Customer Reviews

Wild Things Run Fast

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I liked this album from the very first time I heard it.

This is by no means quintessential Joni. Nowhere in this album will you hear the vulnerable optimist who weaves complicated poetry, touching its peak with high notes. That's the Joni Mitchell of BLUE and LADIES OF THE CANYON. This is a different Joni on a different quest. And I make no apologies in being a die-hart Mitchell fan who enjoys this CD every chance she gets.

These are pop/soft-rock songs, all sung in Joni's lower register with a focus, as always, on lyrics. The songs are catchy. They're exactly the upbeat tempo I like to have in my car on the way to work, and they're smoothed out so nicely with a low-riding instrumentation that you can listen to them at the end of the day as well, kick off your shoes, and get into the mellow aspect of these poppy beats.

To me, this album is perfect when I'm in a certain mood. When I need something upbeat, poppy and with flow ... but I'm not in the mood to listen to bland, commercialized lyrics ... this is the perfect mix. I get my catchy songs - but with Joni-quality lyrics!

This is not an example of the folk-song artwork that made her famous. It's something completely different. But I'm not always in the mood for folk music! Sometimes I want to hear something more lively and groovy. So I'm glad Joni made an album for THAT too.

I have a friend who sings the "Be Cool" song on this album every time she gets in a fight with her long-term boyfriend. She said it keeps her from doing something stupid. Personally, I prefer the "Man to man" song because of the mellow beat and the articular lyrics.

You just can't dissuade true Joni Mitchell fans. We want her in all her forms!

For many of us fans, the first phase of Joni Mitchell's illustrious career ended with the release of "Mingus", the final instalment of her three album experiment with jazz. So,when the 80s heralded a new beginning for Joni, some of us were understandably nervous. After all, a change of labels must surely promise more than a superficial makeover. From her folksy beginnings, Joni metamorphised with ease over a space of a decade into an avant garde folk rock singer-songwriter of incomparable stature with an impressive roll call of classic albums ("Blue", "For The Roses", "Court and Spark", "The Hissing Of Summer Lawns", and "Hejira" to name a few). So, what's next ?

"Wild Things Run Fast (WTRF)" is Joni's first record as a contemporary rock artiste....and while it's truly remarkable that she succeeded in reinventing herself musically to stay relevant after her bout of flirtation with jazz left her without a mainstream audience, the results of WTRF are decidedly mixed. Not surprisingly, she comes off best with music that recalls her 70s past and shows her natural development as an artiste and worst when she's at her most self conscious about displaying her new persona.

The gorgeously languid "Chinese Cafe/Unchained Melody", whose poignant lyrics recall her failure as a mother, is a perfect opener. But the mood doesn't last. The title track that follows is an "in-your-face" introduction to the new Joni. Fueled by heavy drums and a growling rock and roll lead guitar, "Wild Things Run Fast" jerks, stops and starts, recalling the power pop of new wave bands. An interesting if not altogether promising glimpse of what lies in store. Thankfully, the album reverts on the next four tracks to the Joni we all know and love. The scatty jazz inflected rhythms that underpin "Ladies Man", "Moon At The Window", "Be Cool" and the mildly reggaefied shuffle of "Solid Love" are all excellent and a natural extension of the Joni she left behind in the 70s. But the most outstanding cut on WTRF is undoubtedly "Man To Man", a beautiful song rivalling her career best compositions. Most of the rest are rock and roll experiments featuring Mike Landau's urgent lead guitar. Most of them are pedestrian or plain don't work. The worst offender is the truly dreadful "Underneath The Street Light", logging a career low for Joni. "You Dream Flat Tires" is at least commercial - it become a jam favourite at concerts. "You're So Square, Baby I Don't Care" is pure throwaway pop and is to Joni what "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" is to Diana Ross. The album however closes on a sublime note with the languid but meditative "Love".

"Wild Things Run Fast", representing the start of Joni's second phase career, is a qualified success. The highs are high enough for us to forgive the lows. Whichever your inclination, this is a "must" for serious fans.

OK...Maybe it's not "Blue" or "Turbulent Indigo," but WTRF has some of Joni's most thoughtful, most lovingly performed songs/arrangements. "Chinese Cafe," in particular, is one of my all-time favorites. I also love her cover of "You're So Square (Baby, I Don't Care)." As far as I know, this is the only album you can find it on.

It was plain that JM wanted WTRF to reverse the tide of popular opinions about her music up to that point. Despite her famous aversion to touring, she commenced a world tour to promote this album in 82. The negative reception of 'Mingus' was plaguing her mind.

Even in a bind, JM wouldnt capitulate to conventional tastes, she couldnt and didnt. However, in an album featuring guset vocals by the then pop king Lional Ritchie, and a half-hearted attempt at reinterpreting a minor rock and roll classic ('You're so Square' by Elvis Presley), one senses a subtle wavering in JM's ideals.

There are tunes of real beauty. 'Chinese Cafe/Unchained Melody' is fabled to be written after a meeting between JM and Carole King after years of separation. The last track I Corinthian is an idealistic and affecting look at love from the point of view of the gospel.

Newcomers to JM's music to look elsewhere. This doeant represent JM's best.

