I've been very stimulated by Azeem's posts about his disappointment with T'logue. Also inspired by other listers' critical comments about the album. They pinpoint exactly what bothers me about this album and the sad demise of Joni Mitchell's creative output.
I've listened to both discs one time through and then listened to bits and pieces a few days later. In any other situation, this would not be enough time to pass judgment. But I know Joni's music so well that I have to trust my initial impression: I just don't think I could sit through it again. I agree with all the criticisms about Mendoza's pompous arrangements; and surely, Wayne Shorter's contribution to Joni's music has gone on long enough (25 years -- and it all sounds the same). There is a little piano detail in Woodstock (Herbie Hancock) that gives me the shivers it's so beautiful, but it's over in a few seconds. Now for Joni's singing: I think she is pitched way too low to produce a sustained musical phrase that can be heard above the orchestra. I think the smoking has probably limited the energy of her very breath. Can her breathing be so impaired that she cannot continue a musical phrase beyond two words? Or was it a deliberate decision to break up phrases so choppily that they are no longer musical? When I listened to Amelia, I was devastated to hear her chop up the line "Amelia it was just a false alarm" into little chunks. It just doesn't make sense emotionally or dramatically. I wonder if Joni is even aware of her own instrument and what has happened to her singing over the years. Jerry Notaro brought up another factor which I think is important: the comfort zone. Joni is taking no risks here: surrounding herself with trusted musicians, comfortably ensconced in her newfound family, and elevated to the status of museum piece by award after award -- who can blame her for retiring from the wearying, restless pursuit of love and music? Which brings me to my own personal epiphany, and this is a good time to reveal it: I'm getting weary of being a Joni fanatic! I'm increasingly worried about being obsessed with a person I've never met, whose artistic output peaked in 1979! Yes, I did see in Joni a kindred soul, who put into words and music some of my own deepest thoughts and feelings about human relationships. I admired her immense creativity and spirituality, while at the same time ignoring my own creative needs as I lived vicariously through her. At this time of my life, I feel more in touch with my creativity than ever before, having returned to one of my first loves: the visual arts. Of course, for this I can only thank Joni. Perhaps she was my muse and my mentor all along -- it just took me this long to give myself permission to be my own true self. Maybe this is my time to let go of Joni. Jim
