NanciNet Digest 4-04-00
// We revisit the disco mix CD, look toward Merlefest and Ohio,
// consider Joni Mitchell, and ask the perennial question,
// "Who is Greg Brown?" (Folksingers for 100, please, Alex)
// Enjoy...[BP]
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Subject: NN: Re: guitarless reviews
Date: Sat, 1 Apr 2000 19:04:24 EST
From: RoanInish@aol.com
(( You can never have too many guitars (I said this to my wife just last week
when we were in the music store but she insisted that groceries and mortgages
were more important). >>
Anyone remember the British band Big Pig? Seven member. Three drummers.
Two percussionists. One keyboardist. One harmonica player. NO guitars, and
lots of passion and anger. Pity they disbanded after one album.
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Subject: NN: Revisited - What a Jolt!
Date: 01 Apr 2000 20:24:00 -0500
From: Anna Henderson (Anna_Henderson@baylor.edu>
Hi everyone. I got a copy of "Revisited" for my birthday, and while I am
thrilled to have it to add to my Nanci collection, I just...I don't know how to
say this...but I don't think I can listen to it again. Ouch, it really
inflicted some pain on my sensibilities.
Revisited reminds me of my 18th Century English Lit. class back in college. My
professor told us about metaphysical conceits in which two violently different
objects or ideas were put side by side. For example, "Love is like a lawn
mower..." Two things one would never think of comparing. That's how those
Nanci remixes made me feel - that those lyrics and that melody were never
intended to be put together with those, those, atrocious sounds. Ugh. St.
Teresa will never be as beautiful for me again.
Play them at the zoo, Nanci.
Anna "all shook up" Henderson
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// and from the other side of the room...
Subject: NN: Nanci's Revisited CD
Date: Sun, 2 Apr 2000 23:25:07 EDT
From: Hender1227@aol.com
Dear NanciNet:
I just finished previewing the recalled "Revisited" CD, and I must say that I
NEVER thought that I would be able to listen to Nanci while I work out at the
gym. The "Revisted" dance tracks are pretty funky. Those of you who are
worried that you will be Nanci-deficient if you don't get your hands on this
CD are not missing anything. I'll bet Nanci would like to see the looks on
the faces of all "Nanci Purists" when they hear this CD!!!
Terry Henderson
(Now Known AS "FUNKY T")
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Subject: Re: NN: Revisited - What a Jolt!
Date: Sat, 1 Apr 2000 23:09:31 EST
From: VickiStein@aol.com
Anna_Henderson@baylor.edu writes:
(( Ouch, it really inflicted some pain on my sensibilities.
Revisited reminds me of my 18th Century English Lit. class back in college.
My professor told us about metaphysical conceits in which two violently
different objects or ideas were put side by side. For example, "Love is like
a lawn mower..." Two things one would never think of comparing. >>
Anna, thank you for a brilliant description of feelings about "Revisited."
I studied British Literature, as well, but never quite married Nanci with my
experiences! Especially revisited. And you called it out...quite honestly/
Thank you.
The metaphysical conceits ~ a completely different theory, but one that kept
me glued to my rambunctious seat....pleased to learn that you feel
conflicted, as well. We could start a support group...
As for Saint Teresa...DON'T give up on her yet....pray a side bead on the
rosary, if you do, indeed, pray it at all...I will join you, although I am
experiencing a spiritual crisis at the moment....
Peace,
Vicki
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Subject: Re: NN: Revisited - What a Jolt!
Date: Mon, 3 Apr 2000 8:13:56 -0500
From: chevelle@pnx.com
Good (yawn) morning, Nancinetters! (yawn) zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
oops. One hour shouldn't make such an impact, should it? ouch.
About the "Nanci -- Revisited" product, after reading Anna Henderson's
review of it, I think I'll pass on buying a copy of it. "Love is like a
lawnmower" is a catch-phrase that I will remember and use in the future;
it's an innovative way of looking at things, and I wonder if that English
professor thought up that device on their own. ;-) Thank you, Anna, I
liked your review very much.
