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The Joni Journey

From 'A Case of You'...

"I remember that time you told me.. you said: 'love is touching souls' ".. And her voice turns to velvet just for that phrase. It is an electrifying moment...
 
Just switched on BBC6, and they're playing Song For Sharon; which is a nice way to start the working week.
 
For some reason this thread must have lodged in my brain. Last night I dreamed I went to a record shop to buy a copy of Hejira, but all they had were deluxe 10-LP box sets at £230. Joni was in there herself, having finished a signing session. However, she didn’t think much of me - I asked if I could shake her hand, but she laughed and said no. Then (perceptive as ever) she informed me that I was the dullest person she had ever met.
 
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laughingboy said:
Don't bother. The 2014 Rhino reissue of Hejira, cut by Chris Bellman, is absolutely superb. Many people think it's the best mastering of the album.

https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/thre...better-than-the-original-asylum-vinyl.684435/
Click to expand...

Not sure if it's in the same league but Court and Spark is on Amazon for £11.99. I've just ordered a copy as I've only got a very thin sounding CD - all my other Joni Records are on vinyl so it was an easy call.

Court and Spark [VINYL]: AmazonSmile: Music

I seems rather odd buying vinyl at that price after a run of Tone Poet purchases.
 
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kjb said:
Not sure if it's in the same league but Court and Spark is on Amazon for £11.99. I've just ordered a copy as I've only got a very thin sounding CD - all my other Joni Records are on vinyl so it was an easy call.

Court and Spark [VINYL]: AmazonSmile: Music

I seems rather odd buying vinyl at that price after a run of Tone Poet purchases.
Click to expand...

The first review isn’t promising, but at least with Amazon the return process is easy if yours sounds the same...

“Bought this classic Joni record to replace one bought in 1974 that crackles a bit. Shocked to discover the comparatively poor sound quality of the new one. Played side by side, the original shines. The new Rhino Records 'remaster' sounds like it was bootlegged through the wall. It has been returned for a refund”
 
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Stunsworth said:
The first review isn’t promising, but at least with Amazon the return process is easy if yours sounds the same...

“Bought this classic Joni record to replace one bought in 1974 that crackles a bit. Shocked to discover the comparatively poor sound quality of the new one. Played side by side, the original shines. The new Rhino Records 'remaster' sounds like it was bootlegged through the wall. It has been returned for a refund”
Click to expand...

Odd. I don't have the Bellman cut of Court and Spark, but the Hejira is superb and there are lots of positive reviews about his cut of C&S: https://www.analogplanet.com/content/court-and-spark-revisited-0
 
kjb said:
Not sure if it's in the same league but Court and Spark is on Amazon for £11.99. I've just ordered a copy as I've only got a very thin sounding CD - all my other Joni Records are on vinyl so it was an easy call.

Court and Spark [VINYL]: AmazonSmile: Music

I seems rather odd buying vinyl at that price after a run of Tone Poet purchases.
Click to expand...

From the Hoffman site:
The EU version of Blue is not the Gray/Hoffman cut. And Court/Spark is not the Bellman cut. So watch out, what you are buying - only way is to import these from the US.
https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/thre...-than-the-original-asylum-vinyl.684435/page-2
 
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To my mind, the great thing about a lot of these albums is their brevity. ‘Blue’ is 36 minutes, says it all really, no time is wasted.
 
Mullardman said:
I see that seriousness differently. The guy with the glasses in the audience is obviously entranced by her. ( As am I ) The other musicians look both puzzled and defeated. It looks like it is dawning on them that they are witnessing the moment that their own talents are quietly swept aside by a force beyond their comprehension.
Click to expand...
Yup, they know they're screwed. :)
 
Snufkin said:
From the Hoffman site:
The EU version of Blue is not the Gray/Hoffman cut. And Court/Spark is not the Bellman cut. So watch out, what you are buying - only way is to import these from the US.
https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/thre...-than-the-original-asylum-vinyl.684435/page-2
Click to expand...

I've really never taken much notice of the highly self-esteeming Mr Hoffman. I have audiophool friends who live by his word.. and Audiophile friends who smile and make up their own minds.
 
kjb said:
Both of the live albums - Miles of Aisles and Shadows and Light - are well worth having. Some of the dialogue is very much of its time but the performance are good companions to the studio versions

Miles of Aisles: Amazon.co.uk: Music

Shadows and Light: Amazon.co.uk: Music
Click to expand...

I really must dig out 'Miles of Aisles' I have a near mint original wot I bought at the time. Must be at least 20+ years since I played it. It is a very, very good live album. I also like a few of the interchanges. Some guy shouts " Joni.. you have more class than.." (reels off a list..) .. and she just laughs. When people are demanding she sings certain songs.. she retorts .. '"Nobody ever said to Van Gogh.. 'Paint "A Starry Night" again Man.. "'

Not heard Shadows and Light.
 
