Consumer Guide Album

Joy of Cooking: Closer to the Ground [Capitol, 1971]
I knew Toni Brown was a folkie, so it shouldn't surprise me that a lot of this is organic bullshit gone to rhythm school--the title of the title cut speaks for itself, and "Sometimes Like a River" might also be like a "Rainbow," "Mountain," or "New Wind" (adjectival scansion, they call that trick in rhythm school). Depressing to hear somebody who knows as much about male-female as "The Way You Left" and "First Time, Last Time" apply her creative-writing skills to anti-urban bromides. Graded leniently because I like the way (and how much) Terry Garthwaite sings (and writes). B+