Sunday morning I finally heard, for the first time, Madonna's revisitation
(sounds like a spirit taking over someone's body, doesn't it? ha) of Don
McLean's "American Pie". I have to admit that it wasn't as bad as I
thought it might be, and I thought of a comparison that seemed similar,
only different. (That's a Yogi Berra reference, for those who aren't awake
yet. ;-) Back in the 70s, when The Who came out with "Quadrophenia",
critics said it was drowned with synthesizers, and they longed for the
early days of the Who thrashing out the world's greatest rock 'n roll on
traditional rock 'n roll equipment such as Marshall amps. Nowadays I like
to listen to "Quadrophenia" regularly, and enjoy John Entwistle's
astounding runs on the bass, Keith Moon's manic/tasteful pounding of the
drum kit that was tied together with rope, Roger Daltrey's
soulful/fullthroated singing, Pete Townsend's brilliant guitar wizardry,
and through it all, the flowing-lilting-energizing-soothing synthesizers
that accentuate the Who's music.
Whoa, this started out to be a comment on the Revisited product and the
Madonna remake, but it turned into a review of The Who's "Quadrophenia".
That's what too much homemade salsa on this morning's scrambled eggs will
do to you.
Anyway, sometimes it takes a while for us to decide we actually like
something we thought we didn't like. That's sort of like this girl I hated
in the third grade......
I'm getting out of here before I make an even bigger fool out of myself.
Hank "I hope this is a dream" Van Slyke
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Subject: NN: Lee Satterfield & Rita Coolidge
Date: Sun, 2 Apr 2000 09:58:44 -0500
From: David Grant (dgrant@eden.com>
Someone posted about Rita Coolidge having a trio with Lee Satterfield.
Rita Coolidge's trio is called Walela, and the other members are LAURA
Satterfield and Priscilla Coolidge. Priscilla is Rita's sister, and Laura
is Priscilla's daughter. No relation to Lee, that I know of.
They have a new CD out called "Unbearable Love," in addition to their 1997
release "Walela."
By the way, for those U.S. folks who want Nanci's newest UK release ("Wings
to Fly and a Place to Be," yet another collection of songs from the MCA
years), you can get it cheaply and quickly from http://www.amazon.co.uk
David Grant
dgrant@eden.com
Grant-Guerrero Photography
http://www.grantguerrero.com/
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Subject: NN: The Columbus Dispatch Online Archival Article
Date: Mon, 3 Apr 2000 10:46:04 -0400
From: "tom's mail" (tprieto@columbus.rr.com>
The Columbus Dispatch Online: Archival Article
MANHATTAN TRANSFER, NANCI GRIFFITH AMONG LANCASTER FEST ACTS
Date: Friday, March 31, 2000
Section: FEATURES - ACCENT & ARTS
The Manhattan Transfer and three folk musicians will headline the 2000
Lancaster Festival, set for July 18-29 in Lancaster, Ohio.
The Manhattan Transfer, whose appearance was rained out last year, will
perform July 29 with the Lancaster Festival Orchestra, returning for the
13th straight summer.
Folk stylist Nanci Griffith and the duo of Jay Ungar and Molly Mason
will perform July 22 with the orchestra, conducted by festival music
director Gary Sheldon. Both concerts will be held outdoors on the Ohio
University-Lancaster campus.
At the same venue, percussionist Stefon Harris and the family-friendly
rock group the Animal Band will appear July 26 at a Young Peoples
Concert.
Popular artists returning to the festival this summer will be cellist
Scott Kluksdahl, the Veronika String Quartet, the Chicago Brass Quintet
and Arnett Howard and the Creole Funk Band.
As the largest music and arts festival in Ohio, the Lancaster Festival
has achieved national recognition for its performances and educational
programs. For more information, call 800- LANFEST or visit the Web site
(www.lanfest.org).
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Subject: NN: Merlefest?
Date: Sun, 2 Apr 2000 20:08:00 EDT
From: Rocalittl@aol.com
Hi everybody,
Wondering if anyone will be attending this month's Merlefest in North
Carolina to see Nanci and BMO? I just pulled up their homepage
(merlefest.org) and what a fantastic line-up they have put together- Maura
O'Connell, Gillian Welch, Willie Nelson, Tish Hinojosa, Jim Lauderdale, and
the list goes on...I wish I could attend but will have to content myself with
another festival down the road in August, the Rocky Mt. Folks Festival. I
went back to the archives and read up on the last time that Nanci appeared
there a couple of years back and it sure sounds like everyone had a great
time, so I look forward to it. Anybody else planning on going?
