I've also gotta chime in on the, shall I say, more
"Columbian" aspects of this thread. Try this sometime
... if you have the discs:
Put 2 each of Joni's and Stevie Nicks' 80s titles
(your choice) in your CD player, and program it up to
go through a song or two off each in alternate
succession.
THEN tell me who it was who was doing all the coke!
;-)
I've said this before, but for those who haven't heard
it ... there was more than just Bolivian marching
powder that was grabbing musician's attentions and
interest during the decade in question.
In the 80s, digital technology created a whole new
breed of synthesizer. Boards like the venerable
Yamaha DX7 and the revolutionary Fairlight CMI became
the absolute darlings of the entire music industry ...
and yes, let's blame ourselves, the listening public.
To put this into perspective, and since Joni's a
painter, I'll put it this way. Imagine that all your
life you've painted with water colors ... it's all you
had. Then this miraculous new paint is invented
called "oils" ... wouldn't you be blown away? That's
the kind of impact the new keyboards had. It wasn't a
conspiracy, it was a genuine phenomenon.
Now of course, we can all look back with our 20/20
hindsight and pass any manner of value judegements
about the phenomenon ... but like I said, at the time,
it was genuine. Joni's fascination, I think, was no
different than most artists ... I mean, have you
listened to some of Neil Young's albums from the
period? The only difference I see is that, in our
reluctance to think our Joan so "jejune", we
reflexively "kick the Klein." And that's a bit
unfair.
Okay, I'm off the sopabox now! ;-)
Don Rowe
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