Well, having decided to give WTRF another listen, as I could only think of
one song on it I liked, I have found one other song, Love. I'm not sure how
much of it is actually from Corinthians, as my copy of the Bible is buried at
the bottom of a cupboard, but I was struck by how I'd overlooked it, as it's
truly lovely.
As for Chinese Cafe, it seems to me to belong to a different album; it has a
depth and insight that to these ears is lacking elsewhere on the album. It's
right up there in the top division of Joni songs. As for the rest, I was
underwhelmed, to put it mildly. What I found most displeasing was the
production, which is very "Toto-ish". I don't like Larry's bass playing (too
showy and far too much echo on a few songs), or the horrible lead guitar
squalls, or even Vinnie Colaiuta'a drumming, which is odd, as I think he's a
brilliant drummer - I'm listening to his superb work on Jennifer Warnes's
fabulous Famous Blue Raincoat as I type this.
And the songs just seem throwaway to me, by her standards; and I don't mean
that as part of my "it was all downhill after Mingus" theory. I actually
think WTRF is one of her weakest albums, certainly not as interesting to me
as Dog Eat Dog, even though I'm not a big fan of the latter.
Oh well, never mind, I doubt Joni will think much of my 11th studio album
either...
Azeem in London
NP: Jennifer Warnes - Joan of Arc
