I guess it's time for me to add my two cents. First I'll note that
when I saw Amy and Eric live here in Brooklyn, Amy was absolutely
beaming. I've never seen her that happy, and I've probably seen at
least a dozen of her shows.

There were a couple of "Amy songs" during the show that I've never
heard her perform better. The first was Til the Wheels Fall Off.
That song was never a favorite of mine, but Eric absolutely nailed the
lead. I can't remember the second, Dancing with Joey, probably.

But what Amy has done both live and on the album is to move her style
closer to Eric's. The other artist I remember doing this is Tom
Waits, whose music changed after he married Catherine Brennan.

All this reminds me of an exchange between Richard Pryor and a fan
which took place some time after Pryor cleaned up subsequent to his
accident while freebasing. The fan said that he liked Richard better
before when he was angrier and edgier. Richard said that he liked
himself better now.

I might not like what she's doing musically now as much as I used to,
but I don't get to call the shots in her life. If she's in a much
better place personally (and I really believe that she is), that's
great for her.

BTW, Amy has said on her blog that she hasn't really had the desire to
write songs much recently, and that she's been giving that energy to
her blog, which I for one quite enjoy.