In a message dated 10/12/2002 08:02:52 GMT Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
<< You don't dig it, that's cool. But why do you think Joni is so sold on Vince and Wayne? Is she mistaken? If given the chance, how might you have tried to talk her out of it? These are my questions. >> Thanks for your measured response Fred! Why is Joni so sold on VM and WS? Well, she likes the sound they make! I guess it's as simple and unfathomable as that. Perhaps, to her, they make her songs sound lush and full; perhaps they confer on the songs a patina of neo-classical credibility, as if they're part of the orchestral repertoire - and maybe that's TOTALLY wrong on my part, who knows but Joni? Is she mistaken? Well, to my subjective fan's ears, yes, she is mistaken, they ruin her songs - or to be more precise, they contribute to the ruining of her songs, along with the weakness of her singing. AND YET: at the risk of trotting out a platitude, I do realise that not everyone shares this view. << If given the chance, how might you have tried to talk her out of it? >> A really interesting question. I suppose, waving my hypothetical wand for a moment to facilitate this conversation, I'd have told her that the songs were great enough to stand alone, and that I didn't like Vince Mendoza's arranging style, and that I feared that it would swamp her songs in treacle. If I'd been feeling very brave, I might have said that her singing was getting so croaky that juxtaposing it with very lush orchestral arrangements would throw it into unfavourable contrast. I'm sure she would have thanked me profusely for my advice, smiling graciously as she operated the lever to the trapdoor... Azeem in London NP: Shawn Colvin - Whole New You (what a great record this is!)
