From: les@jmdl.com (onlyJMDL Digest) To: onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org Subject: onlyJMDL Digest V2003 #6 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 Tuesday, January 7 2003 Volume 2003 : Number 006 Sign up now for JoniFest 2003! http://www.jonifest.com ========== TOPICS and authors in this Digest: -------- Re: Joni Mitchell's Long and Restless Journey [David Marine ] RE: JMDL Digest V2003 #5 - Public displays of T'log affections ["Maggie M] Re: JMDL Digest V2003 #5 - Public displays of T'log affections ["Bree Mcd] The Two Johns: Rockwell and Kelly ["PAUL PETERSON" ] Club Passim [SCJoniGuy@aol.com] Re: JMDL Digest V2003 #7 - write the Times? [BRYAN8847@aol.com] Re: NYT review of T'Log [SCJoniGuy@aol.com] Re: JMDL Digest V2003 #7 - still alive..... [BRYAN8847@aol.com] Joni tribute night at Passim [anne@sandstrom.com] I won?!!! [anne@sandstrom.com] Re: NYT review of T'Log [Randy Remote ] Joni Mitchell Tribute night at Club Passim [AsharaJM@aol.com] Today's Library Links: January 7 [ljirvin@jmdl.com] Travelogue thoughts [Scott Fifield ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 06 Jan 2003 00:21:54 -0800 From: David Marine Subject: Re: Joni Mitchell's Long and Restless Journey I find this an odd article. How is the fact that the writer lived near Joni in the 70s relevant when evaluating the recent project? Hmmm, so Joni was a 20th century American Schubert, but with the release of a single album is now a self-absorbed hack? How can one admit a prejudice against the very concept of the album, then go on to use words like "terrible" and "abomination"? Bottom line, he liked the old Joni. I agree in part with his assesment of the new lp, but this article is ridiculous. What's happened to the Times? It's the only daily that I can stand to read, but its "pop" reviews suck, vascillating between pretentiousness and idiocy. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 6 Jan 2003 04:42:29 EST From: BRYAN8847@aol.com Subject: Re: JMDL Digest V2003 #5 - Public displays of T'log affections I> will say this - I'm tired of folks who know my fascination with JM coming > up to me and asking me (with expressions on their faces as though somebody > where holding a plate of shit under the nose...) "Did you HEAR the new Joni > CD?" - of course I've heard it, and once again will stand up as the > underdog, take the critique personally (I can't help it), and defend this > piece. I haven't experienced this sort of thing -- but I was sitting in Starbucks the other day when a friend passed by and excitedly mouthed something indecipherable through the window....he came in announced that T'log is totally marvelous and his favorite Joni album.... Bryan ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 6 Jan 2003 07:59:51 -0500 From: "chuty001" Subject: Re: NY Times review of Travelogue I think my 15 year old son who can't stand Joni would have given the album a farer review. Chuck - ----- Original Message ----- From: "PAUL PETERSON" To: Sent: Sunday, January 05, 2003 12:38 PM Subject: NY Times review of Travelogue > Here's a piece by John Rockwell, someone with a history of personal = > antipathy towards Joni's art. The idea that John Kelly is a better = > singer than Joni, past, present or future, is absurd! > > =20 > > January 5, 2003 > Joni Mitchell's Long and Restless Journey > By JOHN ROCKWELL > > =20 > ONI MITCHELL'S new "Travelogue" isn't billed as a farewell, but = > it's hard to see it any other way. Ms. Mitchell is 58, and her = > once-girlish soprano is now a frail and unsteady mezzo. This personally = > (not to say idiosyncratically) chosen, newly arranged collection of 22 = > of her songs from 1966 to 1994 presumably represents some sort of = > retrospective summa. > > Of course, it's always dangerous to presume anyone's motivations, = > let alone those of an artist as hermetically private as Ms. Mitchell. = > But in addition to this quasi memorial to herself (Nonesuch, two CD's), = > she has chosen to blast the music industry in a recent interview in = > Rolling Stone, denouncing the business as a cesspool and MTV's = > vulgarity, as she sees it, as "tragic." Having now fled her longtime = > base of Reprise, she didn't flee too far, however, since Nonesuch is = > also part of AOL Time Warner. > > As a longtime admirer of Ms. Mitchell - I even lived in her Laurel = > Canyon