Hello everybody!
First of all I4d like to thank Bob, Don, Ashara and Garret for such a warm
welcoming
>to this wonderful, prolific, crazy list of Joni lovers! We are a >motley
crew, but most of us are harmless enough. ;-) !! (courtesy of Ashara)
Let4s see - it4s 2AM, I4ve just poured myself a drink and want to catch up
with my mail. The full moon is shining outside my window and the stereo is
playing "The Wolf That Lives In Lindsey". Can you think of any better song for
the occasion? It4s kind of spooky, isn4t it? At the time, when I only owned
"Hits" and "Misses", it was a real relief to hear the opening tones of "The
Magdalene Laundries", even though that one is pretty dark too.
Yes, I discovered Joni through her compilation albums. Both Bob and Garret
recommended them when I asked what album might be best for new listeners.
Well, they certainly worked for me. But nowadays I feel that neither "Hits"
nor "Misses" do Joni any justice. I mean, most of her albums are based upon a
certain subject and express a certain mood. That4s why I think the
compilations are a bit confusing. (I4m sorry, it4s a bit late and I don4t seem
to be able to express myself any clearer tonight...)
My own suggestion was TI, which Bob thought was "a little too dark for new
listeners". Well, thank you Bob!!!!!!!!! You gave me a great idea! You see,
one of my friends is quite "dark". I mean he4s very sensitive and listens a
lot to more or less depressing music. At the same time he4s rather restless
and has a high interest in literature and the arts. So why not go the whole
way and give him "Hejira" as a starter?! I4m (almost) convinced he4s going to
love it. Anyway, we4ll find out on Christmas Eve...
Don, you wrote that you
>hooked the most "unitiated" new listeners with
>"Night Ride Home." I think it combines a perfect
>blend of jazziness, acoustic guitar wizardry and
>lyrical strength that opens the door most easily to
>the rest of her catalog.
Thanks to you as well! I went to a birthday party a couple of days ago and got
the host - who4s not so dark -:) - a copy of NRH. I haven4t spoken to him yet
but I4ll let you know whether he liked it. By the way, this guy was not
completely unfamiliar with Joni4s music. As a matter of fact, he had heard a
compilation of Swedish artists doing their own (Swedish) versions of some Joni
songs. I didn4t know there was any such album, but it sounds interesting,
doens4t it? - Oh, and Don, I love the expression "unitiated new listeners"! I
study social anthropology which deals a lot with rites de passage. I guess you
could say that getting your first Joni Mitchell album is like an
initiationrite that takes you from a state of darkness and ignorance to a
world filled with light, beauty and wisdom. - OK, maybe I4m overdoing it
now... I guess I should really go to bed now.
Just one more thing. Garret, you wrote that you
> don't know if Miles of Aisles or Don Juan's have been >taken out of euro
circulation. but i do know that one >can't ever seem to find them here in
Ireland.
Well, I finally found MOA as an import CD. Apparently, all of Joni4s albums
are available in Europe, but many record stores just don4t have them in stock.
It4s especially tricky to find MOA, DJRD and SAL, but one can order them (as
an import double-priced album).
Well, that4s all for now! I4ll smoke a cigarette now and look at the moon.
"Once in awhile in a big blue moon there comes a night like this..."
Good night to you all!
Dirk
PS: Lately I4ve been having trouble accessing the JM website. Does anybody
know if it4s done for maintainance?
