NYCD: The Blog

Monday, November 13, 2006

DEAR JOAN OSBORNE,

Please accept my apology for saying such unpleasant things about your new record "PRETTY LITTLE STRANGER," right here on these pages. A friend of mine read the comments and said, "You know you should really give this record a chance. It's not as bad as you say."

Miss Osborne, my friend was right. It's actually darn good. What I heard the first 2 times I listened was very simply not what I WANTED to hear. What I WANTED to hear was the heartbreaking and hip-shaking soul music you used to sing when I saw you back in the East Village days. Back in the days before God was one of us. Before the record labels and their nitwit A&R GUYS rejected the follow-up release to your multi-million dollar smash. Back before John Leventhal turned an album full of soul covers, into a drum-machine fueled, smooth-jazz disappointment. What I WANTED to hear was exactly what you did as producer for the Holmes Brothers on their perfect release, "SPEAKING IN TONGUES."

Miss Osborne, what I didn't want to hear was a collection of country-influenced tunes recorded in Nashville, by one of the greatest and most underrated modern soul singers alive. So maybe...just maybe...I wasn't really listening. But I like you too much. So I listened again.

Great job! What was I thinking? (well...see above)

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm glad as I too am a big fan of Joan's, enjoying her past lives along with the dose of soul in the Dead's catalogue and jazzing along with Phil as well as all her other styles. Now that you have lightened up I'll give her latest muse a chance as well. ps. like the blog Mark on 81

2:07 PM  

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