Re: Sheeba Site

[sister ernestine <woj@remus.rutgers.edu>]

also sprach R.Jones@mirinz.org.nz:

>     I got another Jane albumn out of the library. 
>     I've forgotten the name , but it had a Country and Western style that 
>     I didn't enjoy. 

_bound by the beauty_. while often described as country-and-westernish,
i think that label is mistakenly applied because of the title track,
which does have a c'n'w flair to it. the rest of the record, in contrast,
has a wide range of styles.

>     Can anyone give us a quick run-down of Jane's albumns 
>     styles and recommend anything in the WIWAB ilk?

the first record, eponymously titled, is much like _teenager_: fairly
straightforward, solo-acoustic folky songs with a strong humorous flair.

the next two, _no borders here_ and _the speckless sky_, are from
jane's pop period. the former was probably the most popular and
features the semi-hit "mimi on the beach". i find that i don't enjoy
that record as much due to its 80s-ish musical style. _the speckless
sky_ is still my favorite jane record since it, like KaTe's _never
forever_, represents a bridge from an early pop period to a more
experimental later period.

_the walking_ is, perhaps, jane's masterpiece: starkly emotional,
musically intriguing and just plain exquisite. although different from
_when i was a boy_ in many ways, _the walking_ is probably the album
that is most similar to it and would be my next purchase if i were
you.

_bound by the beauty_ was a musical reaction to _the walking_ and saw
jane heading back towards a more outdoorsy and less-demanding musical
styles. 

after _when i was a boy_ came _maria_,the's beginning of her current
flirtation with improvisation. while the vehicle for this has been a
jazzy sound, with a core band made up of piano, bass, trumpet and
drums, i don't think this phase of her music is as much jazz as it
sounds like jazz. that may not mean anything to someone who dislikes
that general sound, but i find it a distinction worth making.

_O_ | woj@remus.rutgers.edu 
 |< | <a href="http://remus.rutgers.edu/~woj/">hai, banana-wa arimasen</a>