvin, Chronicle Pop Music Editor Monday, May 15, 2000 - ------------ Nobody sings Joni Mitchell like Joni Mitchell. Unfortunately, Joni Mitchell didn't sing much Joni Mitchell at her concert Saturday at the Chronicle Pavilion in Concord. Most of the program was devoted to a song-by-song recital of her entire new album of pop standards, ``Both Sides Now,'' backed by a full symphony orchestra. Drawing from the songbooks of classic vocalists such as Nat King Cole and Billie Holiday, singer-songwriter Mitchell took the chanteuse inside her out for a ride in front of an audience of more than 8,000 fervid fans who ponied up big bucks to see their diva. Walking out in a glamorous floor-length soft pink silk gown, Mitchell looked resplendent, her trademark long blond hair hanging over her shoulders. When the orchestra launched the full crescendo behind her at the end of the first refrain of ``You're My Thrill,'' a song associated with the redoubtable Holiday, there was a dizzying whoosh as the strings and brass combined in that extraordinary lift-off that only a symphony orchestra can provide. Inspired by a performance with other famous female vocalists two years ago, arranged by the Eagles' Don Henley to benefit his Walden Woods Project, Mitchell went into the studio to produce an entire album of standards sung with a full orchestra. It must be heady stuff for the adventurous former folksinger whose forays into jazz and other artistic experiments have endeared her to her most devoted fans as much as they have alienated her from the mainstream public. On Saturday, she worked hard at stitching nuance and detail into her first few vocals, although the burnished consonants and little filigree on the end of notes ultimately came across more as quirk than style. She toyed with time, spitting out phrases like trumpet runs behind the beat. She practically smothered the songs with technique. A lot of women in rock have tried this gambit -- notably Linda Ronstadt, whose three albums with famous arranger Nelson Riddle revived her sagging commercial fortunes in the mid-'80s -- but, sadly, Mitchell isn't even as good at this as Toni Tennille. Mitchell's high-concept premise was that the songs she selected moved through the stages of the life and death of a love affair, a context so flimsy and ridiculous that even Mitchell broke character and dissolved into giggles introducing one of Holiday's most desolate numbers, ``You've Changed.'' Just singing the old-fashioned pop songs probably would have been concept enough. Most of the songs slogged along at the same elegiac tempo. Many were in the same key. The orchestra sounded fabulous -- illuminated not insubstantially by trumpeter Mark Isham doing his muted Miles Davis thing, and a swinging rhythm section of drummer Peter Erskine and bassist Larry Klein, Mitchell's longtime musical director and ex-husband. Pianist Herbie Hancock turned up for a couple of splashy solos. The dreary sameness of her standards was made all the more evident by the four Mitchell songs she gave the orchestral treatment after bringing her performance of the new album to a close with its unquestioned highlight, the symphonic treatment of Mitchell's own best-known composition, ``Both Sides Now.'' After that, she dragged out the playful ``Be Cool'' and gave it a kind of hip insolence. She swathed her Beethoven metaphor, ``Judgment of the Moon and Stars (Ludwig's Tune),'' in a kind of Kurt Weill wash and let Klein pump propulsive electric bass into a daring reworking of her ``Hejira'' before closing with an equally intense version of ``For the Roses.'' Her encore was a superficial take on Marvin Gaye's subversive soul, ``Trouble Man.'' But the final four songs pointed to the reasons Mitchell's fans have followed her wherever she's gone. She knows the emotional interior of her own songs so well, she can wring them out under any conditions -- solo on acoustic guitar or in front of a symphony. Her point of view is so specific and so unique to her writing that she is not only her own best interpreter but also best when singing her own material. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 10:12:08 -0700 (PDT) From: "Lori R. Fye" Subject: Time Out.com replies ... Last week, in the midst of my annoyance over Time Out.com's reference to Joni as a "sixties icon," I wrote to them, repeating much of my recent letter to the JMDL (regarding Joni's release of only two albums in the 60s versus nine albums in the 70s, no appearance at 1969's Woodstock, et cetera). I just received this reply: - --- Dean Irvine wrote: > Wow, thanks for all the info on Joni. Never will she > be referred to as a '60's icon on TO's pages. Glad to know that! Lori, slowly trying to set the record straight, in DC __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send instant messages & get email alerts with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 11:11:22 -0600 From: Les Irvin Subject: San