Fred wrote: > This may be heresy to some, but Neil's songwriting has become less and less > interesting to me over the years. But this is true of a lot of writers from > back then, including C, S, and N. Not heresy, just opinion! I have the same opinion about Stephen Stills, who is one of my heroes. His early song-writing, eg. For What It's Worth, Word Game, Helplessly Hoping, was exceptional, but I'm afraid his lyrics have not improved with the years (unlike his guitar-playing which is still incredible). Compare the lyrics from Word Game (about apartheid in South Africa): Would you knock a man down if you don't like the cut of his clothes Could you put a man away if you don't want to hear what he knows Well it's happening right here, people dying of fear by the droves with the lyrics from Drivin' Thunder And I ain't too good with numbers And I've run out of fuel Here comes another corner baby Let me demonstrate my slide rule (slide rule) Obviously I've taken two extremes, and he is still capable of writing some good songs! Nash and Crosby have not "deteriorated" as much IMO, and Crosby in particular is still writing some good stuff. I guess it comes back to one of the other reasons I love Joni so much. The lyrics are as strong and meaningful as they were 30 years ago. Hell ____________________________ "To have great poets, there must be great audiences too." - Walt Whitman [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit the NBLs (Natural Born Losers) at: http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~hell/
