Back Home

Joni Mitchell...


Reprise 7599-27199-2

Blue
Joni Mitchell 1971

  • All I want
  • My Old Man
  • Little Green
  • Carey
  • Blue
  • California
  • This Flight Tonight
  • River
  • A Case of You
  • The Last Time I saw Richard
You're in my blood, like holy wine
Taste so bitter and so sweet
Oh I, could drink a case of you
And I would still be on my feet...

And if I could take just one record to my desert Island, it would probably be this one. The young Joni's voice makes my spine tingle and even after all these years I still get a real thrill every time I listen to this.
Mesmerized by her voice it is only to easy to forget what a superb and versatile musician she is. Quite apart from her unique guitar style, there is the seemingly effortless piano on My Old Man, Blue & River, and some fine Appalachian dulcimer on All I want, Carey, California and A Case of You.

 



Asylum 7559-60593-2

Court and Spark
Joni Mitchell 1974

  • Court and Spark
  • Help Me
  • Free Man in Paris
  • People's Parties
  • Same Situation
  • Car on a Hill
  • Down to You
  • Just like this train
  • Raised on Robbery
  • Troubled Child
  • Twisted

Love came to my door
With a sleeping roll
And a madman's soul
He thought for sure I'd seen him
Dancing up a river in the dark
Looking for a woman to court, and spark...

After "For the Roses" this came as a bit of a shock to Joni fans. With musical direction (and Trumpet) from Tom Scott's of L.A Express fame it certainly broke the mold. The list of artist reads like a who's who, the usual suspects are here, Dave Crosby & Graham Nash join her for backing vocals, John Geurin and Max Bennet on Basses, Joe Sample on Electric Piano & Clavinet, and Larry Carlton, Jose Feliciano, Robbie Robertson and Wayne Perkins play guitars on various tracks - Even Cheech & Chong (albeit briefly) on Twisted! And all to great effect...

 



Asylum 7559-60332-2

Hejira
Joni Mitchell 1976

  • Coyote
  • Amelia
  • Furry Sings the Blues
  • A Strange Boy
  • Hejira
  • Song for Sharon
  • Black Crow
  • Blue Hotel Room
  • Refuge of the Roads
Dora says "Have Children",
Mama & Betsy say "Find yourself a charity"
Help the needy and the crippled
Or put some time into ecology.
There's a wide, wide world of nobel causes
And lovely landscapes to discover,
But all I really want to do right now
Is find another lover...
       

The sensuous frettless bass of Jaco Pastorius and some subtle contributions from Larry Carlton give this album a very different feel from those before it. Joni's Lyrics seem auto-biographical; to bare her very soul.

 



Asylum 7559-60332-2

The Hissing of Summer Lawns
Joni Mitchell 1975

  • In France They Kiss on Main Street
  • The Jungle Line
  • Edith and the Kingpin
  • Don't Interrupt the Sorrow
  • Shades of Scarlet Conquering
  • The HIssing of Summer Lawns
  • The Boho Dance
  • Harry's House/Centerpiece
  • Sweet Bird
  • Shadows and Light

He put up a barbed wire fence
To keep out the unknown
And on every metal thorn:
Just a little blood of his own
She patrols that fence of his
To a Latin drum
And the hissing of summer lawns...

More experimental in many ways than her earlier output, we even find Joni fooling around with a Moog on a couple of tracks.
I confess to always skipping track two.



For a full discography, details of new releases and guitar tunings visit the Official Joni Mitchell web-site
Favorite Things Pictures Humor Links

 

Copyright Erisian Enterprises - 2004