From: owner-onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org (onlyJMDL Digest) To: onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org Subject: onlyJMDL Digest V2014 #240 Reply-To: joni@smoe.org Sender: owner-onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-onlyjoni-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk Website:http://www.jonimitchell.com Unsubscribe:mailto:onlyjoni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe onlyJMDL Digest Saturday, July 19 2014 Volume 2014 : Number 240 ========== TOPICS and authors in this Digest: -------- Songs of Shadows, Songs of Light [Dave Blackburn ] Re: Covering Joni's songs [Garret ] Re: Covering Joni's songs [Dave Blackburn ] Re: Covering Joni's songs [Anita Gabrielle ] Re: The New Biography ["Mark" ] Re: The New Biography [Catherine McKay ] Re: The New Biography [Bob.Muller@Fluor.com] Re: Covering Joni's songs [Jimmy Stewart ] songs of shadow, songs of light [Shadows and light ] Re: Covering Joni's songs [Bob.Muller@Fluor.com] New Library item: Joni Mitchell Takes Part in Q&A Interview Event at Toronto Arts Festival; Will Perform at Tribute Shows [] Covers [Betsy Blue ] Re: Covering Joni's songs [Dave Blackburn ] Thank you Anita [Ingrid Lochrenberg ] Re: Crown and anchor me ["johnnybgoode@lineone.net" ] Re: Covering Joni's songs [Jack Merkel ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 06:29:59 -0700 From: Dave Blackburn Subject: Songs of Shadows, Songs of Light Robin and I have been listening to Laurie Antoniolis new CD that arrived this week. In every respect it is a superb album and goes to prove how enduring and malleable Jonis compositions are. Laurie herself has dwelled in them all her life, as have many of us, and so the connection to the music is deep. Her band, which includes my old bassist colleague John Shifflett, is absolutely first class and the recording, made at Fantasy in Berkley, is superlative in itself. Great arrangers find inherent themes and melodic lines in a song, which are not necessarily the songs main melody, and weave new fabric from them. Lauries band members do just this, and so it is not the typical jazz format of stating the melody and then sharply veering off into jazz solo land; the improvising is not over extended and its integration with the compositions is excellent, a difficult balance to achieve. Congratulations to Laurie and her band (wassup John?) on a great record. I encourage listers to order a copy. cheers Dave ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 22:19:41 +0100 From: Garret Subject: Re: Covering Joni's songs In fairness, no one ever said to Monet "paint a starry night" again man. Although I would love to see his interpretation. Garret On 18 Jul 2014 21:31, "Dave Blackburn" wrote: > Fabio, > > To each his own of course, but Joni is a composer first and foremost. and > composers if they are lucky get their compositions performed. No one > detracts from Joni's own versions by presenting them with a new angle. She > herself reinvented several of her tunes many times during of the course of > her career, effectively covering her early material herself. There is this > strange stigma about covers in the rock world, but in the jazz and > classical world it is understood that the standards and the catalogue of a > good composer s work is there to be plumbed and given a fresh presentation. > > That being said there will always be a range of talent from poor to great, > and accordingly some covers may be pale imitations of something great - > which I suspect is what you are referring to - but some may be spectacular: > k.d langs Jericho, Chaka Khan s Ladies Man, James Taylor s River, for > example, and quite a few whole albums that are wonderful, the latest of > which is Laurie s. Tierney Sutton s After Blue is another, Big Yellow Taxi > s Treasures of Joni Mitchell, and perhaps our own Safaris to the Heart is > worthy of a favorable mention alongside them. Apart from anything else it > is killer music to play and audiences flock to hear it, already enamoured > of the music in its original form. > > As Anita says, Joni simply ain t doing it anymore, and I don t think her > legacy is in the least diminished by a new generation of artists > re-imagining her music. > > Dave > > > On Jul 18, 2014, at 11:47 AM, fabiococchi@ymail.com wrote: > > > Hi everybody! To be honest, there are really very few Joni's songs > covered by other artists that I like ( including some famous ones). It's > just that Joni's genius is hard to match! It's all right to cover a song > and include it in an album. But I believe that an entire project is quite > risky. Herbie's Joni'Letters is certainly an exception! But be careful out > there... ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 14:59:03 -0700 From: Dave Blackburn Subject: Re: Covering Joni's songs So Fabio, you are sort of saying unless you are good dont bother recording or at least releasing covers that dont properly honor Jonis great songs. Id agree wholeheartedly, except that one then becomes a taste judge for others, and who has the right to be that? Apart from us, of course ;-) On Jul 18, 2014, at 1:41 PM, fabiococchi@ymail.com wrote: > Dear Dave, > I'm getting so many messages about this subject! Again, as I already explained, so many artists did a great job covering Joni. You mentioned a few ones, I'll add Glenn Hansard, Cassandra Wilson, Cindy Lauper. As you said Joni reinvented herself many times, but she did it greatly! It'a about good music. It's hard to cover her songs because she is not only a great songwriter but also a beautiful interpreter. For those who want to cover her music with concept albums I would suggest to do it when there is real talent and new ideas, not only for the pleasure to sing/play her music. Honestly I don't know what you did with MOTP. I know the work of some jazz singers ( a couple of Italian ones ad well ). I'll try to listen carefully to your work. Best wishes from sunny ( very sunny and hot ) Milan. > > Inviato da iPhone ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 20:57:58 +0100 From: Anita Gabrielle Subject: Re: Covering Joni's songs Much as Joni's work is extraordinary and brilliant, she simply ain't doing it any more and there is SO much to be gained by hearing new interpretations and different slants on her incredible breadth of work. Herbie had a big commercial advantage of being a mate of Joni's as well as being world famous in his own right, so not a risky project for him. 'River - the Joni Letters' was a good album. But I have heard innovative and emotional takes on Joni songs at Joni Fests and other concerts (Robin, Dave and the Mutts) that, in my view, have surpassed some of Hancock's work by a distance. Of course, taking on an entire album of a Joni songs, like the Mutts and Laurie have done is, as you say, Fabio, risky. That is exactly why I feel these wonderful artists richly deserve our support and admiration. Keeping Joni's music fresh, new and alive is just brilliant! I, for one, want to keep my ears open. Well done and congratulations to them all, Anita > On 18 Jul 2014, at 19:47, fabiococchi@ymail.com wrote: > > Hi everybody! To be honest, there are really very few Joni's songs covered by other artists that I like ( including some famous ones). It's just that Joni's genius is hard to match! It's all right to cover a song and include it in an album. But I believe that an entire project is quite risky. Herbie's Joni'Letters is certainly an exception! But be careful out there... ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 18:22:16 -0700 From: "Mark" Subject: Re: The New Biography I guess I'd better get my arse in gear! Up to Joni's first pilgrimage to New Mexico to meet Georgia O'Keeffe. Mingus comes along not long after that. Mark in Seattle - -----Original Message----- From: Bob.Muller@Fluor.com Sent: Friday, July 18, 2014 6:02 AM To: Catherine McKay Cc: joni ; Mark Subject: Re: The New Biography So my question is - will we get some kind of a notification when a new chapter gets installed? I've had this feast all week and now I'm starving! :-) Bob NP: Joni, "I Think I Understand" - ------------------------------------------------------------ The information transmitted is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain proprietary, business-confidential and/or privileged material. If you are not the intended recipient of this message you are hereby notified that any use, review, retransmission, dissemination, distribution, reproduction or any action taken in reliance upon this message is prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from any computer. Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender and may not necessarily reflect the views of the company. - ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 05:10:11 -0700 From: Catherine McKay Subject: Re: The New Biography So glad you're doing this and I can't think of a better person for the job. ________________________________ From: Mark To: Bob.Muller@Fluor.com; joni Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2014 9:44:19 PM Subject: Re: The New Biography Thank you, Bob and thank you to everybody else who has sent kind words my way. [..] Anyway, I hope I'm adding something of some value that is unique to the website that people can enjoy and maybe learn something from. I'm learning a lot in the process of writing it. Mark (Scott) in Seattle ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 09:02:20 -0400 From: Bob.Muller@Fluor.com Subject: Re: The New Biography So my question is - will we get some kind of a notification when a new chapter gets installed? I've had this feast all week and now I'm starving! :-) Bob NP: Joni, "I Think I Understand" - ------------------------------------------------------------ The information transmitted is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain proprietary, business-confidential and/or privileged material. If you are not the intended recipient of this message you are hereby notified that any use, review, retransmission, dissemination, distribution, reproduction or any action taken in reliance upon this message is prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from any computer. Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender and may not necessarily reflect the views of the company. - ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 17:47:27 -0400 From: Jimmy Stewart Subject: Re: Covering Joni's songs I love the covers too! Some because they are sung in a non English language, some because they are cheesy, some because it introduces me to new artists, some because they put a nice twist to Joni songs. There's a few that I like more than Joni's original. Then there's David and Robin. Every Joni song they do is excellent!!! Jimmy ....gesendet von meinem iPhone > On Jul 18, 2014, at 4:09 PM, Bob.Muller@Fluor.com wrote: > > Yeah, I get that, trust me, I get it. Some people don't like covers and > stick with originals. Nothing wrong with that. Me, I've always enjoyed > covers and I could go on and on ad nauseam about covers that are way > superior to the originals, Joni songs included. That, of course, is > subjective - what's better than what and that whole discussion. > > For me, it's never a question of what's better than what - it's that I > have Joni's incredible songs and her lovely versions of them, and then > there's this whole other world of artists who are inspired to tackle them, > some just putting a karaoke stamp on them and others (like Laurie) who > take the melodies, rhythms, arrangements and explore them and expand on > them and in some cases bring (to me anyway) a deeper understanding of the > song musically as well as lyrically. > > I guess maybe diehard fans feel like they are cheating on Joni or > betraying her by enjoying other artist's versions of her songs? I don't > know because to me, it's a kindred spirit, someone who appreciates Joni's > work as we do and is led to interpret her work. I don't have to make a > choice - I love it ALL. > > I'm sure that Joni is delighted to know that the vast majority of her > covers these days come from the JAZZ community, even those "folk songs" > from her early days. > > Bob > > NP: The Who, "Behind Blue Eyes" > > > > > > From: fabiococchi@ymail.com > To: "joni@smoe.org" , > Date: 07/18/2014 02:56 PM > Subject: Covering Joni's songs > Sent by: owner-joni@smoe.org > > > > Hi everybody! To be honest, there are really very few Joni's songs covered > by other artists that I like ( including some famous ones). It's just that > Joni's genius is hard to match! It's all right to cover a song and include > it in an album. But I believe that an entire project is quite risky. > Herbie's Joni'Letters is certainly an exception! But be careful out > there... > > ------------------------------------------------------------ > The information transmitted is intended only for the person > or entity to which it is addressed and may contain > proprietary, business-confidential and/or privileged material. > If you are not the intended recipient of this message you are > hereby notified that any use, review, retransmission, dissemination, > distribution, reproduction or any action taken in reliance upon > this message is prohibited. If you received this in error, please > contact the sender and delete the material from any computer. > > Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual > sender and may not necessarily reflect the views of the company. > ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 12:36:11 -0700 From: Shadows and light Subject: songs of shadow, songs of light laurie, i'm so thrilled that you completed this project. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 10:14:51 -0400 From: Bob.Muller@Fluor.com Subject: Re: Songs of Shadows, Songs of Light Amen and amen...I got my copy on Monday, along with some BONUS goodies (thanks Laurie!!) and it's been captive in my car CD player since. Makes me wish my commute was longer. I'm still not to the point where I'm ready to write my long drawn out OMG-how-much-longer-is-he-going-to-drone-on review and I really want to do this album justice. All I'll say is that after about 5 spins my favorites are This Flight Tonight and Eastern Rain but ALL the tracks are exquisite in their own way. Parts of it (like the intro to WOHAM) remind me of Steely Dan's masterpiece Aja (a high compliment from me). As Grand Funk would say - "Good Singing Good Playin'" Bob NP: Elvis Costello, "Walking On Thin Ice" - ------------------------------------------------------------ The information transmitted is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain proprietary, business-confidential and/or privileged material. If you are not the intended recipient of this message you are hereby notified that any use, review, retransmission, dissemination, distribution, reproduction or any action taken in reliance upon this message is prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from any computer. Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender and may not necessarily reflect the views of the company. - ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Jul 2014 22:29:34 +0100 From: Anita Gabrielle Subject: Re: Crown and anchor me Or you could have let her sail away. > On 17 Jul 2014, at 19:51, Ingrid Lochrenberg wrote: > > Yes, I would have if I could've reached her. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 16:09:54 -0400 From: Bob.Muller@Fluor.com Subject: Re: Covering Joni's songs Yeah, I get that, trust me, I get it. Some people don't like covers and stick with originals. Nothing wrong with that. Me, I've always enjoyed covers and I could go on and on ad nauseam about covers that are way superior to the originals, Joni songs included. That, of course, is subjective - what's better than what and that whole discussion. For me, it's never a question of what's better than what - it's that I have Joni's incredible songs and her lovely versions of them, and then there's this whole other world of artists who are inspired to tackle them, some just putting a karaoke stamp on them and others (like Laurie) who take the melodies, rhythms, arrangements and explore them and expand on them and in some cases bring (to me anyway) a deeper understanding of the song musically as well as lyrically. I guess maybe diehard fans feel like they are cheating on Joni or betraying her by enjoying other artist's versions of her songs? I don't know because to me, it's a kindred spirit, someone who appreciates Joni's work as we do and is led to interpret her work. I don't have to make a choice - I love it ALL. I'm sure that Joni is delighted to know that the vast majority of her covers these days come from the JAZZ community, even those "folk songs" from her early days. Bob NP: The Who, "Behind Blue Eyes" From: fabiococchi@ymail.com To: "joni@smoe.org" , Date: 07/18/2014 02:56 PM Subject: Covering Joni's songs Sent by: owner-joni@smoe.org Hi everybody! To be honest, there are really very few Joni's songs covered by other artists that I like ( including some famous ones). It's just that Joni's genius is hard to match! It's all right to cover a song and include it in an album. But I believe that an entire project is quite risky. Herbie's Joni'Letters is certainly an exception! But be careful out there... - ------------------------------------------------------------ The information transmitted is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain proprietary, business-confidential and/or privileged material. If you are not the intended recipient of this message you are hereby notified that any use, review, retransmission, dissemination, distribution, reproduction or any action taken in reliance upon this message is prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from any computer. Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender and may not necessarily reflect the views of the company. - ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 18:30:50 -0600 (MDT) From: TheStaff@JoniMitchell.com Subject: New Library item: Joni Mitchell Takes Part in Q&A Interview Event at Toronto Arts Festival; Will Perform at Tribute Shows Title: Joni Mitchell Takes Part in Q&A Interview Event at Toronto Arts Festival; Will Perform at Tribute Shows Publication: classichitsandoldies.com Date: 2013.6.17 http://jonimitchell.com/library/view.cfm?id=2804 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 19:50:20 -0700 From: Betsy Blue Subject: Covers >some covers...may be spectacular: k.d langs Jericho, Chaka Khan's Ladies Man May I add Chaka Khan's Hejira and k.d. lang's River? It is the rare interpreter who gets more than one right. k.d. is consistently good, while Chaka ranges between brilliant and off-the-mark. The one cover that I feel is really an improvement is Emmylou Harris on Magdalene Laundries. Not even CSN's Woodstock falls into that category for me. Many covers, even Joni's own, are just different. It's always nice to hear a new interpretation. Betsy ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 13:23:46 -0700 From: Dave Blackburn Subject: Re: Covering Joni's songs Fabio, To each his own