Am still flying high from a recent concert here in Pittsburgh, the
magnificent reunion of Crosby,Stills, Nash and Young. Three and a half hours
of pure magic. A wonderful nod to their past as well as a celebration of
their new songs from their underrated "Looking Forward." The guitar interplay
between Stills and Young was jaw-dropping, and they turned Neil's "Down By
The River" into a 21 minute anthem. And I cannot say enough about their
gorgeous harmonies... Go if they play near you!
I am really enjoying a couple of recent CD releases, one being Neko Case
and Her Boyfriends: Furnace Room Lullaby. This girl is amazing, a cross
between Patsy Cline and Dusty Springfield, and she's a memorable songwriter
too. Absolutely fanatastic disc.Also in heavy rotation is Jimmie Dale
Gilmore's One Endless Night, his best release to date, IMO, and Emmylou
guests on it too. Amazing song interpreter. And although I am not up on a lot
of bluegrass releases, I stumbled upon a real gem. It's called Druha Trava
and Peter Rowan: New Freedom Bell, and it combines elements of folk, blues
and rock for an incredible sound. Druha Trava are a Czech bluegrass band and
they collaborate with Rowan for this wonderful release. It includes a song
that I think Nanci would love and be able to see elements of her childhood in
the lyrics, called "The Dustbowl Children."
Back to lurking. Have a great week! ~Lisa
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Subject: NN: Re: Merlefest?
Date: Tue, 4 Apr 2000 03:58:41 -0400
From: "Shawn Kimbro" (kimbroj@charter.net>
Lisa asked:
> Wondering if anyone will be attending this month's Merlefest in North
> Carolina to see Nanci and BMO? I just pulled up their homepage
> (merlefest.org) and what a fantastic line-up they have put together ....
Hi Lisa, and everyone,
We're hoping to make it to Merlefest this year and I'll encourage anyone
else to go if at all possible. It's always my very favorite festival and I
expect it to be even better this year with Nanci there. I think if I had to
list some of my all time favorite concerts, performances at Merlefest would
rank right at the top. The format of this festival really brings out the
best in the artists. And don't miss the night time campfire and parking lot
jam sessions either, you never know who might show up.
On another quick note, I'm not sure how it happened, especially since this
is just a 4 track living-room demo, but our song "Clinch River Valley" is
getting some airplay on a couple of local stations. This is a song I wrote
while Amanda's mother was drifting in a coma before she passed last fall.
There is an Mp3 version on our web site:
http://www.geocities.com/trailzzone/soul.html
Warm Regards,
-Shawn
_________________Nanci Is My Aeroplane___________________
| __ ___ Shawn Kimbro |
| "And they danced | \____o__/_/___| kimbroj@charter.net |
| all night to the \(>-----_/_/____]> Morristown |
| fiddle and banjo" `o | Tennessee |
|__________ http://www.geocities.com/~trailzzone _________|
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Subject: NN: Greg Brown
Date: Sun, 02 Apr 2000 20:30:49 -0400
From: Scott Edwards (sedwa@epix.net>
I heard this song which I believe was called "Happy, Happy, Happy" or
"Just By Myself". They said his name was Greg Brown. Is he a folk
singer? Has anyone seen him or heard of him?
Scott Edwards
sedwa@epix.net
// see http://musicfinder.yahoo.com/shop?d=p&id=browngreg&cf=11
// or http://www.flemtam.com/gb.html
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Subject: NN: Re: Greg Brown
Date: Sun, 2 Apr 2000 19:54:56 -0500
From: "nakramer" (nakramer@icsi.net>
Greg Brown wrote the song, "Lord I Have Made You A Place In My Heart" on the
Cry Cry Cry album by Dar Williams, Richard Shindell and Lucy Kaplansky.
I was recently looking for a song called Melon Moon that the Flatlanders
performed in Galveston, and found a similar song on Greg's children's
album, "Bathtub Blues;" it is the song with the words..."I see the moon and
the moon sees me...and the moon sees the one that I want to see."
