Originally Posted by
Gordon Steadman
If I was only allowed one musician it would be Joni Mitchell. If only one LP it would be Hejira. Reading this thread made me want to hear it again and I am just lost in the musical inventiveness. quality musicianship and sound quality. Pastorius's bass playing is so free and musical that it underpins the whole jazz feel of the album.
She appears not to have made a duff record. Most artists seem to produce a clunker but I have yet to be disappointed even though some of her later stuff seems to lack the incisiveness and clarity of her younger days but that comes as no surprise, I apparently suffer the same malaise.
For anyone that doesn't like Joni and especially anyone who could suggest that Blue isn't one of the best records ever made....did you know that therapy is available?
I agree with you that she is a stunning composer, arranger, musician, performer, singer, guitar player, piano player and producer. Where her art gets sidetracked is sadly in people's obsession with dissecting her lyrics. That's in general the malaise of most music journalism -- too much emphasis on analyzing the words, too little emphasis on music. Look, if words were all there is to it, there would be no need for music. Poetry would then be sufficient. But words pale when placed in the light of music. So the last thing I pay attention to when listening to Joni Mitchell are the words. As far as I'm concerned, she could be singing in Swahili, or in some made up language. But her music -- oh god, help me!
Don't you just hate it when you cannot detect where the post ends and a signature line begins?
Alex.
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