neighborhood in the early 70's - I must confess that my first = > reaction to this new set was one of horror. Asked recently by WNYC-FM to = > appear on air with some emblematic examples of American music in the = > 20th century, I thought of her song "Amelia," which was once my prime = > evidence when I called her a 20th-century American Schubert. > > The song appears on Ms. Mitchell's 1976 album "Hejira," which is = > full of songs about flight and wandering and loneliness. "Amelia" is = > Amelia Earhart, the doomed aviatrix. Ms. Mitchell's words tie together = > place and heart and mind, myth and history, womanhood and a lost love. = > She starts by evoking the emptiness of the desert and the sky, six jet = > vapor trails "like the hexagram of the heavens, like the strings of my = > guitar." Her "life becomes a travelogue" - you see how central this one = > song is to this new retrospective travelogue of her life in song. > > Suddenly she's missing a lover. She equates herself with Amelia = > and with Icarus, "ascending on beautiful foolish arms." > > "I've spent my whole life at icy altitudes," she muses. "And = > looking down on everything/ I crashed into his arms." > > Finally she pulls in to a desert motel, showers and sleeps "on the = > strange pillows of my wanderlust," dreaming "of 747's/ Over geometric = > farms." > > On the original studio recording, the accompaniment is electric = > guitars and vibraphones, electronically sustaining Ms. Mitchell's own = > inimitable vocals, cool and clipped, and almost pushing this sad, = > intimate, conversational song along to its conclusion. Even better, = > really, is the live version on her album "Shadows and Light" of 1980, = > just as nervously forward-moving but with a guitar backing closer to her = > folkish roots. > > The new version, indeed the entire album, comes dressed = > (overdressed) in orchestral /soft-jazz arrangements by Larry Klein. Mr. = > Klein and Ms. Mitchell were married for eight years, and although they = > broke up domestically in 1994, they have continued to collaborate = > professionally, having now completed nine projects together. > > Having heard "Amelia" in its new guise, I think I called it an = > abomination on the radio. Now I've listened to the whole album. One must = > make allowances for an artist's right to evolve and for fans' right to = > cling, even unfairly, to what they once loved. And one must concede a = > certain winsome communicativeness in Ms. Mitchell's vocal weaknesses. = > But I still think this set is pretty terrible. > > Part of the problem is simple taste. I personally have little use = > for the kind of bloated symphonic jazz heard here. Ms. Mitchell clearly = > does have a taste for it, so much so that she now chops up the urgent = > flow of "Amelia" for soggy orchestral ditherings between the verses. > > Any artist must constantly question his or her past = > accomplishments; to repeat oneself risks becoming a hack. In fairness, = > Ms. Mitchell has undertaken a hejira of her own over some 23 albums = > (depending on how you count). From folk to folk rock to jazz (or jazz = > folk), all with her own highly personal inventiveness, and now to this, = > it's been a trip that has alienated fans along the way, throwing them = > off the curves, as it were. But the journey has presumably helped keep = > her fresh. > > That said, restless experimentation also suggests a quality of = > unwelcome self-indulgence that has always marked her music and her = > personality. When one confronts the really na=EFve paintings that = > proliferate in the lavish booklet with which these two CD's are packaged = > - let alone the rudimentary "multi-media content" on the one "enhanced = > audio CD" - one has to wonder whether Ms. Mitchell has slid too far into = > her own world. There is usually some kind of healthy link between = > creator and public, or at least imagined public, a link that sustains = > even the most private artists and helps dampen the temptation toward = > vanity projects like "Travelogue." > > Her early jazz experiments could be welcomed as the honorable = > efforts of a folk-rock singer to connect with the wider world of = > improvisation in jazz. One fears that this album marks some sort of = > aspiration to "art" in the classical, formalized sense. Nonesuch is, = > after all, AOL Time Warner's prestige label, especially