jerry wrote >>If she wanted to redo old songs it would have been adventurous for her to have: 1. Done the arrangements herself. 2. Played them herself on the piano or a guitar.<<<
i'm not sure that we can say whether or not that she had a large, small, or no part in doing these arrangements- do we have any info on this? joni has always described her music in orchestral terms so just because she didn't play the instruments she hears does not mean (to me) that she is not being adventurous...what i find adventurous is the new emotional expression of so many of her songs...& the fact that she is making a new statement in the context that she presents her songs this time around... i can understand the desire to have her present her music the way she did when she was starting out & playing her own instrument & i would love to hear that too but i don't expect that anymore...i think joni keeps trying out different ways of expressing her songs (whether we like it or not)- & that is adventurous to me... as a songwriter i can really understand the desire to want to try something different with each new recording...or to evolve something you've experimented with to a different degree...that is the essence of creativity i find by not comparing her arrangements, her voice, her anything to what she has done in the past frees me up to really enjoy these songs the way she has offered them to us in travlogue because to me, she is first & foremost a songwriter... just all my opinion you know