The song "Just By Myself" is on a 1995 album by Greg Brown "Live." It is
also on "Dream Cafe." I found that at cdnow.com. He also recorded the
song "He Was A Friend Of Mine." That's my Nanci content. ;)
That's all I know. Link http://www.flemtam.com/gb.html
. - .
( (`- )
\ \ "Ain't Life Grand?"
.="""=._) )
/__ ( _ .- ' Nancy
` /_I_
I ``
-"=
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Subject: Re: NN: Greg Brown
Date: Mon, 3 Apr 2000 20:01:25 -0500
From: "Mark" (mark@cedar-rapids.net>
Greg Brown is a very proud Iowan and Iowa is proud of him!! He used
to be one of the headliners on "A Prairie Home Companion" but was
and is writing and recording. He performs all over the country, as I
understand it. But I haven't had the chance to go see him yet, even
though I live in Iowa! ;->
He is most definitely a folk singer! ;-)
Mark
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Subject: Re: NN: Listening
Date: Mon, 3 Apr 2000 09:58:22 EDT
From: Brimpls@aol.com
Dear Hank,
I like what you wrote:
(( Anyway, sometimes it takes a while for us to decide we actually like
something we thought we didn't like. That's sort of like this girl I hated
in the third grade......
>>
Musically, it is sometimes true for me as well. Joni Mitchell's body of work
holds many examples. Pretty much everything since "Hejira" has had to work
its magic on me for a while before I could say I truly "liked" it. I buy her
albums and CDs faithfully and then listen and often have to wait...with time,
they grow on me and I end up with favorites and the not-so-favorite cuts, but
each of her works does find its way into my heart and soul.
Speaking of Joni, has anyone heard her latest release? with symphony
orchestra? I don't have a copy yet but listened to a few cuts and had a bad
reaction. It was unsettling to hear "Case of You" done that way, when it was
so brilliant, so crystal-clear, on "Blue." However, like a good Joni
listener, I will give the new arrangements more tries.
"Dustbowl Symphony" sounded beautiful to me right away. I have not yet heard
"Revisited," only the reviews and reactions posted here. One of these days I
will listen, too!
Sabrina in Mpls.
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Subject: NN: Joni's new CD
Date: Tue, 04 Apr 2000 00:38:16 -0400
From: Tony Cox (tonycox@pacific.net.au>
Brimpls@aol.com wrote
> Musically, it is sometimes true for me as well. Joni Mitchell's body of work
> holds many examples
So true - I'm only now really starting to get involved with her work, even
though
I first heard her 30 years ago! I think with Joni, you could have 3 albums
and
say you have a record collection, such is the wealth of "stuff" waiting to be
discovered in those grooves (or discs, whatever).
> Speaking of Joni, has anyone heard her latest release?
A word of caution to all potential buyers here: a friend of mine (here in
Australia) bought the special limited edition "chocolate box" with lithographs,
and found the CD was scratched to buggery, even though the box was
shrink-wrapped. Further investigation at the shop revealed all 6 boxes
similarly
afflicted. It seems the CD's had come loose in transit, and rubbed against
some
protrusions inside the box. Let's hope it was only this batch, but I thought
y'all ought to know, just in case.
Tony
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Subject: Re: NN: Listening
Date: Mon, 3 Apr 2000 15:25:29 EDT
From: Petop@aol.com
(( Speaking of Joni, has anyone heard her latest release? >>
It will grow on you.
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Subject: Joni's new CD: An Inadvertent Review of Both Sides Now
Date: Tue, 4 April 2000
From: "Deb Thornton" (68coyotes@onms.com>
Brimpls@aol.com wrote
> Musically, it is sometimes true for me as well. Joni Mitchell's body of
> work holds many examples
And then Tony Cox wrote:
> So true - I'm only now really starting to get involved with her work, even
> though I first heard her 30 years ago! I think with Joni, you could have
> 3 albums and say you have a record collection, such is the wealth of
> "stuff" waiting to be discovered in those grooves (or discs, whatever).