for classical = > music and crossover projects of a certain vanguard sort. But a = > self-conscious aspiration for gentility can kill the essence of the = > idioms that Ms. Mitchell grew up with. > > Above, I called her singing inimitable. But of course it isn't, = > quite. Right now, the best live Joni Mitchell is the = > countertenor-falsettist-drag artist John Kelly in his periodic revivals = > of his Joni Mitchell act, fabled in downtown Manhattan. Mr. Kelly sings = > Ms. Mitchell far better than she sings herself now. If you want her = > unadulterated, buy albums like "Ladies of the Canyon," "Blue," "Court = > and Spark" or "Hejira." If you want to see her in person, catch John = > Kelly. =20 > > > > > =20 > > [demime 0.97c removed an attachment of type image/gif which had a name of j.gif] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 6 Jan 2003 09:42:38 -0500 From: "Maggie McNally" Subject: RE: JMDL Digest V2003 #5 - Public displays of T'log affections In the same vein, I just came into work and my boss handed me the piece from yesterday's New York Times. She was almost apologetic about it, like I would be hurt to hear that a fan doesn't like Joni's latest work. I had to break it to her that John Rockwell was not the first fan to negatively review Travelogue. This is from the same person who came to me the other day to tell me about the Joni tribute concert (covers concert?) at Passim tonight. Exasperated, she declared that she couldn't tell me anything I didn't already know about Ms. Mitchell. True, at least so far, thanks to this list. Maggie > -----Original Message----- > From: BRYAN8847@aol.com [mailto:BRYAN8847@aol.com] > Sent: Monday, January 06, 2003 4:42 AM > To: joni@smoe.org > Subject: Re: JMDL Digest V2003 #5 - Public displays of T'log > affections > > > I> will say this - I'm tired of folks who know my > fascination with JM coming > > up to me and asking me (with expressions on their faces as > though somebody > > where holding a plate of shit under the nose...) "Did you > HEAR the new Joni > > CD?" - of course I've heard it, and once again will stand up as the > > underdog, take the critique personally (I can't help it), > and defend this > > piece. > > I haven't experienced this sort of thing -- but I was sitting > in Starbucks > the other day when a friend passed by and excitedly mouthed something > indecipherable through the window....he came in announced > that T'log is > totally marvelous and his favorite Joni album.... > > Bryan ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 06 Jan 2003 12:19:52 -0500 From: "Bree Mcdonough" Subject: Re: JMDL Digest V2003 #5 - Public displays of T'log affections I've had three experiences in the last couple of months with people asking me if Joni Mitchell was dead. From the arse cashier at Borders..then my brother-in-law..and a niece. The inquiry from my brother-in-rile..was *probably* legitimate. The other two.. was to get my reaction..knowing damn well she is very much alive. Yes..this upsets..really upsets me..but I try to not let it show. Bree >I> will say this - I'm tired of folks who know my fascination with JM >coming > > up to me and asking me (with expressions on their faces as though >somebody > > where holding a plate of shit under the nose...) "Did you HEAR the new >Joni > > CD?" - of course I've heard it, and once again will stand up as the > > underdog, take the critique personally (I can't help it), and defend >this > > piece. > >I haven't experienced this sort of thing -- but I was sitting in Starbucks >the other day when a friend passed by and excitedly mouthed something >indecipherable through the window....he came in announced that T'log is >totally marvelous and his favorite Joni album.... > >Bryan _________________________________________________________________ The new MSN 8: smart spam protection and 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 6 Jan 2003 20:17:00 -0500 From: "PAUL PETERSON" Subject: The Two Johns: Rockwell and Kelly I guess what I meant was that in spite of Rockwell's enthusiasm for Hejira, his praise has always been measured with a condescending tone , as if he is slightly ashamed of liking Mitchell's music, and so needs to either put her down personally or quote the attiudes of others who do. For example look at these quotes: Miss Mitchell's basic vocal color is schoolgirlish and dull. But she has