Joni Mitchell suggestions

Court and Spark.

Not quite as sparse as Blue, maybe midway between Blue and Hissing style wise, but it's definately one of her best (maybe even the best)

Everything upto and, as greeny has already suggested, including 'Court and Spark'. First on my list if you like 'Blue' a lot would be 'Ladies of the Canyon'.

Enjoy,

Chris.

Court and Spark is, indeed, fantastic, although I think it falls more into the "orchestral" vein. If all you want is the barebones stuff, then you'll have to stop at "For the Roses".

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

My favorite Joni album is Miles of Isles. I am not normally a fan of concert albums, but this one is has great sonics in addition to the spontaneity of Joni performing live. Certainly no over-produced orchestral effects here. I have it both on vinyl and the new HDCD release. On a Naim CDP, the HDCD is just as involving (compared to LP12) and doesn't require getting up three times to flip sides.

I like court and spark, and Night Ride Home

but at the end of the day there is only one Blue, so you may end up chasing your tail.

Ok, All the suggestions are good but please "move on" and discover the delights of Hejira and her more recent masterpiece that is Travelogue (2 CD set featuring 22 songs spanning her career accompanied by full orchestra. Its all there.Cover art is superb too.

Doug

Rockingdoc, you’re right. Every one of her albums if different and brilliant for difference reasons. Doug – I found the orchestral stuff is totally absorbing and the Vince Mendoza arrangements are genius. Musicians are impeccable as well – Brian Blade, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Billy Preston, Kenny Wheeler, Paulinho DeCosta…..a very moving album.There would be a good argument for Joni newbie’s to start with the current and move backwards in time to appreciate the whole thang. Love Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter BTW
Martin

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Ok, All the suggestions are good but please "move on" and discover the delights of Hejira and her more recent masterpiece that is Travelogue

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Fair point, doug - I've taken your advice and have just ordered a copy of 'travelogue' (£9.99 on the HMV website at the moment for all those interested). Great track listing, as you say, and some brilliant musicians on it too, so hopefully it was money well spent.

Starbuck
I must admit it was a case of it being a grower, to hear her familiar stuff done in such a different style. I bought it with an open mind as re-done stuff by others can be dire so was half expecting to be a bit disappointed. Not the case – I love it.

Adhering strictly to Jonathan's request, I'd agree with the suggestions of Ladies of the Canyon and For the Roses.

But I'm surprised no one has recommended Joni's first and second beauties: Song To A Seagull and Clouds, bare-bones masterpieces both, with some of her strongest melodies and chordal progressions of her entire oeuvre.

While I dearly love every Joni record from her first through her twelfth, the live stunner Shadows and Light, I'd agree that honoring Jonathan's parameters would necessitate stopping with For the Roses, after which the palette changed significantly, incorporating a larger ensemble and more jazz textures and colors.

With one very notable exception: Hejira, which stands alone as being both extremely spare and yet jazz-tinged, albeit a very different flavor of jazz than her others, defined largely by the new guitar sound (chorused, multi-tracked electro-acoustics) she sported, Jaco Pastorious' lyrical, boldly singing bass presence, Larry Carlton's swooning guitar commentary, a bit of percussion on some tracks, and occasional vibraphone. Even though Jonathan is looking for less jazz-inflected albums, he should not overlook this singular, universally acclaimed, masterpiece.

For what it's worth, I have very mixed feelings about Joni's last (supposedly, by her own claim) album Travelogue. Some of the songs work beautifully in the orchestral context (and I absolutely loved Mendoza's arrangements of Both Sides Now and A Case of You on her previous orchestral album of American Songbook standards, Both Sides Now), but many are overwrought and bloated.

Finally, a question about something Jonathan wrote:

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as opposed to the more overproduced/jazzy/orchestral stuff

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Why "over" produced? The production is not to your own taste, we understand that, but as far as servicing the music, the production values are well-balanced and entirely in proportion, not "over" produced at all. Perhaps you merely meant "more produced" instead of "more over-produced," but even that is problematic in my view because a bare-bones album is no less produced than an orchestral album, it's just that the proper production values dictate less orchestration. In the same sense, a Beethoven symphony is no more produced than a Beethoven piano sonata, it all depends on the intent of the artist, and whether the realization of that intent is successful or not (and therefore I would say that some tracks on Travelogue are over-produced). Do you see what I mean?

[This message was edited by fred simon on Tue 29 June 2004 at 1:08.]

A fantastic thread - and one I have read with much delight.

My first experience of Joni Mitchell was HEJIRA and I must admit that have struggled to find anything to match up to it since.

