Well, it's another month, so it's time to unveil another CD's worth of Joni
cover songs in the never-ending series!
Far from scraping the bottom of the barrel, I am proud to announce Covers &
Contributions, Volume 17...
A big round of applause to our contributors:
Stephen E (in NYC)
Kakki
Jody
Steve Polifka
Cassy
Steve Goldberger
& Me
Here's the lineup-
1. Peggy Chew - Chelsea Morning
2. Peggy Chew - The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines
As promised, here's the balance of the Peggy Chew songs. She's got a great
band and gives these songs a nice airy jazzy treatment.
3. Nat Raider - Both Sides Now
Maybe some of you Canadians know more about this guy, he appears to be sort
of the Guy Lombardo of Canada. He plays the trumpet on this instrumental
version.
4. Jack Donahue - Little Green
This one is awesome! Incredibly beautiful harmonies and very moving. Jack is
a NY cabaret singer and really gives this song a nice treatment. One of the
best in the collection imo!
5. Del Beazley - Big Yellow Taxi
This one's a lot of fun! You'll recall that Del is a Hawaiian singer and
musician, and has some fun with the words, changing apples to papayas and
giving the song a real "island" flavor.
6. The Care Package - Woodstock
This quasi-instrumental version (a chorus sings the chorus only) is
interesting, dated but there's still some cool stuff going on.
7. Phyllis Newman - Both Sides Now
Pretty straightforward version, done respectfully by the Broadway star who
has also performed with our own Jerry Notaro and who frequents the same gym
as Stephen! Small world indeed!
8. Steve Goldberger & The Fringe Locals - You Turn Me On, I'm A Radio (whew!
THAT was a mouthful!)
Steve's a great guy - his CD is available on Amazon and it's a lot of fun,
really makes you feel like you're listening to a top notch band in a small
club. Steve donated his CD to the cause, which is always cool. Check out the
keyboard solo on this one, it reminds me of Roy Bittan (E Streeter).
9. Andy Summers - Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
Ex-Police guitarist, he's actually performed live with Joni and they are
mutual admirers. Here's a clean jazz-guitar version of the Mingus melody.
10. Bill Soden - Urge For Going
Don't know anything about ol' Bill, I don't guess he had much of a career,
but he did make this 45, most likely inspired by Tom Rush. A couple of
crackles on the audio here, but when it comes to these out-of-print rarities,
sometimes you have to take what you can get.
11. Orlando - Both Sides Now
This is the one I raved about, an emotionally-charged version by a local
Chicago artist who also plays the harp on this 1970 recording. Maybe some
will find it cheesy, but I was very moved by the pacing of the vocal and the
harp work.
12. Kind of Like Spitting - The Last Time I Saw Richard
I was afraid this one would be very weird, but on the contrary it's very nice
and has an interesting guitar arrangement. I'm sure you guitarists out there
will be intrigued by the minimalist approach the guitarist takes.
13. Steve Polifka - Man From Mars
Those of us that have heard Steve's original material as well as his cover
material can attest to his great talents. He does not disappoint here, and
I'm grateful to him for sharing this recording with me. MFM may end up being
a well-covered song before it's all said and done, and we can say that Steve
was a man ahead of his time!
14. The Collection - Both Sides Now
Another fun pop version of the song, a very rare and hard to get recording so
a big thanks to Cassy for stepping up!
15. Monica Guareschi Group - Woodstock
OK, here we have an Italian band that does covers of classic 70's rock songs.
I LOVED the entire record! They play Woodstock with a "Stairway to Heaven"
arrangement. It totally rocks in my book. Sounds like The Scorpions...
16. Laura - The Circle Game
Long before she was a coupon queen, perhaps she was a recording star?! I
don't know if this IS in fact our Laura, there was nothing I could find out
about this 45. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. Only Laura knows!
17. Kim Weston - Both Sides Now
If you think you haven't heard of Kim Weston, you have. She duetted with
Marvin Gaye on "It Takes Two" and had some other soul hits in the 60's. This
take isn't as soulful as I'd like, but it does have some unique arrangements
to it.
18. Genevieve Paris - Woodstock
Another curious recording, very stark and dark early 70's recording by a
Candian pianist/vocalist. Every other song on her LP was in French except
this one.
There you have it - Volume 17 in all of its glory. Those of you who have to
have it, you know what to do. If you do want a CD copy of this or any of the
Covers Volumes, let me know and I'll give you all the details.
You'd be surprised - listening to others interpreting Joni's work can be very
insightful...
Bob
NP: Joni, "Carey" (always nice to hear the master doing her tunes too!)
