In a message dated 5/4/01 6:28:54 AM Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
writes:
<< Some surprises there, Les No BSN. Nothing later than 1976. >>
My take on that is that while we as fans are proud of Joni for the
commercial, critical and financial success that her signature song, Both
Sides Now, has brought her, it is in songs such as "Hejira" and "Last ...
Richard" that deep ability as a songwriter AND musician come to the fore, and
it is these songs that we see as the true essence of Joni.
At least eight of these 10 are in my top 10, with only Amelia and Song for
Sharon being in my top 20 (I'd suggest women may relate more closely to those
two than men).
And I don't think I'm in the minority, either, than while Joni has
continued to put out good music, nothing after Hejira measures up to anything
she did from Blue through Hejira.
In baseball, research shows a player's peak years are from about age 27 to
32. I think it's pretty close to the same for songwriters. How old was
George Gershwin, the greatest American songwriter and composer, when he was
doing his best work?
Paul I
