Joni Mitchell
Canadian
singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell (1943-). Though her own early albums, Ladies
of the Canyon and Clouds, are true works of art, Mitchell achieved
wide popularity in the 60's mainly through covers of her songs by Tom Rush and
Judy Collins, whose voices were less edgy and unpredictable. "Both Sides
Now,""Big Yellow Taxi" and "Circle Game" in particular
were huge hits, though the latter campfire classic doesn't really reflect what
is most distinctive and original about her style. It was in the early seventies
that Mitchell really came into her own artistically, with two overwhelmingly
successful albums, Blue and Court and Spark. Blue was notable
for its combination of bare bones production - solo piano, guitar or dulcimer
on each track - and material that was clearly influenced by pop, with songs
like "River," "California" and "A Case of You."
Court and Spark contains most of her radio hits: "Help Me" and
"Free Man in Paris." Hejira (1976) was her last album in this
line. Like Dylan, Mitchell has gone through several incarnations as an artist.
In the late 70's, Mitchell turned increasingly to jazz, including a collaboration
with the legendary bass player Charles Mingus and an album dedicated to him.
In the 90s, Mitchell released Night Ride Home and Turbulent Indigo,
a return to her singer-songwriter roots, but overworked.
Nothing in her later repertoire, however - even her 70s hits - matches the
power and influence of her earliest work, which was pure magic. Mitchell's artistic
signature is a leaping, soaring melody line that seems to be crafted to the
lyrics instead of the other way around. Her work is heady - musically and verbally
complex - and when her songs deal with love, they deal with it in a hard-headed,
decidedly unromantic way. Her man is the coyote, the impossible-to-pin-down
trickster, she.... she is Amelia Earhart, always flying away, an explorer, a
seeker on her hejira, and so the love between them is an endless, endlessly
tantalizing dance.
Immortal Songs
- "Both Sides Now"
- "Circle Game"
- "Big Yellow Taxi"
- "Chelsea Morning"
- "Urge for Going"
Essential
Discs
Books
Mitchell, Joni. The
Complete Poems and Lyrics. Last time I checked, this title was 80% off list
at Amazon.com....
Luftig, Stacey. The Joni Mitchell Companion. Well-reviewed.
Heirs
Mitchell's penchant for musical and lyrical complexity, her remarkable powers
of observation, and a studied coolness in vocal expression, have been an inspiration
to many later songwriters. Freed from the tyranny of always falling either in
or out of love has allowed them to use song to explore a thousand other subjects
and subtleties in relationships. Particularly successful in their own right
have been:
- Suzanne Vega
- Shawn Colvin
- Dar Williams
- Jonatha Brooks
Sites to Check Out
Hugh Blumenfeld, Editor
hugh@balladtree.com
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© 2001 Hugh Blumenfeld/The Ballad Tree
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