Search - Joni Mitchell :: Wild Things Run Fast

Listen To JONI!!!!

Andre S. Grindle | Brewer Maine | 05/26/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"While not necessarily in terms of attitude I personally have much in common with Joni Michell. We both love painting and combining it with music in some way.All one needs to do is look at this ladies track record in terms of musical innovation in the 1970's that led her from folksy poetic observations to.....well jazzy poetic obversations.And pretty much between an early album such as Clouds and....say Don Juan's Reckless Daughter there was a huge musical tide to swim in for listeners. Joni's work has always been as a journey in one way or another,whether it be musical or personal. Sometimes it was painful,sometimes tired and sometimes love struck. Much the same as Van Morrison Joni's sound managed to age well from era to era by choosing to look at things artistically. Well the early 80's pop music scene had sadly very to do with art often enough.And lucky for the era Joni was obviously in a really good state of mind during this period because her and her new bassman Larry Klein really layed down the bottom on this album! While embracing the slick production of early 80's pop/rock we all know Joni was'nt about to go willy nilly into this.The whole Talking Heads/Police/Steely Dan thing was really getting through to her and,despite what she says I'll bet some Klaus Doldinger's Passport stuff like Earthborn during this time because the influence of that chilly 80's euro-fusion just about reeks out of cuts such as "Chinese Cafe/Unchained Melody",a clever retooling of a classic and setting the stage for this album:the main focus of this album is love and the view of youthful eros from the perspective of middle age.And it comes through in the music too.The title track,a loose cover of Elvis's "(You're So Square) Baby,I Don't Care" and "Moon At The Window" feature some pretty charged up rock guitars,far more so then Joni explored in the past.This album is really informed by all the musical tides she swam with during the 80's from folksy quitude to electric jazz/funk explorations and for that part of it you can get no better then

"Ladies' Man","Solid Love" and the lyrically pointed "Be Cool",where for one of a very few times Joni is actually giving direct advice rather then musing as an outside party. 'Man To Man" and "You Dream Flat Towers",the excellent "Man To Man" and "Underneath The Streetlights" are all short ready made for radio kind of easy rock songs,at least a Joni-fied variation on them.The ending of the album is "Love" is really the gell that glues the entire album together;jazzy,folksy and rocky all at once and actually takes the "puppy love vs/mature love" theme as far as she can. It's really strange that so many people have the impression this album is more poppy and lacks in the jazziness of albums such as Mingus. Nothing could be further from the truth as the two axes of Larry Klein (and Carlton) on these songs provided all kinds of great improvised riffing along with that great shuffling of the drums,not to mention Joni's singing dropping down to her lower vocal register from one moment to the next. Either way this did do a lot of bring Joni's creative,influential musical stylings to a new generation listening in fact to many performers and musicians who were doing everything they could to catch up with her artistry."

Wild things run fast

happy camper | 07/12/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"as a joni fan, my collection is not complete without this album. it may not be one of her better known or higest selling albums, but it still has some gems, especially 'chinese cafe/unchained melody'. thank you, joni."