worked on her phrasing and on certain tricks of vocal coloration The new Mitchell album's very title will annoy those who think of her already as a shallow and self-indulgent mannerist - it's called "The Hissing of Summer Lawns," and includes a narcissistic photo of the singer on the inside, floating embryonically in a swimming pool, surrounded by saccharine prose. And along with the same brittle, rhythmically displaced music is the same humorless self-absorption that has always marked Miss Mitchell's work, the same periodic blunt sermonizing (a song called "Harry's House" especially) and the same vocal mannerisms - she really ought to cast whole-note slides up to principal notes out of her arsenal of tricks forever. It's easy to get testy about Joni Mitchell. Originally yet another strumming folkie from the Village, she moved out to Southern California and steadily transformed herself into a mythological, icy glamour princess. Her album covers were testimonials to a grandiose narcissism, and her poetry and her music evolved inexorably into nervously self-absorbed introspection. But since then her delicate balance between art and artifice has tipped disturbingly toward mannerism and hollowness Another problem was her professional and personal liasions with a group of studio musicians whose jazzy backings enlivened "Court and Spark" but who seemed on repeated expoure to be simply facile. Now about John Kelly: Whether you want to split hairs about Rockwell's praise of John Kelly or not, the fact is, any comparison of John Kelly with the real Joni Mitchell that finds John Kelly even remotely approaching her artistry IS absurb. Have you ever actually heard this guy? His screeching, forced, often off key nightmare of a voice is an excrutiating ordeal. As a parody or a drag act, he may be entertaining, but to suggest that the voice I heard a couple of years ago on the Both Sides Now tour is not the best live Joni Mitchell, but that John Kelly is, may be a matter of taste to be sure, but not the taste of someone who should be reviewing Joni's latest CD. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 6 Jan 2003 21:02:58 -0500 From: "Jim L'Hommedieu \(Lama\)" Subject: Re: The first to make "world music"? I have to admit I haven't read all of Karen's book. I think she nicked that bit about Joni predating Paul Simon's "invention" of world music. Lama ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 6 Jan 2003 18:38:48 -0800 (PST) From: Little Bird Subject: Re: NYT review of T'Log I've always been slightly jealous of critics. They get paid to listen to music, go to movies, read books and see plays. They are also afforded a certain amount of social prestige, as if their opinion counts for just a little more than a mere mortal because they are paid to give it. On the other hand, I've never had much use for them. A lot of people use critics as gages for their own tastes: "If Roger Ebert likes this movie, I'll hate it.," Etc. I don't use critics at all and rarely read a movie review or music review unless I am interested in the movie or the musician being criticized or reviewed. We wouldn't have read it (at least I wouldn't have) if it hadn't been about Joni Mitchell, and we definitely wouldn't be discussing it. The New York Times review of Travelogue was well-written and everything that a critique should be: long-winded, slightly pompous, critical (ahem!) and trying, earnestly, to be interesting. I've never read a critic's work that wasn't in some way trying to sound worthy of being read. There's nothing wrong with that - it's the nature of the artform. If the writer had said: "Travelogue is bad. Don't listen to it," would he be a critic? No - just a regular joe saying he thinks this record sucks, which is really what every critic is behind their white-collars, good vocabulary and rhythmic syntax. Just some thoughts on criticism. - -Andrew Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 6 Jan 2003 21:48:47 EST From: SCJoniGuy@aol.com Subject: Club Passim Hope y'all are listening to this web broadcast...the audio quality from RealPlayer sucks, but I can tell that the show and the music are great! Wish I was there. Bob NP: Urge For Going ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 6 Jan 2003 21:54:16 EST From: BRYAN8847@aol.com Subject: Re: JMDL Digest V2003 #7 - write the Times? In a message dated 1/6/2003 