Found this Julia/Joni article this morning:
June 21, 2002, 1:45PM A widening landscape Fordham stretches creatively on new 'Concrete' album By MICHAEL D. CLARK Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle Concrete Love Julia Fordham Vanguard Short of taking up painting and becoming a Canadian citizen, Julia Fordham has done all she can to enhance her link to Joni Mitchell. Her new album, Concrete Love, draws her a bit closer. With help from Vanguard Records producer Larry Klein -- a longtime Mitchell collaborator and Mitchell's ex-husband -- Fordham is finding her own voice, too. >From the up-tempo swing improvisations of It's Another You Day to the dusky Foolish Thing and Missing Man, Klein teaches Fordham that attracting Mitchell-level respect means expanding her range, not simply imitation. The standout track Roadside Angel, co-written by Klein and featuring Sweet Pea Atkinson as a backing vocalist, finds the singer exploring the soft soul that once was the territory of Minnie Riperton. Getting comfortable with music she's not known for is a much bolder Joni-esque statement than simply trying to remake Help Me or Big Yellow Taxi. On Concrete Love, Julia Fordham works her comparisons to Joni Mitchell, but is clearly carving out her own niche. Fordham reaches beyond expectations most successfully on the duet Alleluia. Using Hammond B-3 organ chords as a tuning fork by Houstonian Billy Preston, she trumps country-rocker Joe Henry, beating him to the soul of this hosanna. Fordham can't prevail over all comers, though. With Preston on the keys again, she joins seven-time Grammy nominee India.Arie on the low-lit urban landscape of the title track. Fordham wrote the track, but she is just a spectator on Arie's streets. Fans of simpler Fordham efforts will not feel abandoned by the widening landscape of Concrete Love. The folksy Italy has a simple premise that might have come to her over a cup of coffee. And the naughty poetry of Wake Up With You (The I Wanna Song) possesses the crowded couplets and bedroomspeak that make Alanis Morissette so alluring. The contrast of styles on Concrete Love is definitely leading Fordham closer to her own Court and Spark. Yahoo! - Official partner of 2002 FIFA World Cup http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com
