OK, so far no Alice Cooper covers of Joni, and maybe that's a good thing...
Well, June is bustin' out all over, and so are these Joni covers, so here's a rundown
on Volume 18. If you want to get a copy for your very own, you can send a blank music
CD in a self-addressed stamped envelope to:
Bob Muller
309 West Prentiss Ave.
Greenville, SC 29605
Or, if you're baffled by blank CD's & SASE's just send me $5 to cover the costs of
getting a copy back to you. Euro-jmdler's, get in touch with John van Tiel, maybe you
already have...
As always, I acknowledge and thank those who supplied some of the material:
Steve Diguer (from Brother Love Canal)
Stephen E in NYC
Monica in Holland
Cassy
Christopher "Have an awesome day" Duzak
Jeff Hankins in the UK
Nikki
John van Tiel
Bill Pearson
Here's the rundown of what you'll hear in this edition of the series:
1. Brother Love Canal - Both Sides Now: Who says you can't dance to Joni? Pump up the
jam!!
2. Andrea Marcovicci - All I Want: Sadly, whatever party mode was cranked up is lost
here. A warble reminiscent of Mrs. Miller...
3. John WIlliams - Woodstock: Classical Guitarist, he turns in a beautiful
orchestrated version of Woodstock here. No cheese about it!
4. Lydia van Dam - River: Another nice treat from her tribute CD, which we've ALMOST
used up, but not quite. A laid back jazzy-sounding confection.
5. Ray Brown - Both Sides Now: What to make of this one? There's a funny sorta
metronome thing going on, and the vocal varies between soul and lounge. Pretty
interesting.
6. Ginger Mackenzie - Help Me: A super version, and even a better CD. Ginger reminds
me a lot of Edie Brickell, I've really enjoyed her record a lot. She doesn't vary Help
Me too much, but then again one doesn't HAVE to...
7. Widow - This Flight Tonight: Mid 80's rock band does a cover of Nazareth's cover,
at least this time we're treated to a female vocal, plus she's a hottie with some
wicked boots!
8. Queen - You're So Square: Taken from a commercially released Wembley concert, this
is Queen swinging the old tune much in the same vein as "Crazy Little Thing Called
Love".
9. The Electronic Concept Orchestra - Both Sides Now: Maybe this was exciting
'concept' music when it came out in '69, but it's nothing but dullsville now. Not even
good in a cheesy way.
10. Swingles II - In France They Kiss On Main Street: One of the highlights of this
set for sure! A very fresh setting for the Swingles harmonies, and a nice cabaret
group-jazz vocal take. Rollin', Rollin', rock and roooooollin'!
11. Baker St. Philharmonic - Woodstock: An Aussie instrumental with a vocal chorus
thrown in. Nothing too original, but not bad either.
12. VH1 Girls & Guitars - Big Yellow Taxi: Features Heart, Amy Grant, Melissa
Etheridge, Sheryl Crow, Cyndi Lauper, and Wynnona doing an improv jam on BYT...they
blow some of the lyrics BUT you can sincerely feel the respect they have for Joni and
wishing she was there.
13. Pete Seeger - Both Sides Now: Those who have heard the live duet that Pete does
with Joni have heard the extra verse he put in there. Here's the studio version, extra
verse and all, with a very cute intro by Pete referring to Joni as a "long-legged girl
from Canada"...it's a nice take on the song.
14. Diana Krall - A Case of You: Although this one doesn't vary much from the
performance at the TNT tribute, I wanted to add it because it's SO good! This
recording is from a promotional CD titled "Bushnell's Bash". If you haven't heard her
cover of ACOY, this is a good chance.
15. Nashville Mandolin Ensemble - Goodbye Porkpie Hat: I LOVE this recording, reminds
me a lot of David Grisman & his Dawggrass style of music. Very pretty acoustic version
of the Mingus melody.
16. Caroline de Rooij - River: Hopefully there's enough room for TWO Dutch jazz vocal
versions of River on one CD...sure hope so, because they're great, although they DO
sound a little bit the same arrangement...wonder who heard whose version first.
Reminds me of a party where 2 ladies show up in the same dress!
17. Amanda Firegold/Chad Preston - All I Want: I like this one a lot. Chad plays the
guitar with the same intro and notes that Joni played on the dulcimer. The vocal by
Amanda leaves a bit to be desired, but their heart is in the right place. This is a CD
made by some NY college students who sent all the proceeds to a "music in elementary
schools" program.
18. Ian McShane - Both Sides Now: I expected this British crooner to come out with a
cheesy version, but this one is actually quite nice!
Thanks to those who've made it this far...if you have any questions about the covers
project, please ask. There are plenty of ways you too can be a contributor to the
greatest covers collection in the known world!
Bob
NP: The Belairs - "Mr. Moto"
