# The Strange Magic of: Joan Osborne



## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Joan Osborne is a singer with a less-than-perfect voice, and whose very imperfection gives her singing an urgency, an authenticity, denied to more polished vocalists. Her early singing, in bars and clubs, was filled with the gravelly rasp that flamencos call _rajo_, a trait she shared with Janis Joplin, but, like Joplin, she could also sing with a clearer, "cleaner" voice. In one transcendent album, Relish, Osborne teamed with the multitalented Eric Bazilian to release one of my all-time Best Albums Ever, one great song following another. But after this spectacular recording, the team fell apart, and Osborne was never able again to achieve on that sustained level. But in compensation she has become a marvelous cover artist, especially of R&B and Motown classics. Her stage presence exudes oodles of warmth and approachability. Here she is, in a rather atypical venue, singing her classic _St. Teresa_, from the Relish album.


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## Iean (Nov 17, 2015)

Joan Osborne's "Relish" is one of the best albums ever from a female artist:angel:


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## CDs (May 2, 2016)

_Relish_ is a great album! Kind of surprised though that _One of Us_ is the only song most people will know from that album. _St Teresa_ is a great opening track.


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## Iean (Nov 17, 2015)

CDs said:


> _Relish_ is a great album! Kind of surprised though that _One of Us_ is the only song most people will know from that album. _St Teresa_ is a great opening track.


Just like any great album, there is no dud track on "Relish" :angel:


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Here's Joan doing one of her many great covers, _What Becomes of the BrokenHearted?_...


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## Bluecrab (Jun 24, 2014)

Definitely agree with the above comments about _Relish_ - it's one outstanding rock album. Interesting that she reunited with Eric Bazilian and a couple of others from _Relish_ on Little Wild One, which shares some of the raw energy of _Relish_. I really like her eclecticism. Think of what a change of pace for her _Pretty Little Stranger_ is. That album has some great songs - covers of a few classics as well as really nice originals that she wrote.

_Crazy Baby_ just might be my favorite rock song of all time. Unbelievable depths of emotion, and such poignant (and disturbing) vocals.

IMO she has few peers as a singer-songwriter. I've always been surprised that she's not more popular than she is.


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## CDs (May 2, 2016)

Just listened to her _Relish_ album for the first time in years and I forgot how much I liked the songs _Dracula Moon_ and _Ladder_. Remembering the lyrics is like riding a bike. You never forget.


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## Bluecrab (Jun 24, 2014)

CDs said:


> Just listened to her _Relish_ album for the first time in years and I forgot how much I liked the songs _Dracula Moon_...


_Dracula Moon_ is such a good song... she absolutely _snarls _that line, "Stop feeling sorry for me! I hate that look on your face!" What a voice.


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## Rach Man (Aug 2, 2016)

Strange Magic said:


> Here's Joan doing one of her many great covers, _What Becomes of the BrokenHearted?_...


This is one great song. When you want to see musicians performing on all cylinders, nobody had it as perfectly as Joan with the Funk Brothers for this take. And, even though everyone was tight, Joan really took over with the vocals. She/they were as good as it gets.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

In another thread, I noted that, with few exceptions, I regarded albums as (merely) collections of songs, with the album being no greater than the sum of its often disparate parts. _Relish_, by Joan Osborne, is one mighty exception. The overall quality of the album's songs is astonishing, but there is a pervasive ambiance and atmosphere throughout of Spanish moss, black water, serpents, lust, and incipient breakdown--all leading to my assertion that we are dealing here with a Voodoo masterpiece. Here is Dracula Moon from _Relish_:


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