> I've often thought the same thing. I also think Joni's earliest voice > (STAS and before) sounds older and more old-fashioned than her voice on > subsequent records. I wonder if she deliberately changed her style to make > it sound younger and more contemporary. I like the STAS voice much better > than the LOTC voice, myself, although by the time she got to Blue, I like > that voice, too.
I also love STAS and the sound of Joni's voice on that record. I bought a Judy Collins cd a while back called 'Maids and Golden Apples'. It contains all the material from her first two albums and is, I believe, all traditional folk material. Judy uses a deeper, more powerful voice on most of these songs than on subsequent records. It's almost like she's assuming a male persona when singing the traditional material. I'm wondering if this could be called her 'coffee house voice'. Joni's voice takes on some of this character on 'Tin Angel'. Some of that song almost seems to be over-sung to me. The STAS voice is deeper but it has a softer sound to it. Maybe it's the 'bell jar effect' that makes it sound that way. Joni has referred to her singing on some of the early records as her 'helium voice' and I go back and forth on how I feel about it. Sometimes it is beautiful and ethereal. Other times it just grates on me. Mark E in Seattle