Francisco Examiner review of Saturday's concert Uneven evening with Joni Mitchell By Philip Elwood EXAMINER MUSIC CRITIC Titled "Both Sides Now," as is her new CD, composer-singer Joni Mitchell's musical road show presentation Saturday at Concord's Chronicle Pavilion prompted one to wonder whether the intention was to present both sides of Mitchell's career -- which is actually multifaceted in the extreme -- or was that title, her most popular song (from 1968) employed to lure 21st century pop music fans, old and young, into what her musical director Larry Klein has called "the focal point of (Joni's) work -- an inquiry into the nature of modern love." Whatever, Saturday night at 8:40 when Mitchell finally arrived on stage -- following a long, lush, innocuous overture by the 80-piece (mostly string) orchestra -- she reflected, in her typical meandering way, on "the arc of a modern romantic relationship" and then began to follow that arc in vintage pop songs, nine of them in all. A half-dozen of these, from "You're My Thrill" to "A Case of You" (her only original in this sequence) traced the "romantic arc" through the relationship Mitchell then followed with "Don't Go to Strangers," "I Wish I Were in Love Again," and "Don't Worry 'Bout Me," at which point she strolled off stage; following her was conductor Vince Mendoza, pianist Herbie Hancock -- who played occasionally -- and the ridiculously large orchestra. Three more songs from this arc-of-an-affair began the evening's second set - -- "Stormy Weather," "I Wish I Were in Love Again," and "Both Sides Now," the last exquisitely phrased, and newly rearranged; it was received, from the first notes, with shrieks, cheers and howls of joy by a good portion of the nearly 6,000 in the audience. Mitchell first came on stage to cheers, but as she wended her way, after "You're My Thrill," sung in a Billie Holiday manner (Mitchell's range is as narrow as Billie's), "At Last," "Comes Love," with Mark Isham on trumpet, and "You've Changed," another Billie Holiday-influenced rendition, the crowd's enthusiasm waned. As became obvious after the agonizing, plaintive "Answer Me, My Love" -- with fine sax interludes by Bob Sheppard -- when Mitchell commented, "By now, it's time for a drink," then launched into her fine original, "A Case of You," the audience had come to hear her stuff, not swing-era oldies. The hundreds of Joni cultists in the crowd went berserk during "A Case of You," cooled off considerably until "Both Sides Now" and had a field-day of enthusiasm for the rest of the evening as she sang, or narrated through quite a few oldies in the "Case of You," "Urge For Going" "Crazy Ride Home" style; missing, sadly, was "The Circle Game." Throughout the evening, the amplified mix of voice and orchestra was imbalanced; on most selections Mitchell's lyric articulation was submerged in the sea of strings, to say nothing of bassoons, French horns, and miscellaneous percussion -- Peter Erskine was on drums, Chuck Berghofer on bass. Mitchell's performance style and her open-ended poetic lines -- sung non-melodically over a flowing, modal, accompaniment -- create a mystical atmosphere; those who cheered her every number as the show climaxed had known her old LPs' words, by heart, for years. Others in the crowd, caught up in the rally-like enthusiasm of the super fans, sensed the mood of Mitchell's poetic lyric lines but lost most them in the audio overkill . Although the "Both Sides Now" CD features overblown orchestral arrangements, they're well balanced with Mitchell's voice. This tour, which has just begun, might well replace the full orchestral backing of her older songs with a smaller, lighter, backup instrumental group. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 13:22:54 -0400 From: Jerry Notaro Subject: Re: Joni Mitchell's Dull Twist On Standards (SF Chronicle review5/15/00 - warning: concert material (and unkind at that!) "Richard Goldman (by way of Les Irvin )" wrote: > Joni Mitchell's Dull Twist On Standards > > Joel Selvin, Chronicle Pop Music Editor > Monday, May 15, 2000 > ------------ > Nobody sings Joni Mitchell like Joni Mitchell. > > > > A lot of women in rock have tried this gambit -- notably Linda Ronstadt, > whose three albums with famous arranger Nelson Riddle revived her sagging > commercial fortunes in the mid-'80s -- but, sadly, Mitchell isn't even as > good at this as Toni Tennille. I have to comment. I just saw Toni Tenille Saturday evening with the Florida Orchestra here in St. Petersburg. She did a show called Great American Love songs which is very similar to Joni and Larry's concept. Even I Wish I Was In Love Again was there. While it was a most enjoyable show, it can nowhere touch Joni's interpretations on BSN. And I think Miss Tenille herself would admit that. Jerry ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 10:24:52 PDT From: "Russell Bowden" Subject: Concord...and how!!! Hey Gang! I am back from