Artist: Joni Mitchell
Title: The Beginning Of Survival

So there is good and bad news for Joni Mitchell fans. The latter is that she probably won’t be creating any new songs or albums in the near future as this new album is a collection of previously released songs spanning from 1985 to 1998. The good news is that The Beginning of Survival masterfully compiles her more eagerly forgotten social political music from the last twenty years. You won’t find any songs resembling the soul searching examinations such as Help Me or A Case of You. Where her work seemed beautifully bitter-sweet in the past, with this compilation Joni Mitchell appears to be more bitter than sweet.

Yet, her frustration is what fuels the music and lyrics. She tackles a wide range of subject matter from the plight of the Lakota Indians to the deploration of an Irish convent in The Magdalene Laundries. Many of the songs are quite relevant to today’s current issues as if they are tolling chthonic bells ringing endlessly in a slow procession. Her adaptation of W.B. Yates’ poem, The Second Coming as Slouching Towards Bethlehem and The Three Great Stimulants are the two best examples of her musical and lyrical prowess in action.

The only downfall would be the somewhat dated sound of many of the songs from the 1980s. Albeit her work with Thomas Dolby was quite adventurous for a singer from the 70s, some of the then modern details may blur the importance of the songs. For instance, there are some chilling moments here that contradict the feel-good early 80s music scene and give bleak warnings of actions to come. As in Fiction Mitchell yells out, Fiction of the Coward, Fiction of the Hero, Fiction of the monuments reduced to zero. Yet, the throbbing music may overpower the importance of what is being sung.

Overall, The Beginning of Survival is chock full of intelligent and opinionated lyricism that may ruffle a few feathers or scare away fans wanting to hear sparse acoustic guitar songs about love and pain. Yet, this disc is worth owning for those looking for more substance in songs.

Artist: Frank Zappa
Album: Broadway the Hard Way

Released and recorded live in 1988 with an eleven-member band, Broadway the Hard Way showcases some of Zappa’s best performances. Similar to the review above, this record is jam packed with politically motivated songs. Yet, unlike The Beginning of Survival, Broadway is highly satirical and wastes no time in pointing the finger at figures such as Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, Jim and Tammy Fay Baker, Jessie Jackson and Jimmy Swaggart. Even Michael Jackson gets snubbed. Although relegated mostly to the past, the personalities that motivate these songs prove that there is some twisted timeless quality about them.

As with most Zappa albums his completely individual style bleeds throughout. However, the supporting band behind him deserves as much credit here for they sway and swing their dexterous force through Jazz classics like Oliver Nelson’s Stolen Moments and The Untouchables, and with country on Rhymin’ Man and even rap, Promiscuous.

Zappa had an unnerving knack for creating songs that completely blurred the line between serious music and what most people would consider "comedy music." Like legendary playwright and director, Bertolt Brecht, Zappa is able to construct something powerful and thought provoking, yet with the raise of an eyebrow can diminish it to a farcical whim. There is no high or low art value of Broadway and that is what makes it so refreshing despite the dated subject matter. Likewise, you can hear how certain songs could relate to certain events of today. Even the non-political songs like Planet of the Baritone Women and Elvis Has Just Left The Building makes this a worthy purchase.

It’s interesting to hear how two completely different artists, (Mitchell and Zappa) tackle politics and the religious right.