Yes, I do have all the Joni albums and they are all great in their own special way but Hejira is the one that goes in to the player and comes out when it is finished. It is indeed a masterpiece.

I think that she writes for everybody - not all at once but we can all identify with certain recordings for personal reasons.

Buy them all !!!

I just bought Joni's Blue and Hissing of Summer Lawns, HDCD. I hesitated at Blue because I've owned it twice previously and thought I didn't need to hear it again. How wrong I was. Instantly I was transported and afterwards it rang in my head to almost being madening. California is such a great song, but then I am biased being from there. I have Heijera and Don Juan's Wreckless Daughter on vinyl and they make a great late evening listening session. Don't have anything in the way of her latest material. Tho once had a cassette of Chalk Marks, but I thought much of it sounded all the same. She is a remarkable composer and singer.

Life is analogue

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Originally posted by long-time-dead:
Yes, I do have all the Joni albums and they are all great in their own special way but Hejira is the one that goes in to the player and comes out when it is finished. It is indeed a masterpiece.

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My thoughts exactly!

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

On the other hand, you might also like Elisa Mohawk. I recently picked up a couple of her LPs on eBay. You won't be dissapointed.

Jeremy

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Originally posted by JeremyB:
On the other hand, you might also like Elisa Mohawk. I recently picked up a couple of her LPs on eBay. You won't be dissapointed.

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You you mean Essra Mohawk? I've never heard of her, but she looks interesting. I'll endeavor to audition her stuff.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

Me too !

If anyone is interested Joni's Shadows and Light DVD is now available (Region 1 : NTSC).
I received mine yesterday from CD Universe. Saw it last night with Lights out, Headphones in and a smiley face. It was just fantastic to see the band playing after only listening to the CD over the last few years.
BTW, Don's Solo is missing but is replaced by Paco's which AFAIK is not on the CD. Pat's Solo takes on more beauty seeing him for the first time.

I shall be by all my missing Joni HDCD's now!

Denis

The Shadows and Light DVD is not to be missed.
Amazing, and far better to see the show than listen to the audio CD and wonder what's going on.
One of the few good video segments of the incredible Jaco. His talent overshadowed everyone else on the stage without stealing the show IMhO.
David

I managed to obtain Joni's Latest Compilation - The Beginning Of Survival last night. It's released in the US on 27 July and previewed here. Not sure about a UK release date.
The Single Gatefold CD packaging is similar to Travelogue with Joni's Paintings appearing on the Insert. A wonderfull presentation that has 16 Tracks remastered from the Geffin Albums.

Extract of Preview

Audiophiles are sure to enjoy the sound quality: the tracks have all been 96k/24-bit mastered from the original master tapes.

Song list:
"Slouching Toward Bethlehem"
"The Beat of Black Wings"
"The Reoccuring Dream"
"Impossible Dreamer"
"The Windfall (Everything for Nothing)"
"No Apologies"
"Dog Eat Dog"
"Passion Play (The Story of Jesus and Zachius ... The Little Tax Collector)"
"The Three Great Stimulants"
"Cool Water"
"Lakota"
"Sex Kills"
"Fiction"
"Tax Free"
"The Magdalene Laundries"
"Ethiopia"

If you fancy 180g of Blue then it's available at Diverse

Denis (shaddowsandlightismybestdvdsofarthatisuntilpulseisreleased)

Looking over that song list, it appears to include only tracks in the 80's and beyond. Interesting.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

Hissing of Summer Lawns... just brilliant... Check the drums on "Car on a Hill" loud through a pair of Alaes... mmmmmmmmmmmm

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Originally posted by Mike Hanson:
Looking over that song list, it appears to include only tracks in the 80's and beyond. Interesting.

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Yes, it's a compilation derived only from her Geffen Records catalogue ... not my personal favorite, for what it's worth, but certainly not chopped liver.

For anyone interested (in the UK, possibly, as I'm not sure about availability elsewhere), www.play.com have a number of Joni CD's available in a 4 for £22.00 deal. Seems like a good price, regardless as to whether they are the HDCD versions or not.

As an old Joni Mitchel fan it is great to hear so many people raving about her music, but a little surprised that nobody has mentioned Turbulent Indigo! I heared her first some 20 years ago and got into her big time, but some of the later albums seemed thin so I stopped buying. However, recently I went to a concert where they were playing Turbulent Indigo at the start and was so impressed I rushed off to buy the stuff I had missed - Turbulent Indigo is well worth a spin!

For Hijera fans, I recomend listening to Black Crow on the new Diana Krall album, excellent version