Just got back from 10 days in Paris - 1st time, very interesting city ;-). Sure enough, I was sitting in a park, reading the news, and it still sure looks bad, 30 years later. Now, if I ever get caught up, perhaps I will write about the good stuff......
OK - back to business. Topic 1 - Joni's charms - per Bob Mueller, we get started with: Composer (let's count melody, chord structure, rhythm) Lyricist (let's let poet fit in this category ?) Vocalist Instrumentalist (really, her contributions to the guitar - tunings, et al -are considerable) To this I would add Arranger Producer (she has made a list of noteworthy producers, if I am not mistaken) So, if you are comparing, it is more like a "sextuple" threat. [Speaking of which, if only she weren't so darned homely ;-) ] Oh, right, and as the others said, Painter Raconteur Won't somebody please, please Help Me ? (Isn't that a Beatles song ?) Topic 2 - (Psycho) Analysis Or, why I think I like a song ( "I liked the words, and it's easy to dance to", extended): I sometimes find myself analyzing songs (I am a little strange, but aren't we all ?) breaking them down - for evaluation purposes - into 1. Melody 2. Chord structure 3. Rhythm 4. Lyrics 5. Harmony and counterpoint 6. Arrangement 7. Vocal performance 8. Instrumental performance 9. Production/engineering 10. Magic (the connection among the pieces - especially the Lyrics with the Music) The first 9 items go right back to Topic 1. They also reinforce for me why, on a gut level, I liked the Beatles and Joni the most. Of course, there were '5' Beatles, but there is only one Joni. Topic 3 - Item 10 above I had noted the connection between the music and the lyrics a couple of weeks ago in a post, in which I named a few 'later' Joni songs that I thought "had it" (that magical connection between words and music), and others that were good in the other 9 ways, but did not (IMO). I also quoted a couple of lines from "Lesson in Survival" that I thought captured the essence of this point. FTR (the album) is very strong in this regard, throughout. Electricity is a classic example, and has always been a personal favorite of mine. But Cold Blue Steel is perhaps even more exquisite in this regard. Also outstandingly well connected are LIS, LTWCM, FTR (you can sort of hear the arbutus rustling in that song), WOHAM, YTMOIAR, JOTMAS. Even the Banquet, with its demanding tone (correct for a protest song) and the seagulls squawking and the water skiers gliding. This is very artistic, to me. I do not feel that that the 'connection' is as strong in Barangrill, See You Sometime and Blonde in the Bleachers, but you could do worse that fill out your album with those 3 songs. And 9 out of 12 special connections - when it is rare if even 3 or 4 cuts on an album "have it". Bob S. (had 8 hours on the plane today to list her albums in order of personal preference - only took me 2 hours to do it ;~)
