Joy of Cooking

Country of origin:

U.S.

Type of music generally:

Eclectic rock, folk/rock

Status:

Band is no longer together

See also:

Toni Brown and Terry Garthwaite have also performed independently, both as soloists and together. Terry Garthwaite is still performing as a solo artist.

Comparisons:

Original, especially for their time.

Covers/own material:

Own

General comments:

This late, lamented, early-'70s band from Berkeley exemplifies what sociologists call emergent properties: They combine rock, folk, jazz, Latin, blues and country elements into a whole that exceeds the sum of its parts. In going beyond their musical antecedents in this manner, they would appear to have something in common with a certain upstate New York resident of our acquaintance :-). They enjoy historical as well as musical significance, moreover—their gender-integrated, female-fronted organizational structure is generally considered to have been innovative for its time. (mapravat@prairienet.org)

Terry sang and played guitar; Toni sang and played piano; both wrote songs. Terry's songs tended toward harder-edged rock songs, while Toni's tended toward softer material. They balanced each other quite nicely.
     Following Joy of Cooking's demise, they did a country-flavored album called Cross Country (as "Toni & Terry") that has its moments and tried to resurrect the magic of the earlier band with a release as "The Joy", but it never was quite as compelling as those original three Joy of Cooking albums. I'd highly recommend the three albums they did as "Joy of Cooking" to Ectophiles (Joy Of Cooking, Closer To The Ground and Castles). (ABershaw@aol.com)

Recommended first album:

American Originals: Joy of Cooking is the only one now in general release

Recordings:

• Joy of Cooking (1970; re-released 2003—Acadia Records, U.K.)
• Closer to the Ground (1971; re-released 2004—Acadia Records, U.K.)
• Castles (1972; re-released 2005—Acadia Records, U.K.)
• Cross Country (as "Toni & Terry", 1973)
• American Originals: Joy of Cooking (compilation, 1993)

American Originals: Joy of Cooking

Release info:

1993—Capitol (USA)—CDP 0777 7 99355 2 9

Availability:

Harder to find

Ecto priority:

Recommended

Group members:

Terry Garthwaite—lead vocal, guitar
Toni Brown—vocal, guitar, steel guitar, keyboards
Fritz Kasten—drums
Jeff Neighbor—bass
Ron Wilson—percussion, harmonica, backup vocal

Produced by:

Compilation produced by Todd Everett (The Joy of Cooking albums were produced by John Paladino, the Nashville one by Wayne Moss, and the unreleased one by Michael Stewart)

Comments:

Compilation of old material first released 1971-73, including all the albums listed above, as well as Cross-Country (Toni and Terry recording in Nashville, 1973), and an unreleased album without Toni Brown, Same Old Song and Dance (1973).

This compilation—part of a larger Capitol reissue series that apparently has been weighted toward country artists heretofore—reportedly was released much later than its announced date, and its availabiity in stores may be spotty. What is more, it may be filed in strange locations in those stores that do have it (I forget whether the salesperson I asked for help finally unearthed it in the folk or the country section). But it's very much worth the wait, not to mention the effort it may take to find it. (mapravat@prairienet.org)

Thanks to Mitch Pravatiner for work on this entry