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Snufkin said:
From the Hoffman site:
The EU version of Blue is not the Gray/Hoffman cut. And Court/Spark is not the Bellman cut. So watch out, what you are buying - only way is to import these from the US.
https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/thre...-than-the-original-asylum-vinyl.684435/page-2
Click to expand...

The MOFI versions of these on CD are quite good. I don't have the Vinyl so couldn't compare. If my memory serves I seem to be remember reading that somewhere on the Hoffman site with respect to Blue that the masters were not wonderful as they just didn't really know how to deal with Joni's dynamic range.
 
boneman said:
If my memory serves I seem to be remember reading that somewhere on the Hoffman site with respect to Blue that the masters were not wonderful as they just didn't really know how to deal with Joni's dynamic range.
Click to expand...

That makes sense. Every copy of Blue I’ve heard sounds like it has a little mic or desk clipping on the vocal at points to my ears, it just fuzzes/grits up a bit on the peaks, not helped by how raw and dry the voice is. I have a nice UK original (textured gatefold sleeve, A2/B2 matrix) and have always felt that about it, even suspected it may be a bit worn (looks mint), but hearing the Hoffman DCC CD dif little to change my view, let alone the ‘too bright’ HDCD one in the box. It just is what it is.

I dug For The Roses out last night as I tend to overlook it and go straight for Court, Hissing or the woefully underrated Don Juan’s. I’d forgotten how good it was and how good it sounds (UK A1/B1 1st press), it has a great presence and dynamic to it. Certainly a better sounding record and an interesting transition point between Blue and Court & Spark. She was definitely on a journey through the ‘70s. I don’t really understand the ‘80s ‘rock’ stuff that sounds like a massive backward step to my ears.

I want to find really nice 1st press copies of Hejira, Miles Of Isles and Shadows & Light. That can be a post-lockdown hunt. Those are the gaps to my mind. I’ve detailed my Blue & For The Roses above, Court & Spark and Mingus are also both A1/B1 UK 1st pressings, Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter is a US 1st press (I think, it sounds great whatever it is!) Hissing the Nimbus Supercut, so I’ve got good stuff with a few gaps. I’ve also got the CD box, Turbulent Indigo, and the orchestral one which I forget the name of. Plus Herbie Hancock’s River. I’m mostly there! The live albums are the big gaps, I’ve not even heard them!
 
Tony L said:
That makes sense. Every copy of Blue I’ve heard sounds like it has a little mic or desk clipping on the vocal at points to my ears, it just fuzzes/grits up a bit on the peaks, not helped by how raw and dry the voice is. I have a nice UK original (textured gatefold sleeve, A2/B2 matrix) and have always felt that about it, even suspected it may be a bit worn (looks mint), but hearing the Hoffman DCC CD dif little to change my view, let alone the ‘too bright’ HDCD one in the box. It just is what it is.
Click to expand...
I need to try and find the interview where he discusses this and link to it. Was interesting. He said the clipping was a big challenge.
 
Tony L said:
That makes sense. Every copy of Blue I’ve heard sounds like it has a little mic or desk clipping on the vocal at points to my ears, it just fuzzes/grits up a bit on the peaks, not helped by how raw and dry the voice is. I have a nice UK original (textured gatefold sleeve, A2/B2 matrix) and have always felt that about it, even suspected it may be a bit worn (looks mint), but hearing the Hoffman DCC CD dif little to change my view, let alone the ‘too bright’ HDCD one in the box. It just is what it is.

I dug For The Roses out last night as I tend to overlook it and go straight for Court, Hissing or the woefully underrated Don Juan’s. I’d forgotten how good it was and how good it sounds (UK A1/B1 1st press), it has a great presence and dynamic to it. Certainly a better sounding record and an interesting transition point between Blue and Court & Spark. She was definitely on a journey through the ‘70s. I don’t really understand the ‘80s ‘rock’ stuff that sounds like a massive backward step to my ears.

I want to find really nice 1st press copies of Hejira, Miles Of Isles and Shadows & Light. That can be a post-lockdown hunt. Those are the gaps to my mind. I’ve detailed my Blue & For The Roses above, Court & Spark and Mingus are also both A1/B1 UK 1st pressings, Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter is a US 1st press (I think, it sounds great whatever it is!) Hissing the Nimbus Supercut, so I’ve got good stuff with a few gaps. I’ve also got the CD box, Turbulent Indigo, and the orchestral one which I forget the name of. Plus Herbie Hancock’s River. I’m mostly there! The live albums are the big gaps, I’ve not even heard them!
Click to expand...
Blue, to me, sounds rather bright, almost like it was recorded in a bathroom. I still love it though. I just have a bog standard CD, have seen the odd copy on vinyl but it appears that the sound is just compromised at source?
 
Woodface said:
Blue, to me, sounds rather bright, almost like it was recorded in a bathroom. I still love it though. I just have a bog standard CD, have seen the odd copy on vinyl but it appears that the sound is just compromised at source?
Click to expand...

It could have been recorded to one of those portable condensor mic recorders and I'd still love it. The album is a masterpiece. I would have loved to have seen her live around that time.
 
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