Joni Mitchell - Ladies Of The Canyon (1970)

Note: the CD I listened to was the 1996 reissue, released using HDCD encoding.

Joni Mitchell albums, to me, are becoming much like Beatles releases, in that whichever album I'm listening to at the time, I believe is the best release by that particular artist. This beautiful thing certainly qualifies. Comforting while simultaneously thought-provoking. Wow. And I'd rather listen than write, so I'm tapping out now.

Press of the time:

• Robert Christgau (A-): "Joni's new dependence on piano implies a move from the open air to the drawing room--or at least living area--that's reflected in richer, more sophisticated songs."
• Billboard: "a delightful set of 12 fine cuts"
• CashBox: "sensitive, poetic lyrics, evocative melodies and fine voice and guitar playing"
• Rolling Stone: "An album of departures, overheard conversations and unique triumphs for the hymnal lady who mingles the random with the particular so effectively."
• RPM Weekly: "excellent MOR programming material"
• Stereo Review: Recording of Special Merit
• High Fidelity: "I can't recommend anyone more highly."

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #27
• CashBox: #18

Tracks: 12 beautiful songs, delightfully delivered, perfectly sequenced.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: This was one of several early '70s Mitchell albums that helped me get through some emotionally tough spring/summer months in 2023.

Previously revisited for the blog:
The Hissing of Summer Lawns (1975)
Court And Spark (1974)
Blue (1971)

Joni Mitchell - Court And Spark (1974)

An album of dichotomies, starting with the album title itself. The album is intimate yet uses a large rhythm section; it's breezy yet tense, its arrangements are colorful and lush yet sparse, love is hopeful yet fearful, etc. The dichotomies give the thing a manic (yet relaxed!) feel - heck, the thing even ends with a song about schizophrenia. I love it.

The biggest album of Mitchell's career, this landmark set of jazzy pop-folk songs could only have come from southern California in the '70s. It immediately transports me to my carefree days of 1974 and such daydreaming has helped me through some rough patches during the past few years.

Mitchell's production is vastly underrated plus the names of the support crew here are immediately recognizable to me and they bring the goods: Joe Sample, Larry Carlton, and Wilton Felder (all of The Crusaders), Robbie Robertson of The Band, the playing and arranging wizardry of saxophonist Tom Scott, plus occasional backing vocals from ⅔ of CSN.

I'm not sure I could rank Mitchell albums - and, to be honest, I'm only familiar with her '70s output - but the algorithm over at besteveralbums.com has this one at #3, trailing only Blue and Hejira. I'll blatantly skirt the issue by saying my favorite Mitchell album is whichever one I'm spinning at the time. 

Press of the time:

• Stereo Review: "You want to turn it off but cannot, you hate it and love it at the same time, you feel you are in the hands of a brutal but trustworthy genius and are somehow being tested."
• Rolling Stone: "the first truly great pop album of 1974"
• Record World: "It's simply wonderful!"
• Billboard: "Ms. Mitchell's most ambitious album to date."
• CashBox: "some of her finest work"
• High Fidelity: "I always say that Joni Mitchell's new album is her finest. It always is."
• Robert Christgau (A): "she's the best singer-songwriter there is right now"

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: #2
• Record World: #1
• CashBox: #1

This album topped The Village Voice's annual 'Pazz & Jop' critic's poll for 1974. In its 2020 list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, Rolling Stone ranked Court And Spark at #110. Track 7, Down To You, won the Grammy award for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s). The album was nominated for Album of the Year, losing to Fulfillingness' First Finale. Help Me was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Performance, losing in both categories to I Honestly Love You. The album was subsequently inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2004.

Tracks:

1. Court And Spark: Perfect opener. Quiet piano intro then gently builds throughout.
2. Help Me: There it is. As comfortable as granddad's recliner.
3. Free Man In Paris: Possibly the most HPM (hooks per minute) on the album plus it's easy to sing along with.
4. People's Parties/5. Same Situation: A couple of laid-back odes to the insecure human condition. The lyrics are pure poetry.
6. Car On A Hill: The best Steely Dan song they never recorded.
7. Down To You: This beautiful ballad acts like a pallet cleanser. My wife is a former bassoon player and likes to point out the solo. Best arrangement on the album.
8. Just Like This Train: See tracks 4 & 5 above.
9. Raised On Robbery: This boogie tune moves seamlessly from Andrews Sisters vocals to a straight up rocker, complete with a (too brief) sax solo.
10. Trouble Child: I can barely get past that catchy bass line that works equally well in 7 or 8 when that gloriously uplifting chorus kicks in. 
11. Twisted: cover of a swing tune with some spoken word from Cheech & Chong. I don't want to like it but I can't help myself. The great muted trumpet licks from Chuck Findley certainly help.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: My introduction to Joni Mitchell was hearing Help Me on the AM radio sometime in 1974. I was 8 years old at the time and had no idea what was going on other than it had a catchy hook in the chorus. Still not sure I understand what's going on and living in such ambiguity is just fine with me.