5:41:30 PM Pacific Standard Time, les@jmdl.com writes: > I find this an odd article. How is the fact that the writer lived near Joni > in the 70s relevant when evaluating the recent project? Hmmm, so Joni was a > 20th century American Schubert, but with the release of a single album is > now a self-absorbed hack? How can one admit a prejudice against the very > concept of the album, then go on to use words like "terrible" and > "abomination"? > > Bottom line, he liked the old Joni. I agree in part with his assesment of > the new lp, but this article is ridiculous. What's happened to the Times? > It's the only daily that I can stand to read, but its "pop" reviews suck, > vascillating between pretentiousness and idiocy. You articulate your views well. Why not write a letter to the Times: letters@nytimes.com. 150 words or less, indclude name, phone and address Bryan ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 6 Jan 2003 22:00:37 EST From: SCJoniGuy@aol.com Subject: Re: NYT review of T'Log In a message dated 1/6/2003 9:40:15 PM Eastern Standard Time, littlebird3333@yahoo.com writes: > I don't use critics at all and rarely read a movie review or music review > unless I am interested in the movie or the musician being criticized or > reviewed. We wouldn't have read it (at least I wouldn't have) if it hadn't > been about Joni Mitchell, and we definitely wouldn't be discussing it. > I typically use reviews collectively; that is, if something is getting raves across the board (as was the case with Beck's "Sea Change") I'll go ahead and pick it up. And vice versa if I read a lot of bad reviews. BUT I do love a bunch of stuff that was not reviewed favorably and loathed some stuff that was highly praised. I guess what I'm saying is that I'm somewhat of a sucker for the things. I used to subscribe to Record Review magazine Bob NP: Joni, "Two Grey Rooms", playing at Club Passim ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 6 Jan 2003 22:06:21 EST From: BRYAN8847@aol.com Subject: Re: JMDL Digest V2003 #7 - still alive..... I've had three experiences in the last couple of months with people asking me if Joni Mitchell was dead. From the arse cashier at Borders..then my brother-in-law..and a niece. The inquiry from my brother-in-rile..was *probably* legitimate. The other two.. was to get my reaction..knowing damn well she is very much alive. Yes..this upsets..really upsets me..but I try to not let it show. Well, that would make me somewhat uneasy, too. It makes me conclude that Joni is just not in the public eye very much -- though we think she is because we're all focused on her so much. I remember a number of years ago, while at a party, someone insisted that Phoebe Snow was quite dead (not true then or now). All I could do was insist she wasn't/isn't. By the way, with the recent discussions of Phoebe's work here -- in my book, the hands-down winner among her albums is Second Childhood -- exquisite pop/jazz with dreamy arrangments. Bryan ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 06 Jan 2003 20:16:00 -0800 (PST) From: anne@sandstrom.com Subject: Joni tribute night at Passim I should be going to bed, but instead I thought I'd report in on the Joni tribute evening. We were well represented, with Ashara, Maggie McNally, ChuckE, Jenny Goodspeed and her husband Eric, Bob (Smurph) Murphy, and Eric (whose last name I won't butcher here in public). The venue for the evening was Passim, formerly known as Club 47. Joan Baez got her start there. There were 22 acts, each one doing one Joni song. As you might guess, the selection was pretty predictable, with only Vance Gilbert being particularly brave, doing a wonderful and distinct version of Goodbye Pork Pie Hat. Otherwise, it was like the roster of songs from "Hits." Speaking of which, the hits of the evening were: the aforementioned Vance Gilbert's GPPH. Jazzy, inventive, true to the spirit of the original, although not the letter of it. Rachael Davis's angelic "My Old Man." The notes just melted in her mouth. Very sweet! Gregory Douglass doing a faithful, but energetic version of Court and Spark. He first described a dream he had about Joni. In it, he met her in the 60s and said she was going to be really huge. She just smiled, but he insisted, "No, really! You have no idea!" Hanneke Cassel playing a fiddle (or should I say violin in this case?) version of Morning