the shadows and on top of the world. Recently re-re-located to SF after 6 months in Eugene, OR. Haven't posted for a couple of months...nice to be back. Well, I attended the JM BSN concert at the Pavillion on Sat. night, and am just pinching, slapping, clubbing myself to assure myself it was all real. I last saw Joni in Boston in '83...so I was way overdue for this. My best friend ( a recent convert to the Goddess) drove us over to Concord from SF in his vintage Cadillac Seville...an eveing of elegance, indeed!! Arrived early to case the joint and look for listers. Wound up sitting beside the tuba player's wife, who told me great stuff about hearing Joni warm up that afternoon, and about her husband getting the call asking if he was interested in playing the gig. She told me her husband had been a HUGE Joni fan since he was a young man and screamed with joy that he was going to be in the orchestra backing her up. He is also the 1st tuba in the San Francisco Opera Orchestra!! The woman (Susan) told me that security was extremely tight and that getting to La Mitchell was nearly impossible. During the intermission, I marched down to the stage with my trusty JoniMitchell.com denim shirt on and was accosted by Mark (Seattle), Leslie Mixon, MG, and I am sorry I forgot the other guy's name that you all introduced me to. THIS WAS MY FIRST FACE TO FACE MEETING WITH ANY OF THE LISTERS....I certainly got the big guns, didn't I? If Kakki had been there, I probably would have just fainted dead away. Did you guys hear me holler "You've Changed" (her outfit) when she came back for the 2nd half of the show?? I loved her rap about all the crap that the music business is supporting...fabulous.... Her 'Trouble Man' left the inside of my head screaming with delight. The two from FTR, Hejira and Be Cool turned me into a drooling babbling fool. BLISS!!!!!!!! How cool it must be to have Herbie Hancock pop out to back you up for a couple of tunes...that man is amazing. The evening, the moon and stars and The Goddess herself....a defining moment of my life. For those who are waiting to see this show.....hang on!!! For those who are far away, I can't wait to hear your takes on the future show that you will see and I won't. Much love, Russ ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 10:43:32 -0700 (PDT) From: Don Rowe Subject: Joni/Toni Comparisons? Hmmm ... now I've heard Toni Tenille's jazz albums, and they are actually quite good. Toni's got the chops for it, but her approach to it is SO different from Joni's as to be beyond any reasonable sense of a fair comparison. Toni Tenille sings the songs, hits the notes, but doesn't really make much of an effort to do much past performing them well. This is a good thing, I for one, would not want to hear a version of "Comes Love" that sounds anything like "Muskrat Love" -- would you? Joni, on the other hand, appropriates the material, making it her own -- giving those lovely standards a new coat of that "Canadian folkie" lyrical phrasing (yeah, so shoot me) -- that makes BSN stand out from efforts like Linda Rondstandt's, Toni Tenille's and the others who've gone before. LA Times: 15 -- SF Chronicle: love Don Rowe ===== "I want a stillness inside, and a quiet of mind, and to stop dreaming of the comfort of strangers." -- Julia Fordham __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send instant messages & get email alerts with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 10:42:40 -0700 From: Richard Goldman Subject: Re: Concert Programs - all gone now! I got a small flurry of requests and the first 4 (you know who you are) will get one from me. Sorry about the rest who replied. And it occurs to me: if at the other/future venues...if people are willing to pick up 'extra' programs (lots and lots) and post here that they are willing to mail them to 'needy non-concert-goers', then more people could get to have and hold something from this terrific tour? Just a thought.... Richard Goldman richard2sf@earthlink.net =======original post - --- Richard Goldman wrote: > Wow...I figured the program would show up on eBay... > > Well... without placing judgement...now I wished I'd > gotten about a hundred > extras, but... only got 4. And so... the first 4 > folks who email me and > want one, they're yours. Just send me your > address, and off they go. > ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 13:50:10 -0400 (EDT) From: Catherine McKay Subject: Re: L.A. Concert Report--The Rest (Long) Trying to catch up on a backlog of posts, I just want to say a big "Thank YOU" to all those who have posted their reviews. I wish I could have been there. (Damn, I'm so jealous...) - --- Lindsay Moon wrote: > Am still wondering about some of the crowd. I was > amazed at how many times > people were in and out of their seats in the middle > of her songs. If > anyone in my row had tried it, I might have lost > control of a metal nail > file into someone's