All, By the graciousness of "Sir Bob,' I was able to obtain the 2nd Fret collection (and some other neat stuff), which I had never heard (Why do I get the feeling that everyone who is a lifetime Joni fan who hears this stuff for the first time makes a similar post). Anyway, what can I say, I was blown away, on a lot of levels....First and foremost, I never thought of Joni as an "emerging artist." The first album of her's that I bought was Court and Spark (when she was already established), and I worked my way backwards (and forwards) from there. To hear her introducing/explaining songs like "Both Sides Now" to a small audience in an intimate setting is amazing. When I heard her introduce "All I Want" as a work in progress, and "Cactus Tree" as something she had written earlier that day, I almost drove off the road. And I never realized what a "hippie/folkie" she was back then, there is one segment where she is describing her dulcimer that was just FAR OUT MAN. And boy was she chatty, Leo Kottke and the Indigo Girls have nothing on her. Many, many interesting musical moments, and intros that shed light on a lot of her songs. Surprise highlight (for which the repeat button on CD players was invented for) was the groovin version of "Dreamland" complete with Kazoo? Mitch PS - Here she is in the late 60's talking about London, and she mentions taking a ride on a double-decker bus with "no driver on the top," man is she "poop shoobie" or what? NP - Court and Spark