Morgantown, with guitar and mandolin accompaniment. Oen Kennedy's Black Crow, complete with realistic sounding crow sounds at the end. Chris Obrien's guitar of Come in from the Cold gave new dimension to the song, even if he ran out of words before the end of the song. I'd have to include Mark Erelli for doing a hilarious rockabilly version of Carey. As we clapped in time, he quipped that Joni wouldn't allow us to do that. (Maybe you had to be there.) There were some misses as well. Dave Dersham offered a lukewarm version of Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire. Bridget Matros did what can only be described as a schizophrenic version of Cactus Tree, first whispering, then painfully wailing through the verses. An artist who bills herself as "Ari" did an unusual version of Blue that made it sound like it was written by Vanessa Carlton. Rob Siegel performed Both Sides Now, but might have been better off doing something more uptempo, since that's how he did BSN. And, we were mentioned a couple of times. I told the announcer that we had a contingent there from the JMDL. The reaction from everyone within earshot was priceless (kind of like "wow! really?") So he announced that we were there. Rose Polenzani performed Willy, but first made a point of thanking our own Yael for helping her out in practicing. Kudos to Yael! There were also two look alikes. Marc Herman was a dead ringer for Les Ross. Merrie Amsterberg could play our own Kate Bennet in the JMDL movie. (Movie? What movie?) I thought of how I wished you were all there with us. I thought of the wonderful community we have here, and how somehow a gathering of a few of us is like reaching across the world to everyone. Thanks to our Mama Lion, Ashara for arranging this mini-fest. Ashes, you're the best! lots of love Anne ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 06 Jan 2003 20:23:44 -0800 (PST) From: anne@sandstrom.com Subject: I won?!!! Aw shucks, Bob. Miss Congeniality? And I get a CD??? OK, so now I'm at least mentally doing the dog dance that JR (the little white dog) did when he won the Westminster Dog Show a couple of years ago. If you didn't see it, you missed the "sports" highlight of the year. Damn, that dog just knew he'd won. (Someone back me up here...) lots of love Anne ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 06 Jan 2003 20:24:20 -0800 From: Randy Remote Subject: Re: NYT review of T'Log I have picked up a few things that I really liked after reading a descriptive review. As a Joni fan, the NYT review would not have detered me from buying it. I guess for the casual and curious, it might. I generally like to read reviews, taking them with the appropriate grain of salt. At least the music is being discussed, and I would rather read about music than cooking or football or.... RR SCJoniGuy@aol.com wrote: > I typically use reviews collectively; that is, if something is getting raves > across the board (as was the case with Beck's "Sea Change") I'll go ahead and > pick it up. And vice versa if I read a lot of bad reviews. BUT I do love a > bunch of stuff that was not reviewed favorably and loathed some stuff that > was highly praised. > > I guess what I'm saying is that I'm somewhat of a sucker for the things. I > used to subscribe to Record Review magazine ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 7 Jan 2003 00:00:02 EST From: AsharaJM@aol.com Subject: Joni Mitchell Tribute night at Club Passim How can you not love a club that has this on their regular menu? "Painted Pony"- This selection is captive on the carousel of time, using only seasonal, local produce. We (Ashara, Smurf, Chris Treacy, Maggie, Anne, ChuckE, Jenny and her husband Eric) started off the evening with a great vegetarian dinner. The show started about 35 minutes late, but we didn't care too much- we were enjoying the company! The manager of Club Passim started with "The good news is there are 25 people playing tonight. The bad news is they are all playing Big Yellow Taxi!" Hmmm.....sounds a bit like the covers project! Actually, the whole evening was very much like a compilation of Bob's cover project- some performances were GREAT, some were good, some underwhelming, and some we were rolling our eyes at. Without further a do........... 1) Carl Cacho- Help Me: He was just OK. Kind of Bob Dylanish sounding to me. 2) Rob Seigel- Both Sides Now: "There are so many reasons to love Joni, the melody, chord texture, but the thing that struck me most at 12 years old were the lyrics." This versioon was very fast, almost "rock-like". Not for my taste. 