of course, but Joni is a composer first and foremost. and composers if they are lucky get their compositions performed. No one detracts from Joni's own versions by presenting them with a new angle. She herself reinvented several of her tunes many times during of the course of her career, effectively covering her early material herself. There is this strange stigma about covers in the rock world, but in the jazz and classical world it is understood that the standards and the catalogue of a good composers work is there to be plumbed and given a fresh presentation. That being said there will always be a range of talent from poor to great, and accordingly some covers may be pale imitations of something great - which I suspect is what you are referring to - but some may be spectacular: k.d langs Jericho, Chaka Khans Ladies Man, James Taylors River, for example, and quite a few whole albums that are wonderful, the latest of which is Lauries. Tierney Suttons After Blue is another, Big Yellow Taxis Treasures of Joni Mitchell, and perhaps our own Safaris to the Heart is worthy of a favorable mention alongside them. Apart from anything else it is killer music to play and audiences flock to hear it, already enamoured of the music in its original form. As Anita says, Joni simply aint doing it anymore, and I dont think her legacy is in the least diminished by a new generation of artists re-imagining her music. Dave On Jul 18, 2014, at 11:47 AM, fabiococchi@ymail.com wrote: > Hi everybody! To be honest, there are really very few Joni's songs covered by other artists that I like ( including some famous ones). It's just that Joni's genius is hard to match! It's all right to cover a song and include it in an album. But I believe that an entire project is quite risky. Herbie's Joni'Letters is certainly an exception! But be careful out there... ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 07:06:46 +0200 From: Ingrid Lochrenberg Subject: Thank you Anita ...for your encouragement...I am so grateful. and also look forward to the 20th, Bob. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Jul 2014 22:44:52 +0100 (BST) From: "johnnybgoode@lineone.net" Subject: Re: Crown and anchor me All, Or let her sink on a pin. John ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 20:47:27 +0200 From: fabiococchi@ymail.com Subject: Covering Joni's songs Hi everybody! To be honest, there are really very few Joni's songs covered by other artists that I like ( including some famous ones). It's just that Joni's genius is hard to match! It's all right to cover a song and include it in an album. But I believe that an entire project is quite risky. Herbie's Joni'Letters is certainly an exception! But be careful out there... ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 12:29:04 -0700 From: Shadows and light Subject: Re: The New Biography thank you les and mark. listers never cease to amaze me. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 22:35:05 -0500 From: Jack Merkel Subject: Re: Covering Joni's songs I had a small music listening party the other night to celebrate finish loading my entire CD collection as FLAC files to my computer. Robin and the MOTP's version of The Jungle Line was one of the highlights of the night! Jack Sent from my iPad > On Jul 18, 2014, at 4:59 PM, Dave Blackburn wrote: > > So Fabio, you are sort of saying unless you are good dont bother recording or at least releasing covers that dont properly honor Jonis great songs. Id agree wholeheartedly, except that one then becomes a taste judge for others, and who has the right to be that? Apart from us, of course ;-) > > >> On Jul 18, 2014, at 1:41 PM, fabiococchi@ymail.com wrote: >> >> Dear Dave, >> I'm getting so many messages about this subject! Again, as I already explained, so many artists did a great job covering Joni. You mentioned a few ones, I'll add Glenn Hansard, Cassandra Wilson, Cindy Lauper. As you said Joni reinvented herself many times, but she did it greatly! It'a about good music. It's hard to cover her songs because she is not only a great songwriter but also a beautiful interpreter. For those who want to cover her music with concept albums I would suggest to do it when there is real talent and new ideas, not only for the pleasure to sing/play her music. Honestly I don't know what you did with MOTP. I know the work of some jazz singers ( a couple of Italian ones ad well ). I'll try to listen carefully to your work. Best wishes from sunny ( very sunny and hot ) Milan. >> >> Inviato da iPhone ------------------------------ End of onlyJMDL Digest V2014 #240 ********************************* ------- Post messages to the list by clicking here:mailto:joni@smoe.org Unsubscribe by clicking here: mailto:onlyjoni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe