> Wow,
>
> I'm a little surprised that early Joni (mid-Joni?) has so clearly
won
> out with the vocal majority. Of course, if lurkers to the issue like
> myself stood up to be counted, the voting would probably change.
>
> I'm surprised that such a sweeping group that "gets" Joni, compared
to
> the general public, would in the end obsess over her earlier work. I
> refuse to believe the finest of her music ended with Hejira.
Speaking from experience, John, you will find that the Hejira
adherents are a stubborn bunch and nothing you say will convince them
that Hejira is not the peak of Joni's output. Heaven knows I've tried
(as most of them can attest.) Personally I agree with just about
everything you wrote. I think Hejira is an amazing work but I also
think it's scope is narrow compared to some of Joni's other efforts
(it is almost entirely Joni on Joni - not a bad thing considering the
quality & depth of her self-examination, but nonetheless) and I also
find it rather monochromatic. I would rather listen to either Night
Ride Home or Taming the Tiger, myself. I love Turbulent Indigo but
it's too dark for me to listen to it very often. Still, the depth &
scope of TI far surpassed Hejira, imo.
>
> Early Joni strikes a chord in us for various reasons: Certain songs
were
> our Joni intro. Her music at the time was in syncronicity to the
general
> music of the times. The themes relate to our own experiences on a
more
> personal level. And then, there's the issue of nostalgia.
I think there's a lot to what you say here. I also think there's
something to be said for familiarity playing a part. Some of us
bought Hejira 25 years ago when it first came out. By now it's become
an old friend. It's familiar and comforting. And I suspect it also
reminds us of a time when life seemed more of an adventure than it
does now. Joni was a big part of my experience back when I was in my
20s. Although life is very good in many ways now, I do admit that I
sometimes miss that excitement of discovery and also the relative
'freedom' of being unattached and not having 'a mortgage & a lawn to
mow'...
> Do I think Joan's peak is behind her? Actually, I do. Not behind
her in
> the sense of quality, just that I can't picture her putting out 3 or
4
> more original recordings at this stage in her life.
And here I have to disagree. I'm still wondering what exactly
happened with Joni after the release of Taming the Tiger. When that
record was still in the works she was making comments about being at
the top of her game and having a lot of songs still in her. Taming
the Tiger has some beautiful material on it and I honestly think there
are some who resist it because she's not playing acoustic guitar.
Surely life experience contributes something to a writer's work. I
realize that some artists hit a point where they run out of new, fresh
ideas, but I really find that hard to believe about Joni. When she
did Both Sides Now she made comments about not having anything
positive to write about so she wasn't going to put out any new work
for the time being. What happened? Was it trouble in her
relationship with Kilauren? Was it the lukewarm reception of Taming
the Tiger? Was it the state of the world & life in general? Who
knows? We can only speculate. But I refuse to believe that Joni's
muse is dead or diminished in any way.
The issues
> in her life may mean she no longer speaks for a generation. But she
> speaks beautifully as a human being, thank god. I don't care to hear
> much regarding this generation...
I also think it's easier for someone who is closer to Joni's age to
relate to her more recent material if they are willing to open
themselves up to it. If you leave out the familiarity, nostalgia
factor and consider someone in their 20s or 30s who is just now
discovering Joni, it seems to me they would relate better to the songs
Joni created when she was in her 20s & 30s. I don't mean to say that
younger people can't appreciate the more recent records but I do think
you can never fully understand something until you have experienced it
yourself. Like middle age. Geez, how did I ever get to be 47 years
old??! Some days I still feel like 27 and some days I feel like 87...
But I digress... Now lets see, what was I talking about??....
Mark in Seattle
who seems to be having more & more senior moments these
days...sigh....
