dear all: So yesterday afternoon, I had house-work I needed to do. I always like to clean etc to music as at least for me, it makes mundaine typical housework housecleaning go a whole lot faster. I decided to first listen to Joni's debut album, Songs to a seagull, as I hadn't listend to it in ages. What struck me about that album is how young Joni sounds and how much more "crisp" her guitar playing sounded, not that it has gotten bad, it just seems like that Martin she used on her earlier albums sounded much better then any of her other guitars (save the VG8 which helped with the tunings problems onstage). Then I decided after that I would put on her more recent studio release "Both Sides Now". You can tell Joni is singing in a lower register then she did years ago just by the remakes of her songs "A case of you" and "Both sides now". Both Sides Now on the Clouds album I believe is in F# (someone verify this for me.) It sounds like on the Both Sides Now album the key is more th! an likely D (I just know it's lower) Well anyways, it was so strange for me not hearing Joni's magnificent guitar playing, however, for a collection of standards and stuff, her tunings probably would not have worked. But it seems to me that whomever did the orchestral arranging bore Joni's guitar style in mind with some of the string arrangements. I've always loved standards and stuff (I guess what gay man deep down doesn't like standards?) and this album proved a treasure trove of material. I especially liked Joni's interpretations of Stormy Weather, Don't worry 'bout me, and At Last, as well as the revisions of A Case of you and Both Sides Now. Then after the housework was done, the hubby was home, and I was fooling around on the computer chatting on gay.com. I put Joni's Turbalent Indigo album on. I vaguely remember Joni playing on what was it, Lettermen, around the time this was released. Anyways, Turbalent Indigo was so addicting at points I just blanked out from the computer just listening to the album and not paying attention to the chat room. It has that affect on me. The final song on the release "The Sire of Sorrow" I can almost see as a one act mini-play, the way the words are written. I wonder if anyone else has ever thought that.
Well I am off to go work out shortly after I have my morning decaf. Take care, James Phillips Urbana IL USA now playing: "Sparkle" by Aretha Franklin -- Powered by Outblaze
