**** > > I always thought Joni was the lady with the hole in > her stocking (Didn't it feeeeeeeeel good? Didn't it > feel GOOD!") Also identified with that as I almost > always have a hole in my stocking. >
I've always thought so too, Catherine. Especially coupled with the line from 'The Boho Dance' 'A camera pans the cocktail hour/behind a blind of potted palms/And finds a lady in a Paris dress/with runs in her nylons'. I've always felt that one was Joni too. Her free spirited nature doesn't get too hung up about things like holes or runs in her stockings, even though she does like to dress up in designer gowns. Just one of the many dualities of Our Lady. I've always heard 'I've seen some hard, hot blazes come down to smoke & ash' and yes, it is a great line from a wonderful song. I've always felt that the line 'we love our lovin'/but not like we love our freedom' was the perfect summation of the confusion wrought by the sexual revolution of the 60s & 70s. Alas, as Joni has said in more recent years, there is no such thing as 'free love'. C&S was my first Joni and it was life-changing as far as my appreciation of music and lyrics is concerned. I couldn't believe that someone I had never met could verbalize so many of my own thoughts and feelings so articulately and so beautifully. That record is etched on my brain cells, every note & every word. It is as close to a perfect marriage of art and pop culture as you can get. It is fitted together like a piece of intricate machinery and runs like clock work from beginning to end. The in-depth analysis and musical exploration of 'Hejira' and 'Mingus' were yet to come. But C&S has an abundance of rewards for the discriminating listener. It may sound lighter than the later albums but there is plenty of depth there. I'm like Muller on this one. Once I hear those opening piano chords, I'm hooked in for the ride. The way 'People's Parties' segues smoothly into 'The Same Situation', the string quartet on 'Down to You', the weary yet sympathetic analysis of the 'Trouble Child', the raucous playfulness of 'Raised On Robbery' and the more sophisticated playfulness of Annie Ross's 'Twisted' - I love every bit of it! Mark E in Seattle C&S lover
