Hi folks, I usually read the "articles that appeared this day in history" or "articles that have just been added to our archive" thingies that begin most of the digests, at least when my web cruiser isn't sputtering or broken, and so I just read Stephen Holden's (Rolling Stone) review of HoSL from 1976. http://www.jmdl.com/articles/docs/760115rs.cfm
Wow. For the first 2/3 of the article, I thought, "Gosh, this guy really gets it, he really listened to the album and thought about the words, he caught the subtle ambiguities and ambivalence displayed in the lyrics, etc." But how on earth did he come to the conclusion that the melodies were boring, minimal, nonexistent, unimaginative, etc.? Anybody else feel that way? I didn't at the time, and I don't now, but maybe someone can explain why he had that reaction, or maybe only he can. At least his prediction that Joni should move further into the jazz world came out true. warm greetings to all, walt, still struggling to type, on new medication for the neuropathy (pray for me that it works, especially now that I have a piano at my disposal!)