I write: wonder which three Tony means. Were I to submit to such a
possibility, mine would be the absolute masterpieces Blue, Hejira, and
Turbulent Indigo, the prospect of narrowing down to three would then
ruthlessly exclude the many other worthies: the symphonic Court and Spark,
the Mingus experiment, the Pastorias-rich Shadows and Light, the
globe-wrapping Don Juan's Reckless Daughter (still unrivalled in its
scope), the upbeat Chalk Mark in the Rain Storm, the political diatribing
Dog Eat Dog, the purely poetic Hissing of Summer Lawns, the lyrical Song to
a Seagull, the folk classic Clouds, the lovely Wild Things Run Fast, and
the allusion-laden Taming the Tiger. For me the only "expendable" ones are
the third one (give me "Woodstock" from Shadows and Light, please) and
Miles of Aisles (live, but only two new songs). It grieves me that Mitchell
lost her audience precisely at the point that her lyrics started to soar
out of the stratosphere, and her 59 different tunings were just starting to
branch out--in short, when her pioneering began in earnest.
But mostly I'm writing about Tony's report regarding the Limited Edition
fiasco; my information comes from a close reading of the Joni Mitchell
Discussion List. The chocolate box promised to contained autographed
lithographs--a clear case of false advertising--as well as beautifully
printed cards of all the lyrics and some darn stodgy prose by Larry Klein,
Joni's ex-husband and co-producer. The package looked great on the outside,
but inside many of them were an absolute mess--many tracks were damaged in
shipping when the disk slipped out of its moorings and clanked around in
the box. Mine was utterly playable--surface scratches only. The sad thing
was that hundreds of people parted with fifty bucks for the package and a
huge percentage of them were damaged.
BUT NOT TO WORRY! The record company replaced the lion's share of the
damaged disks, which were released shortly before Valentine's Day. The
regular-priced, "normally" packaged disks that were released on 21 March or
some such time, and they are all reportedly just fine.
Why should you buy the latest Joni Mitchell recording, which has no new
original material? Well, because it is one of the most
lush-in-the-right-places and spare-in-the-right-places recordings you're
likely to hear in a long time. Recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra,
with trademark sprinkles of longtime-collaborator Wayne Shorter's sax, the
piece traces the course of a love affair. All of the materials are old
standards, wonderfully suited to her voice, which has far more shades and
colors in it than her youthful soprano ever dreamed of achieving. She
revisits her own "A Case of You" and ends with "Both Sides Now," providing
new interpretations of both, which is remarkable in the case of the latter.
I don't think this is an album for kids--not that any of Mitchell's stuff
has been directed at that market. What I mean is that people on the list,
fortysomethings, are buying copies for their "geriatric" parents, who are
delighted with the fullness of the sound. In terms of keeping old songs
alive, this one accomplishes and revitalizes and grounds the songs in their
own unique ways. And it puts them together so that when the relationship
takes off, the listener dons hopeful wings; when the relationship dies, the
listener feels the pierce of loss. One hears the voice of a weathered
singer, never an artifact producer or a documentarian--somehow she manages
to keep growing as an artist, constantly pushing against the edges of her
complex and beautiful art.
I seldom broadcast very personal emotional details about myself on the
internet, but I have to finish this post with a little story. When the disc
came in the mail, I played it as I goofed around on my computer. When the
symphonic notes that I've always heard on a dulcimer began, I ran across
the room and plugged in my Good headphones and was utterly transported by
the song, by the nuances that appeared in it, by the peaks and valleys of
the love and its voices--she's a far cry from the plains of Saskatoon. The
orchestration provides exquisite accents on the piece, complementing her
revisitation. This isn't a ghost--this is a resurrection. When the song
ended, I realized I was barely breathing, and after a few shaky inhales, I
realized that I had been weeping for five minutes and there would soon be
discernible alkali flats on my only silk shirt. I don't even want to tell
you how much more of my salinity poured out when I heard "Both Sides Now."
So glad that lonely painter occasionally emerges from that box of paints
that she lives in. So few artists have given me so many hours of pleasure
as has Joni Mitchell--here they are on one hand: Dillard, O'Connor, Welty,
Dostoyevsky, Faulkner.
deb "frightened by the devil" thornton
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