3) Flora Reed- River: "I was reading an interview of Joni recently and read that she liked Nora Jones because she sang in an unambitious way. So, I will try to sing in an unambitious way for Joni." Flora has sort of a husky voice and had a bit of trouble reaching the high notes. Otherwise, not too bad. 4) Chris and Meredith Thompson- Big Yellow Taxi: "25 people are not going to do Big Yellow Taxi, but we are going to do it 25 times!" I've got to say that I am a little prejudiced on this one. I have seen this sister-duo several times and the band I am in has played at the same festival as them for several years. These two rock!! Their harmonies are split on, and they really have the rhythm. One sister plays guitar, and the other plays the djembe (hand drum). The picked this song because they felt it was topical, and sang "put away those pesticides please" instead of DDT. They passed out homemade shakers and let those that received them keep them after helping them out with the rhythm section. The crowd went wild, and they justly deserved it. 5) Joel Ninesling- Little Green: "When I think of Joni, the only word that comes to mind is 'rabid'." Joel drew out the notes to this song as well as the guitar, sometimes holding each note for 2 measures instead of one. A bit gravelly voice, but a pleasant cover nonetheless. 6) Stephanie Corby: Steph is a great singer/songwriter from Newburyport, and I've gotten to know her through singing at a Memorial for a woman killed in the 9-11 attacks. Unfortunately, she wasn't feeling well and wasn't able to make it. 7) Oen Kennedy- Black Crow: Oen started with explaining to us the scientific name for the crow, not to be confused with the raven. He was wondering if Joni knew about the 10,000 crow roost in neighboring Framingham, or if she was just using the crow as a metaphor. He did a very nice rendition of this song, complete with crow calls at the very end, which was a pretty cool touch. 8) Marc Herman- Boderline: "I'm a little nervous, but I think my guitar is more nervous with this alternate tuning stuff. This is a song that unfortunately will always be topical." This guy was a Les Ross look-alike, and had a very similar quiet sounding voice. *Very* nice!!! 9) Hanneke Cassel- Morning Morgantown: She is a wonderful fiddle player, and was joined by a guitarist and a mandolin player. Really nice redition of this song. It was instrumental except for the mandolin player singing one middle verse, and then doing some scat singing as well. A+ for this one! 10) Rose Polanski- Willy: "I actually have a friend on the JMDL. When I was trying to figure out what to play, Yael came to my house and played a bunch of stuff for me. She played Willy, a song I had never heard before, and she helped me find the tabs on the website." She played this one the piano, after saying that she doesn't have a piano at home, and had been playing it on the guitar all week. It was a nice interpretation of the song, and her piano playing wasn't bad, but I found her voice to be underwhelming and breathy. It really bothered me also that she took a breath in the middle of the word ancient. (An *breath* cient.) 11)Chris O'Brien- Come in From the Cold: "To recap, I'm just going to do a verse from each song that was played tonight. Actually, I started listening to my Joni albums, trying to decide which song to play. Two verses into this song, I called Matt to tell him I wanted to do this song. Then I went out to get a drink of water, and about 6 minutes later came back into the room and it was *still* playing!" Chris did a *great* job with this song, really one of my favorites of the evening. I thought his guitar work was great- got the "Joni guitar slap" down, and had a nice voice. Lots of great energy. Even though he forgot a verse at the end, he kept playing, said, "there's more" but than couldn't remember, so said he was going to end it, and did. Another A+ in my book. 12) Diane Zeigler: One of my favorite performers, but unfortunately with all the snow we had, wasn't able to make it down from VT. 13) Merrie Armstrong- Woodstock: "I must confess this is not my favorite song, but I thought it was appropriate considering the