Aug 3, 2009

JOY OF COOKING - CASTLES (CAPITOL 1972) Jap mastering cardboard sleeve




Joy Of Cooking were formed in Berkeley (San Francisco Bay Area) during the hippie era (1967). Their fusion sound, incorporating folk, rock, jazz, gospel and blues, had little in common with acid-rock: it heralded a new era of "creativity" and of stylistic re-evalutation.
One of the first bands led by female musicians, and one of the earliest to deal with feminist issues within popular music, the Joy Of Cooking were led by pianist Toni Brown (who had graduated in creative writing) and guitarist Terry Garthwaite (a folk-singer and an aspiring sociologist). The three-unit rhythm section, on the other hand, was entirely male. Hampered by the fact of not being the typical rock band, the Joy Of Cooking gathered a lot of critical attention but never enjoyed any commercial success. In fact, they were formed in 1967 but had to wait four years before recording an album (they were all over 30 by then). Their albums Joy Of Cooking (Capitol, jan 1971), that includes Brownsville-Mockingbird, Red Wine At Noon and Did You Go Downtown, Closer to the Ground (aug 1971), highlighted by the anthemic title-track, New Colorado Blues, Humpty-Dumpty, Pilot and The War You Left, and Castles (may 1972), with another string of soulful gems (Home Town Man, Beginning Tomorrow, Three Day Loser, Bad Luck Blues, Don't The Moon Look fat and Lonesome) displayed a sophisticated sense of melody and flexible song structures. The instrumental score crafted laid-back atmospheres that Brown's fragile contralto and Terry Garthwaite's gospel passion turned into cohesive statements of real life.
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Joy of Cooking was the first rock band to have at its heart two great women as lead singers, songwriters, and instrumentalists. The subject matter is still mostly love and loss, but the emotions are adult, and not caught in the hysterics of melodrama. This is a fine album all around, from the rocking "Don't the Moon Look Fat and Lonesome" through the deeply heartfelt blues at the end. "Let Love Carry You Along" is a great anthem from that era, just as positive and uplifting now as it was then. But these are not "message" songs that are long on intellectual substance and short on musicality and rock. They are balanced, with catchy tunes, excellent arrangements, and a subtle, folk/jazz/rock ensemble executing everything very nicely. If you want songs that speak to our lives with clarity and maturity, and that you can still hum along with and stamp your feet to, and get carried away in the emotion, this is your kind of album. Joy of Cooking put out only 3 albums and didn't last long (Brown and Garthwaite split and pursued solo careers), but the legacy they left us is a fine one.
Here

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks a lot!

Anonymous said...

Thank You. I don't think I ever heard this before.Going to give it a listen.
Zim

gregory said...

What a surprise, the second and third albums in Jap mastering from the legendary Joy of the Cooking with a stellar sound comparable to that of my originals. What about the first one? The Acadia CD edition has mediocre sound and not the original cover.

Αρχηγέ τι συνέβη με το Georgie Fame. Επενέβη ο ακατονόμαστος; Μην πτοείσαι, το πας πολύ καλά... Δες σε παρακαλώ και εκείνο που σου είχα πει για τον Ben Sidran. Αξίζει...

Αγάπη & Ειρήνη

Georgie Hirezola said...

Unfortunately there was not a reissue to their first album...even in Japan as far as I can tell!
thanks guys.

Ναι...ναι τον Georgie Fame μας τον φαγανε αδοξα οι απο πανω!!!!
Με γα..... να μου λενε να αλλαξω hoster και να τους επaναλαμβανω πως δεν φταιει ο hoster αλλα ο big boss!
τελος παντων καλη η μουσικη αλλα δεν βλεπω διακοπες για φετος στον οριζοντα και εχω σαλταρει....χαχαχαχαχα!!
Για τον Ben Sidran ειδα κατι δισκους στο HMV Japan αλλα ειναι τελη του '70 και δεν ξερω αν αξιζουν. Μπορεις να τα δεις και εσυ αμα μπεις...
Επι πλεον δεν ειναι cardboard και τα κανονικα cd αφ ενος δεν τα προτιμω και αφ ετερου πεφτουν λιγο ....βαρια στο τελωνειο!!!
Τους χαιρετισμους μου
Georgie+++++++++++

gregory said...

Παράτα τα όλα και πήγαινε διακοπές... Ο χρόνος περνά ανεπιστρεπτί...

Ben Sidran:
Όχι, αναφερόμουνα στους δίσκους των αρχών του 70' μετά και κατά τις συνεργασίες του με τον Steve Miller. O πρώτος "Feel Your Groove" (1971) στη Capitol και οι άλλοι τρείς στη Blue Thumb, "I Lead a Life" (1971), "Puttin' in Time on Planet Earth" (1973) και το masterpiece "Don't Let Go" (1974).

Αγάπη & Ειρήνη

Anonymous said...

Hi from Cy
I listened to both this and the earlier Joy of Cooking posting, back to back and was able to drift away on that special groove created by wonderful musicians.
When the vibes float then Joy really cooks.
Cy from Pck.

Anonymous said...

Thank you very much.

Unknown said...

Beginning Tomorrow, one of the all-time message tunes of the 70's! Thanks for bring it back, those giddy times in SF Bay Area....

-Hugh, Mill Valley, CA

Anonymous said...

Beginning Tomorrow, beautiful "message tune" of the SF Bay Area 70's, thanks for bringing it back

_Hugh, Mill Valley,CA