Some view this album as Joni's half-hearted attempt to reenter the pop arena after reaching the limits of her jazz experimentation with 1979's Mingus. Instead, I think Wild Things Run Fast represents her then-newfound ability to write and sing spirited rock 'n' roll and R&B tunes -- an ability she apparently nurtured during her exploration of classic African-American music during the Mingus era -- and was thus the next logical step in her musical progression. Joni cues us to her state of mind with the opening cut, "Chinese Cafe/Unchained Melody," which finds her contemplating middle age and remembering how she and her friend Carol were "wild in the old days / birth of rock 'n' roll days." She exits the ballad with a wistfully sung verse of the R&B classic "Unchained Melody," and what follows is a collection of songs that celebrate new love and examine elusive affections in settings that flash with bright, rocking energy and smolder with an assured soulfulness that was becoming an integral part of Joni's delivery. It's easy to imagine Aretha Franklin singing "Ladies' Man," and maybe it would've taken the Queen of Soul to effectively reveal Joni's musical growth here, but on the right day this album can be an enchanting treat and is a lot of fun to sing along with. I'm not surprised that two of the liveliest, most engaging cuts on Joni's new album, Travelogue, are "You Dream Flat Tires" and "Be Cool" from Wild Things Run Fast.

Joni Mitchell has been labeled a lot of things. Some have mistakenly called her a "folkie"; others, in referencing her mid to late 70s albums (whether critical or supportive of them) have referred to her as jazz musician. While neither is accurate, the mistake is easy to understanding. A girl with an acoustic guitar singing in a soprano-esque voice is "folk" and a lady with a cigarette in her hand backed by horns and/or jazz players is a jazz singer. On 'Wild Things Run Fast'-the first of three albums released in the 1980s, Joni put away much of either of these often misunderstood periods and simply played pop music. Pop music about love, to be more accurate. Happy pop music about love, actually. That last adjective (happy) may explain why some people have a real problem getting into 'Wild Things...' . Joni has always been somewhat of a mistress of the downtrodden. The other obstacle is co-producer Larry Klein, Joni's husband just before the production of the record, but not the subject of most of the love songs. Many feel that Klein, the first "real" co-producer of a Mitchell album (David Crosby admits he didn't know what he was doing on the debut), watered down the sound with sentiment. But if there is anything to criticize on this record, it isn't the singing (which as usual as that casual knowingness and subtleties we love), the playing, the production, or even the subject matter-if Joni was/is happy, good for her. It's the lack of daring in the approach that's disappointing. Perhaps a reaction to losing fans and airplay for 'Mingus' and it's experimental tone or simply because it was time to settle down, the album is almost too laid back-quite a statement regarding the woman who gave us 'Hejira'. Only the opening track, Chinese Cafe/Unchained Melody could ever be considered a classic (and it should be.) The rest, while well-written and competently played are presented so lazily, one can't help but notice things that previously we could overlook-like questionable guest stars and silly covers. "Twisted"-which ended 'Court & Spark', complete with Cheech & Chong in tow, was fun and it fit. "You're So Square" isn't and doesn't. And while James Taylor, a regular subject and player of and on the 70's works is more than welcome, Lionel Richie is a very dubious presence (but we can let it slide, this was a bit before he became the Perry Como of R&B). Criticisms aside, a Joni Mitchell album is always a treat. Any similar fair will falter without a doubt. It's Joni's own standard of excellence she falters at. But later work (such as 1991's beautiful 'Night Ride Home') would find similar explorations of love and middle age with much more satisfying results. Don't skip it, but don't worry if it doesn't wow you all the way, either.

Chinese Cafe is a great song with great depth and sadness. But the song that makes me cry is - in a strange way - Wild Things Run Fast. It took me a long time to see the connection with Wild Thing by the Troggs (etc). When she sings at the end "I thought you loved me...", I feel the pain.
Not a classic JM album but enough there for the die hard JM fan. All in "Chalk Marks" has more to commend the uninitiated.

Joni does a very successful job as a contemporary artist and probably followed wherever she felt like going in this album... she always does. Also, JEEZE, the musicians on this album are UNREAL. The bassists and guitarists are insane as well as, of course, Vinnie Colaiuta. Everything on this album is soo sonically pleasurable, the production and musicians are indeed a huge part of this. Joni places a soprano sax solo (wayne shorter?) I believe, just at the right time in the 7th or 8th song. The drumming is smooth yet with a "vinnie" edge that makes this album sound just magnificant. The bass tone and playing is the same way, the guitar solos as well.

Joni is definately more musically mature and this album really brings it out. I'm not saying I prefer this over Don Juan or Hejira or Court and Spark etc. But, when I want to hear some other Joni, a different genre if you will, of Joni, I turn to this album or Night Ride Home. It just feels so good to hear this album and the brilliant sound that it has produced with it.

Just... GOOD

A good Joni Mitchell Album. Joni may not have hit the pop charts on all these songs. Chinese cafe is good, but Ladies Man and Man to Man, do what Joni is good at....relating to our life experiences and putting them down so eloquently. That teaches us and helps us to remember what is important.

This is most certainly the best album Joni Mitchell made in the 80's. I saw her perform at Red Rocks in CO after the release of this album. Great show, great album, great performer!