No, not the Paul Hardcastle song (remember THAT one?)but rather yet another volume in our *burgeoning* collection of Joni Covers! Myself along with my fellow JMDL Hunters & Gatherers have scoured the globe and flipped over rocks to come up with another stellar rundown of hits & wanna be's...without further ado, let's look at the eclectic mix for this month, shall we? First...props to the contributors: Catherine T Stephen E. in NYC Mae Robertson Monica Now, on to the music... 1. Eva Marie – Caminando Ire One of my favorite things is finding a foreign language version of a Joni song. We've snagged a couple French versions of BSN, but here's one recorded in Spanish (?) Maybe Argentinian or Portuguese..no lo se! 2. Terry McCann – The Circle Game Another pretty version of the classic, this one's from a record made by a DJ who recorded it with some of his pals. 3. Chelsea – Chelsea Morning This girl has a great voice, and is cute, I'm talkin' Marsha Brady cute...she must have been an exchange student or something, because she's American but this was recorded in Hungary with Hungarian musicians. Whatever the case, it's a nice take. 4. Godfrey Daniel – Woodstock If this one doesn't make you LOL, I don't know what will...After the Amboy Dukes (Ted Nugent, Journey to the Center of Your Mind)broke up, they recorded this novelty record where they took classic rock songs from the late 60's/early 70's and performed them in doo-wop style. Woodstock gets a treatment ala "Runaway", "Runaround Sue", and The Cadets 1958 classic "Stranded In The Jungle". MUST be heard to be believed, and the whole album is a hoot!! 5. Kamahl – Both Sides Now >From New Zealand, Kamahl's about 5'4" but has a rich bass voice. Hey you kids, no >free reading those magazines! 6. Shawn Colvin – Urge For Going 7. Shawn Colvin – Conversation Thanks, hugs & kisses to Catherine T. for these excellent and UBER-rare Shawn tracks that are crystal clear!! These were NPR broadcast WAY back in 1975. WOW, what a find!! 8. Hugh Masekela – Both Sides Now Mr. "Grazin' In The Grass" puts his trumpet stamp on BSN, has a nice feel to it! 9. Mae Robertson – The Circle Game Donated by the artist herself, this is a very heartfelt version of Circle Game from her pretty CD, The Sun Upon the Lake is Low, which she bills as a kid's record for grown-ups. 10. Raison D’Etre – The Last Time I Saw Richard I LOVE this one! This trio from Kentucky performs Richard in amazing 3-part harmonies, picture the Roches doing it and you're not far off. Very unique, and very lovely. 11. Lydia van Dam – Love What else can I say about this amazing lady and her jazz band? She adds a nice jazz swing to the ballad, it'll send shivers up your bones. 12. Tom Scott – Woodstock A VERY pleasant surprise, recorded before Tom joined up with Joni. This was on his now-out-of-print record Great Scott, and although we identify Tom with the sax, he plays flute on this one. 'Tis sweet indeed! 13. Hank & Lewie Wickham – Both Sides Now Know nothing about these guys, they were probably construction workers in Nashville who thought they would try and cut a record. They're probably working on I-40 even as we speak! ;~) 14. Lonie Walker – Both Sides Now Typically I don't put the same song back to back, but these 2 BSN's are litereally night & day. Lonie is a Chicago Jazz singer, and this version is about 8-minutes long and features Lonie scatting herself silly. She also does some Janis covers on this CD, Rev Vince, and she's a dead ringer (no pun intended...). 15. Guv’ner – Help Me Here's another one that I love, because it's so different...imagine Red House Painters playing, with Gordon Gano (Violent Femmes) handling the lead vocals, and you can hear it in your head. A very melancholic rendition. 16. Elaine Lucia – All I Want A nice NY jazz vocal on this one. 17. Mike Henderson – (You’re So Square) Baby, I Don’t Care I know, I know, it's NOT Joni's song...but I'm a sucker for good rockabilly, and this one fits the billy! ;~) 18. The Pipe Dream – Night In The City Very obscure & different version from a 1969 folk-rock band. Well, there you have it...18 songs, 18 hits! Almost all of these are rare, out of print, and available HERE for the first time on CD. If you're interested in a copy, let me know and I'll hook you up. Declare your July INDEPENDENCE from the mundane! :~) Bob NP: Cheap Trick, "Gonna Raise Hell"
