'Beginning of Survival' review(s):
ReviewSeveral things you need to know upfront. There are no new songs here although all of them have been remastered, and they only include material from the eighties on. This is a thematic anthology, songs Joni felt belong together because each of them address the world we live in, at least the way she's seen it. Once you know this, the album gains a certain poignancy and cohesion that most collections or "greatest hits" albums do not achieve. At the same time, it forces the choices to include songs you may not regard among her greatest compositions, and excludes some stunning examples of her work. Among the gems, I count "Reocurring Dream," "Magdalene Laundries," "Slouching Towards Bethlehem" and "Passion Play," to name a few but not to imply they are the only ones. In the other hand, there are some song which I'd considered second row -and they are "second row" only because Joni's output, through all these years, has been so phenomenal- such as "Dog Eat Dog" or "Lakota." Add to this that the digipak presentation here is as exquisite as anything Mitchell has ever released in the past, including some great reproductions of Joni's paintings -which may not be masterpieces in your book but must be recognized as the work of a serious and talented artist. If you do not own these songs, this is a must; if you are a completist, you already bought it. If you do not belong to either group, you may at least gather together these songs and play them. Mitchell deserves at least that, together these songs articulate the vision of a singer and songwriter who, certainly in my case, has helped me to understand this beautiful and mad and, at times cruel, world of us. source: Juan Mobili(Amazon Review) |
