Joy of Cooking

Album: Joy of Cooking

Band: Joy of Cooking

Year: 1970

Songs of Note: Red Wine at Noon, Did you go Downtown, Hush

The purpose of this project was to weed out my album collection and find some hidden musical gems. This is the first gem uncovered. This album worked for me from start to finish. The band was lumped into the psychedelic genre but after to listening to the group, it is quite apparent that they fit more in line with the jam band sound. There is a lot of potential for improvisation on these songs and some of it was captured on the album. The groups musical influences seem more steeped in country, folk, and jazz than rock. The songs themselves are more piano-driven. I did not notice the guitar much, if at all in most of the songs. The two female bandleaders, Toni Brown and Terry Garthwaite, really shape the sound and message of the band.

The music sounds like it was made in a cabin in the woods. Very relaxed and not forced. The lyrics were also very intriguing. A strong female perspective was prominent but it is not the "I am woman, hear me roar" feminism, but more about the heartbreaking situations women can find themselves in. "Red Wine at Noon" details a woman who is growing distant from her husband as he travels on business while she is at home raising the children. Is he cheating? Is this relationship working? We don't know but the woman copes by having white wine at breakfast and red wine at noon. Other songs detail a daughter with a complicated relationship with her father due to history of abuse and lost youth. There is a deep emotional resonance that permeates all songs.

Despite sharing a name with a famous recipe book, Joy of Cooking is a hidden gem from the early '70's. Definitely worth a listen.