As much as I love Joni (more than ever with the release of T'LOG), might I suggest that, beginning with WTRF, she has written some lyrics unworthy of her great talent?
Am I allowed to be cheeky? Will I be attacked for this? No matter; here goes. WTRF It's really the production that drives me crazy on this record (Joni is BURIED), but this lyric from MAN TO MAN makes me shudder: "I was scared / I thought / Oh--I hope he can care-- / I sure hope I can care / I hope we can really care / And share woman to man." This from a woman who wrote: "Now I am surf rising / Now parched ribs of sand at his side" ??? The less said about SOLID LOVE and UNDERNEATH the better. Thank God for CHINESE, WTRF, MOON, LOVE. DED Though I think the THREE GREAT is a flawed masterpiece (again, the production), this drives me mad: "Artifice, brutality and innocence / Artifice and innocence." Huh? What happened to "brutality"? FICTION and TAX FREE: Cliche after cliche after cliche. ETHIOPIA: Unfortunately marred by "Famine phantoms at the garden gate." My problem with DED overall is that Joni is often writing GENERALLY -- when her great strength is writing SPECIFICS. You know? And I want to yell: "Get off the couch, Joni, turn off the boob tube and get out there in the world. You're not OBSERVING." Plus, I really miss her descriptions of the natural world--always so beautiful. Thank God for IMPOSSIBLE (but lose the synth, please) and LUCKY GIRL. CMIARS NUMBER ONE, SNAKES AND LADDERS (which I actually like), REOCCURING: Been there, done that. TEA LEAF: Such a lovely story; such a nothing melody. Shame. Thank God for MY SECRET PLACE, BLACK WINGS and A BIRD. NRH WINDFALL: Beneath you, Joni. I thought you didn't want to bore us with songs about "rich people's problems." COME IN: Too wordy by half; uninteresting melody. Thank God for: NRH, PASSION PLAY, CHEROKEE, SLOUCHING, NOTHING, TWO GREY ROOMS. TI There's only one thing that drives me up the wall, from BORDERLINE (which I find a bit of a bore, I'm afraid): "You snipe so steady / You snub so snide-- / So ripe and ready / To diminish and deride!" A little illiteration goes a long way. Thank God for: everything else! TTT LEAD BALLOON, TTT: Beneath you, my dear. NO APOLOGIES: Sorry, but doesn't hang together. HARLEM: Begs for one more verse! Thank God for LOVES PUTS ON, CRAZY CRIES (though I liked it better as LOVE'S CRIES), STAY IN TOUCH, FACE LIFT. There, I got that off my chest. Thanks for listening.
