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.
The album Same Old Song And Dance (1973) was never released (Such Days Are Made For Walkin', Ain't Nobody Got the Blues Like Me and You Gotta Reap Just What You Sow would surface on American Originals) and the band quickly dissolved, but Toni Brown and Terry Garthwaite released albums both as a duo and as individual artists. Despite Brown's increasing interest in country music, the two albums on which they collaborated are as good as the first Joy Of Cooking album: Cross-Country (Capitol, 1973), with As I Watch the Wind and Midnight Blues.
- Terry Garthwaite - guitar, vocals
- Fritz Kasten - drums, alto sax
- Jeff Neighbor - bass, trombone
- David Garthwaite - guitar, bass
- Toni Brown - guitar, piano, organ, maracas, vocals
- Ron Wilson - harp, tambourine, congas, bongos, cowbell
Disc 1:
Joy of Cooking (1970)
01. Hush (2:46)
02. Too Late, But Not Forgotten (4:22)
03. Down my Dream (4:17)
04. If Some God (Sometimes You Gotta' Go Home) (3:44)
05. Did You Go Downtown? (7:39)
06. Dancing Couple (0:53)
07. Brownsville/Mockingbird (medley) (5:51)
08. Red Wine at Noon (3:35)
09. Only Time Will Tell Me (5:13)
10. Children's House (6:50)
Closer to the Ground (1971)
11. Closer to the Ground (4:45)
12. Blues for a Friend (3:39)
13. New Colorado Blues (3:28)
14. Humpty Dumpty (2:35)
15. A Thousand Miles (3:56)
Disc 2:
01. Sometimes Like a River (Loving You) (3:28)
02. Pilot (3:40)
03. The War You Left (2:41)
04. First Time, Last Time (2:51)
05. Laugh, Don't Laugh (5:35)
Castles (1972)
06. Don't the Moon Look Fat & Lonesome (4:08)
07. Waiting for the Last Plane (4:05)
08. Lady Called Love (3:27)
09. Three-Day Loser (4:04)
10. Castles (3:49)
11. Beginning of Tomorrow (4:37)
12. Let Love Carry You Along (2:44)
13. Home Town Man (3:47)
14. All Around the Sun & the Moon (4:40)
15. Bad Luck Blues (3:30)
