Joni Mitchell's Both Sides Now & Paul Simon's You're The One

For individuals searching for a good jazz/blues sound, Joni Mitchell's Both Sides Now, released in the first half of 2000, is a real find. This CD contains twelve cuts, all of which are covers of love songs from the 1930's onward. The CD features Wayne Shorter on the saxophone, Mark Isham on trumpet, Herbie Handcock on piano, Peter Erskine on drums, Chuck Berghofer on bass, and an orchestra led by Gavin Wright. Mitchell's covers include Don't Go To Strangers by Evans, Kent, and Mann (1954); You've Changed, by Carey and Fisher (1968); Answer Me My Love by Carl Sigman (1953); and Stormy Weather by Koehler and Arlen (1933). Mitchell also remade two of her own songs-A Case of You (1972) and the title track Both Sides Now (1968). The jazzy instrumentation, the selection of material, and Mitchell's unique crooning voice blend together to make this CD a real listing experience. Both Sides Now, Sade's "Best of", and Neil Diamond's Lovescape, a fire and a nice bottle of wine provide a great setting for a romantic evening with that someone special.

Paul Simon's new CD, You're the One, released in October 2000, is a fairly typical Paul Simon release. The drumbeats and crescendos of his post-Graceland CDs are gone and the more mellow Paul Simon of One Trick Pony and Hearts and Bones has returned. Interesting cuts on this CD include That's Where I Belong; Pigs, Sheep and Wolves; Love; and my favorite Senorita with a Necklace of Tears. This CD really does not break any new ground, but if you like Paul Simon, you may want to give it a listen.

It's out there… Remember Leon Russell? Most of his CDs; Leon Live, Leon and the Shelter People, and Leon Russell (the Blue Album) to name a few, are now available. The greatest find, however, was the re-release of Asylum Choir II with bonus tracks, which include most of Asylum Choir I. These CDs are available from the Internet music stores. It was good to hear a Leon Russell track (his cover of Bob Dylan's A Hard Rains A-Gona Fall) on the Remember the Titans sound track released in the fall of 2000. This CD, Remember the Titans, is a good anthology of late 60's-early 70's music.