thigh ... (I know, I look so > innocent). and > Then after > the concert some guy > two rows down was complaining about "Joni Stupid > Mitchell." Looking at me > with my beatific grin he said, "did *you* like it?" > I said I *loved* it, > and he remarked to his friend, well, I'll find > someone who hated it as much > as I did. My stars! What was he expecting? The thing that really pisses me off is, how do those kind of jerks get to go to these concerts? Does someone give them free tickets? How come the jerks get the free tickets and the real fans have to pay the big bucks? (and so on...) Even though I would have loved it if you had decked someone, Lindsay, you demonstrated grace, class and good taste by not succumbing to your baser instincts! ;) ===== Catherine (in Toronto) catrin_of_aragon@yahoo.ca _______________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.ca address at http://mail.yahoo.ca ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 13:52:37 EDT From: IVPAUL42@aol.com Subject: Re: Those Swinging Rock 60s (md-3) Berry/Wilson Howard wrote: You will be glad to know that Brian Wilson has never received any royalties from Surfin USA, everything has gone to Berry.>> Sorry, but I am not glad to know this. Simply because Wilson used the song, he wrote new lyrics. At BEST, Berry should have gotten only half the royalties. Paul I ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 11:06:42 -0700 (PDT) From: Ju Neitzke e Lea Subject: Can you help me?? :) Anyone... Hello, I love Joni Mitchell and I was out of country when it showed in TNT channel 40 "An all-star tribute to Joni Mitchell". I was so sad when I knew it. Please, I really want to buy the video tape for this event. This is very important to me. Do you know how taped? I look forward to receive a reply. I appreciate so much, Juliana Neitzke. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send instant messages & get email alerts with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 13:06:04 -0500 From: mann@chicagonet.net Subject: Joni Greeting Cards are here!!! Debby, What a fantastic find!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! These are just too cool. I have alot of emails to send now!! Thanks for sharing these!! Laura :-) I was ordering up some e-mail Mother's Day cards when I fell upon a section of Joni Mitchell e-greeting cards!!! There are a total of three of them. All three have a snippet of music and a moving animation of her paintings. The three song selections are "BSN", "Help Me" and "You Turn Me On, I'm a Radio". They are so cool!!! You can find them at www.egreetings.com Now, go check them out! Tilll later ~ Debby in Mad Beach ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 11:18:29 -0700 From: Scott Price Subject: Joni at Woodstock/was: L.A. Concert Report--The Rest (Long) At 10:40 PM 5/14/00 -0700, Kakki wrote: >>Lindsay wrote: >> New Joni Lore: Overhead a man near me telling someone >>that Joni had gone to Woodstock two days (Phylliss heard >>four days from someone else) before the event to do a sound check. >You too?! He also told Scott and Shawn Price the same story. This is some >new Joni lore. Scott and Shawn both thought he sounded credible. Shawn >later found a Joni colored pen painting in my STARART book entitled "The >Road to Woodstock" and wondered some more about it all. Just before the show started Shawn and I were chatting with another couple right outside the seating area. The guy said it would be his second time seeing Joni perform live, the first time having been at Woodstock. I was going to shrug it off without comment knowing it was bullshit but Shawn gently lobbed: "I thought Joni didn't perform at Woodstock..." He proceded to tell us that he was working at the site helping to set it up in the weeks before the festival and that on the Tuesday prior to Woodstock's opening Joni came up with David Crosby and they each did about four songs for a sound check and played for 20 minutes before a crowd of only a few thousand workers and other early-arrivals. At this point I remained skeptical but the guy was of the proper age and seemed quite together and friendly and easy-going. Just about the time I thought he might claim to have been a sound engineer or V.I.P. he told us that he was up there to dig ditches for latrines and this little break for some great Joni music was a welcome respite. This humble confession added greatly to his credibility, IMO. Later while browsing through Kakki's "Starart" book Shawn came across a painting by Joni, "Road to Woodstock," which was described as being done on the way to the festival, further leading us to speculate that Joni was there at Yasgur's Farm right before the festival began. Anyone know Croz's e-mail addy so we can verify the story? :-) Scott ------------------------------ End of onlyJMDL Digest V2000 #188 ********************************* ------- Post messages to the list at ------- Siquomb, isn't she?