times." Merrie is a Kate Bennett look-alike, and even has a similar voice. She played an electric guitar, and used a lot of bass notes, which made it a very "dark" version. Interesting take on it, and felt like she captured the feeling of what is going on now. Part 2 tomorrow as it is past midnight, and I am going to turn into a pumpkin. Hugs, Ashara ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 07 Jan 2003 02:01:39 -0500 From: ljirvin@jmdl.com Subject: Today's Library Links: January 7 On January 7 the following item was published: 1999: "Asner, Mitchell in anti-DreamWorks Documentary" - Reuters/Variety (News Item) http://www.jmdl.com/articles/view.cfm?id=318 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 07 Jan 2003 02:10:52 -0500 From: Scott Fifield Subject: Travelogue thoughts Hello everyone - I've been lurking for about a week or two. I've enjoyed reading all the enthusiastic posts about Joni. I've been checking out the reviews on Travelogue and am baffled. I guess my tastes are well off the beaten path because I'm not hearing the same music these reviewers are hearing. I thought it was interesting that someone brought up Billie Holiday. Her "Lady In Satin" (her penultimate release - and one that found her more ravaged sounding that her final album) is a masterpiece and yes, it's not easy listening - she sounds like a woman who lived a rough life...who was just barely able to eke out a vocal on the tracks. That is NOT the voice I hear on Travelogue. I am completely won over by this release. I think it's great that Joni took the time to revisit some favorites from her catalogue and show them off in a new setting. I think she succeeds remarkably well. Most of my music collection is jazz vocals, so perhaps I'm more accustomed to the seasoned singer (read: aging) and I find that there's a certain "lived through it" quality that isn't capable of being achieved by a young voice. The believability factor is so much higher. This is more apparent in songs such as Both Sides Now, Love, and The Last Time I Saw Richard - and less apparent in something like Otis & Marlena or Sex Kills. I think the orchestral background really fits well - - I especially like the grandiloquence in Sex Kills, Ludwig's Tune, Trouble Child, and Amelia. Her delivery is always interesting and to compare the slight lyric changes, the different way she stresses certain words - these things are a joy for this fan. When I read these (and they're mostly wickedly negative) reviews, I can't help but wonder if they've given it the attention it might require to grow on them. With every Joni release, it's always taken me a few listens before I can appreciate it - and almost always I get there...(although it's hard with Dog Eat Dog)...I wonder if these reviewers played it through once and said, "she's lost her voice" and because she's made some angry remarks to the media about the state of the music business, they decide it's her swan song and so they write a terse review in which they point out that she's not a young woman anymore (she hasn't sounded like that folksy songbird in over a quarter of a century!) and how it's overproduced, and they give it a couple stars out of five. And for the review, she's probably spent the better part of a year or more putting together a very satisfying project for many of her fans. Again - I've enjoyed the posts. Particulary the ones that don't have NJC in the subject heading. Here are my 20 favorite Joni performances (what else does one do on a Tuesday morning at 2 a.m., but compile one's 20 favorite Joni performances???) Moon At The Window(1982) Song For Sharon (1976) Rainy Night House (Live, 1974) Be Cool (1982) You Dream Flat Tires (2002) A Case Of You (2000) Come In From The Cold (1991) The Last Time I Saw Richard (Live, 1974) Peoples Parties (1974) Refuge Of The Roads (1976) All I Want (1971) Man To Man (1982) River (1971) Trouble Child (1974) Harrys House/Centerpiece (1975) Cherokee Louise (1991) Two Grey Rooms (1991) Face Lift (1998) The Tea Leaf Prophecy (1988) Conversation (1970) ------------------------------ End of onlyJMDL Digest V2003 #6 ******************************* ------- Post messages to the list by clicking here: mailto:joni@smoe.org Unsubscribe by clicking here: mailto:onlyjoni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe ------- Siquomb, isn't she? (http://www.siquomb.com/siquomb.cfm)