Yesterday's mail brought an "Album Advance" copy of TTT, which I recently won on eBay. The CD is contained in a simple black & white cardboard sleeve, and the CD label is black & white as well.
TTT was the only Joni I didn't have, which is to say that I actually had it twice but gave those copies to friends who were TTT-less. (There's a joke in there, I know.) There has been a space for it in my CD player (similar to Coyote Rick's, it holds 400 disks), but I hadn't been in a hurry to fill it because, to date, it has been my least favorite Joni album. I never before took the time to consider WHY it's been my least favorite. I originally bought it the day of release, and I listened to it enough to know most of the words to most of the songs, but -- with one exception -- I found the album underwhelming. And so it remains, and I think I've determined why: for the most part, the writing seems shallow, like Joni's heart wasn't really in it. It's almost as if she had to meet a contract requirement and so cranked out an album of songs that were leftovers. I love a lot of the jazzy melodies and the way they're played, but the lyrics just leave me ... wanting. Obviously one exception would be "Stay In Touch," although that's not the song that gets to me. It's "Man From Mars," not so much because of the lyrics themselves (or the fact that they're about Joni's cat), but because the lyrics and melody together so acutely evoke a deep sense of LOSS. After hearing it this morning in the car, I found myself crying silently on the train as the song played in my head. I think MFM is the only Joni song that does that to me. That's it. Just thought I'd surprise everyone and actually write a little JC for a change. : ) Lori ~ Yahoo! Tax Center - online filing with TurboTax
