Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interupting the Sorrow..., August 3, 2007
When I first saw this on Amazon, I considered not buying it because the reviews were so low. I know better, so I bought it anyway and I am so glad! I have to "interupt the sorrow" for all those of you who didn't get it or didn't like this album. Personally, I find it sounds more like Joni than anything I have heard in years, although she does not sing a song. Joni's brillance shows through, and is augmented by those artists who cover them, and particularly those who choose to make these songs their own. If you have a history with Joni's music and painting, you will be thrilled. A Free Man in Paris, is a post-modern interpretation of her original, and will stick in your head with its off-beat melody. The horn section is amazing, and worth the listen, just by itself. Princes interpretation of A Case of You is even better than the one that K.D. Laing did - and I loved her version. The Brad Mehldau's cover of Don't Interupt the Sorrow is reminiscent of Keith Jarrett's piano style and gives a historical context, that adds yet another layer of depth to the track. Bjork blew me away with her magical version of the Boho Dance. Just her vocalization of the term "boho" gives it form and depth. Her accent lends a sense of the international - and suggests that this is the nature of the boho dance; that it is a universal condition of humanity. This "undercover" marketing of Joni is fabulous critique on the music industry that scorns anyone over thirty, not making white bread music. And, like the complex compilation it is, the song For the Roses gives us the other side of the coin - "Just when you get a taste for worship, they start bringing in the boards and the nails..." says it all. This album's arrangement is a tribute to Joni's unique understanding of jazz. Anyone who embraces Don Juan's Reckless Daughter, will find it hard to stop listening. I guess it is possible to "paint a starry, starry night, again, man."
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
 
|
|
|
|
|
|
37 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disapointed. Where are the other cuts?, April 25, 2007
This tribute was announced almost ten years ago, and it seems to have undergone a transformation since then. To be fair, there are some interesting additions such as the Sufjan Stevens and Brad Mehldau tracks. And Emmylou Harris is brilliant. But Sarah McLachlan's "Blue" has been heard before as has Prince's "A Case of You." Earlier reports indicated contributions from heaviweights like Steely Dan and Lindsey Buckingham. I sure would like to have heard what they would have done. Even more disappointing is that Joni's Hejira-Mingus era albums are mostly ignored - and that was her best music, in my opinion. As a final indignity, it sounds to me that too much compression was added in the mastering phase, and hence the overall sound quality of the CD is lacking in dynamics.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Peggy Lee Syndrome, May 1, 2007
(Three and One-half Stars) While I must admit to a bit of what I call The Peggy Lee Syndrome ("Is that all there is?") concerning this collection, the fact is, when it's good it's very good; and when it's bad - well, it's never actually bad. At it's worst, it's merely baffling, and that comes right off the bat with Sufjan Stevens' complete re-write of "Free Man In Paris". Stevens doesn't just play around the melody, as a jazz singer might; he ignores the original melody entirely, substituting one of his own. It's not a bad song - it just isn't Joni's song. Notwithstanding some fussy studio tricks, Bjork's take on "The Boho Dance" is a note-perfect faithful cover; although her odd phrasing (she'll take a breath in the middle of a word) makes me wonder if she actually understood the lyrics. Brazilian singer/songwriter Caetano Veloso turns "Dreamland" into the 'Carnival in Rio' ride at Disney World, which is not a bad thing. Pianist Brad Mahldau's "Don't Interrupt the Sorrow" reveals that without Joni's lyrics, "Sorrow" is not one of her most engaging melodies: Mahldau punches atonal clusters with his right hand, as if to make up for it. Jazz diva Cassandra Wilson sings "For the Roses" as written, in a key so low her voice sounds considerably more masculine than Sufjan Stevens'.
Prince does "A Case of You" as a late-70s slow jam (like some forgotten B-side by the Stylistics), using only verse 2 ("I am a lonely painter") and the chorus, and singing the entire piece in a flute-like falsetto -- take THAT, Robin Thicke! It's easily the high point of this compilation, and should be released as a single - Prince could use a hit. With the fluttery, fragile beauty of the annual choir concert at a high-end girls school, Sarah McLachlan's "Blue" has been around since at least 1995, but is no less pretty for that. Similarly, Annie Lennox's "Ladies of the Canyon" was the "B-side" of the CD single of "No More I Love Yous" back in '96; but it's lovely, and frankly, I can't seem to find fault with Annie, try as I might. But both those cuts pale compared to Emmylou Harris' gorgeous reading of "Magdalene Laundries". One of Joni's better late-career songs, "Laundries" is showing a surprising versatility: Joni has recorded it with the Chieftains, while in Emmylou's capable hands and incomparable voice, one would swear it was written as a country ballad.
Elvis Costello turns "Edith and the Kingpin" into late-night small-band jazz - one can imagine him in a sharkskin suit, microphone and cigarette in the same hand. He seems to be channeling Mark Murphy: his "Edith" is reminiscent of Murphy's version of "Goodbye Porkpie Hat" - which is a good thing. k.d. lang's "Help Me" is pretty (I don't think she's capable of less), but oddly detached: there's no longing here, only beautiful notes. Finally, James Taylor delivers what may be the best cover of "River" (one of Joni's most covered tunes) ever. Instead of "Jingle Bells", he interpolates the melody of "Good King Wenceslas" (like Nina Simone's "Little Girl Blue" - coincidence?); and whatever time may have robbed of JT's voice, has been more than matched by an enveloping warmth. He has sounded younger, but never better.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
~ Herbie Hancock / Michael Brecker / Roy Hargrove
~ Joni Mitchell
~ Joni Mitchell
~ Various Artists
~ Joni Mitchell
, recommendations and new releases on SoundUnwound 
