I have to add my vote to the 'Joni-on-vinyl' camp - it's the whole sensual experience of LPs that I could never give up. Even putting the infinitely superior packaging to one side for a moment, just consider the vinyl - it has that 'weight' and substance, it has that gloss (don't you love that shiny vinyl that has that sort of petrol-spill rainbow sheen...), it even has a distintive smell to it - I could recognise a lot of my records blindfold from the smell alone. (I once had an ELP triple album; the music was terrible but it smelled great!). Then there's the whole experience of sliding the record out of the liner - sorry, we're getting into fetish territory here but does no one else find that sensation at least mildly erotic!
I own all Joni on vinyl up to Chalk Mark (I maddeningly jealous now of those who have NRH on vinyl) and I always turn to the vinyl out of preference (though I admit STAS on vinyl is a sonic disaster and I will consider getting a CD copy to listen to while I fondle the LP...). Double albums are best of all - I so agree with Walt about the loss of the side one/two structure of the move from LP to CD; a whole artform has been lost - and when you've got side 3 & 4 as well, that's heightened. For that reason (plus weight, gloss & smell), I think Shadows & Light is the Joni-vinyl experience par excellence (hell, the CD version even has tracks missing). But the idea of 'Blue' not being at the end of side one, but instead stuck in the middle of a CD - it doesn't bear thinking about! Infact, here's a game for those of you with programmable CD (ok, CD wins hands down on some scores), how about reordering the Blue album for straight thru CD play - I'm sure the old LP ordering can't be right for CD. (I'm gonna play too... if I can manage it without scratching my precious vinyl with all that lifting on and off...) John -- John Sprackland