 

Previously revisited for the blog:
The Hissing of Summer Lawns (1975)
Blue (1971)

Joni Mitchell - The Hissing of Summer Lawns (1975)

Note: this CD released using HDCD encoding.

I recently told a buddy from high school, "I've finally reached a point where I dig some of Joni Mitchell's music." His response was "I've been unable to make that leap yet" which is a perfectly valid response and I've probably said something similar at some point. But this album title was just too attractive to me (see personal memory, below) so when I was lucky enough to find a used copy of this album awhile back, I didn't hesitate. I've been listening to it fairly regularly since its purchase. I don't really understand it, but I love it and I'm sorry it took me so long to delve into the thing. Repeated active listening is greatly rewarded.

And the backing musicians are top-shelf: Robben Ford, Victor Feldman, Larry Carlton, Wilton Felder, Joe Sample, Graham Nash, Chuck Findley, James Taylor, et. al.

Mitchell was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for the album, eventually losing to Linda Ronstadt for her album Hasten Down The Wind. Rolling Stone magazine ranked the album at number 258 in the 2020 edition of its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (Mitchell’s 1971 release Blue came in at #3, Hejira ranked #133, and Court and Spark is #110). 258 sounds about right to me. In the book 1001 Albums To Hear Before You Die (2005), Louise Sugrue writes that the album is "as baffling as it is beautiful" and I'll just leave it at that.

Press of the time:

• Billboard: "probably her most consistent effort yet"
• CashBox: "This is an album of definite progression"
• Rolling Stone: "a great collection of pop poems with a distracting soundtrack"
• Record World: "allow yourself to be engulfed by it"
• Stereo Review: "you'll have to deal with it privately, as you would read a book"
• Robert Christgau (B): "Mitchell's transition from great songwriter to not-bad poet is meeting resistance from her talent and good sense, but I guess you can't fight 'progress.'"

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #4
• CashBox: #5

Tracks: from Joni's liner notes:

This record is a total work conceived graphically, musically, lyrically and accidentally - as a whole. The performances were guided by the given compositional structures and the audibly inspired beauty of every player. The whole unfolded like a mystery. It is not my intention to unravel that mystery for anyone, but rather to offer some additional clues:

"Centerpiece" is a Johnny Mandel-Jon Hendricks tune. John Guerin and I collaborated on "The Hissing Of Summer Lawns." "The Boho Dance" is a Tom Wolfe-ism from the book, "The Painted Word." The poem, "Don't Interrupt The Sorrow" was born around 4 a.m. in a New York loft. Larry Poons seeded it and Bobby Neuwirth was midwife here, but the child filtered thru Genesis at Jackson Lake, Saskatchewan, is rebellious and mystical and insists that its conception was immaculate.

The closest thing to a 'hit single' was the album's lead track, In France They Kiss On Main Street, which peaked at #66 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #32 on the Easy Listening chart. In addition to that cut, my other top picks are Edith And The Kingpin, Shades Of Scarlett Conquering, and Harry's House/Centerpiece. I'm not wild about The Jungle Line and its aggressive Moog sounds and "warrior drums of Burundi," mostly because it doesn't fit in with the rest of the album. Regardless, I've got no problem playing the thing from top-to-bottom as intended by the artist.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I'll confess that I was drawn to this album more for its title than its reputation. I grew up in the Chihuahuan Desert and on still summer days it seemed that the grass actually hissed due to the hot, arid air. I know that I'm just nostalgic for my younger days but with rich lyrics like this how can I resist:

See the blue pools in the squinting sun
And hear the hissing of summer lawns.

My mind spends a lot of time in 1975, so this relaxing, folky music is a welcome addition to the soundtrack of my daydreams. With a forecast of 104° and a heat index of 107° today, I'll have no problem finding some hissing lawns this afternoon.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Blue (1971)

Joni Mitchell - Blue (1971)

Note: this CD released using HDCD encoding.

If I'm in a blue funk and want to wallow around in it for a while, this is my go-to album. An album all about relationships, I usually have one of two thoughts while listening: 1) I'm not alone; Joni is miserable, too, or 2) as bad as I feel, I'm not nearly as messed up as Joni. Either way, it makes me feel better.

Probably one of the most perfectly titled albums ever. The music is beautiful in its raw simplicity, with unusual chord progressions that work wonderfully with the lyrics and melodies. Most people my age (5 years old at time of release) are unfamiliar with this album unless introduced to it by someone else; it isn't getting any airplay on the radio. I can't remember how I came across it, I'm just glad I did. There's nothing else like it.

Even with lack of a top 40 single, this album was a critical and commercial success. Read a few of the accolades by clicking here.

Update: In its 2020 list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, Rolling Stone ranked Blue at #3.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #15

Tracks:  In my mind, there's only one 36 minute track here.

For more information on the brief life of the CD longbox,
go visit The Legend of the Longbox.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD:  Wallowing.