The Joy Of Cooking

The Joy Of Cooking was a women-led hippy country-folk-light rock band that made three albums and almost attracted enough attention to make it. Led by singer-songwriter-pianist Toni Brown and singer-guitarist (and occasional songwriter) Terry Garthwaite, they produced some interesting music that sounds today like it could only have come from the late sixties- early seventies. Their debut 1971 eponymous record contained the spirited Hush and Brownsville/Mockingbird, both songs featuring percussion and piano breaks that swing and strong vocals from Garthwaite. Too Late But Not Forgotten is a country/folk reminiscent of Carole King. Garthwaite's Did You Go Downtown is a funky jam/romp that goes on just a bit too long. The sad housewife lament of Red Wine At Noon features newly minted feminist sentiment. With Garthwaite's guitar almost imperceptible in the mix, the band is piano, bass, drums and congas, and while the percussion helps keep thing interesting, Brown is a skilled pianist but not really much of a soloist, and the piano leads are often disappointing. This improves a bit on the next two records. Garthwaite's raspy Janis Joplin-esque voice and Brown's smooth contralto make for some nice harmonies. 

Closer To The Ground 1971 was a step forward. The opening title track is a nice percussion-led jam of a song, and Brown's piano seems like an instrument capable of a lead break much more than on the first record. Other highlights include the rocking Humpty Dumpty, the organ-driven A Thousand Miles, the pretty good country break-up tune First Time, Last Time, and another percussion-driven romp Laugh, Don't Laugh that closes the record. The rest isn't terrible, and half solid is better than less than half.

Castles 1972 benefits from improved songcraft, the addition of a real guitarist on two songs, horn and string charts by Jim Horn on four songs, and generally better production, even though all three records were produced by John Palladino. The uptempo Don't The Moon Look Fat And Lonesome kicks things off with nice duet vocals. Three-Day Loser benefits greatly from Jim Horn's horns. Castles is a good Carpenters song, and again the strings and horns add to the song. Beginning Tomorrow is one of Brown's best songs, and again Jim Horn fattens up the sound, and Let Love Carry You Along is a nice tune with a good chorus and good uncredited flute. But again, that's only half the songs, and the rest are a notch or two below.

Brown and Garthwaite would return with Cross Country 1973, recorded in Nashville with local talent, and The Joy 1977. Both Brown and Garthwaite released solo records in the 70s-80s, and Garthwaite released a number of new age/spiritual records more recently. In 1976 Garthwaite was featured on a 45 rpm direct-to-disc audiophile jazz recording titled San Francisco Ltd. that received a limited release, and is a rare and fun find in a used record shop. I've always been partial to Closer To The Ground, but Castles is at least as good. After Fanny,  Joy Of Cooking was one of the earliest women-led bands to get a recording contract.