Joni Mitchell

Rocket · « **on:** 18 Dec 2005, 02:29 pm »

Hi,

I have the greatest hits and Blue cd's from Joni Mitchell. I've recently discovered her music and i'm wondering what other cd's i should purchase? I really like her music and the recordings are very good.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Regards

Rod

ted_b · « **Reply #1 on:** 18 Dec 2005, 03:04 pm »

Hejira is my favorite, but then I like most of Joni's work. Court and Spark is a classic; Hissing of Summer Lawns is a must, too. Her work with legendary bassist Jaco Pastorius (which includes the above-mentioned Hejira) also produced Don Juan's Reckless Daughter, an inconsistent album, but includes some incredible stuff nonetheless. Jaco worked with her on Mingus too, but unless you are a Charles Mingus fan it is not quite as accessible as her more pop/jazz stuff. Me, I love it.

Her later period is quite different than the classic early work (her voice can no longer hit the highs so she purposely sings in a much lower octave) but still very good. Of those, I especially like Night Ride Home and Turbulent Indigo.

mdconnelly · « **Reply #2 on:** 18 Dec 2005, 03:23 pm »

Simple answer - all of them *g*

Seriously, I've been a huge fan since the 60's, have all her recordings, and they all offer something different.

The earlier recordings (Songs to a Seagull, Clouds, Ladies of the Canyon, Blue...) are all classic early Joni. Blue is often sited in the audiophile arena but they're all great (IMO).

Mid 70s she produced what was likely her biggest seller (I'm guessing here) in Court and Spark. Very up-beat (particularly for Joni ;-). Her live Miles of Aisles is in a similar vein where she was backed by L.A. Express.

Much of her later stuff has a very different style with strong jazz influences. It's a bit of a mixed bag for me (but that may reflect more about me than her music). Check out Mingus.

There are lots of compilation CDs and DVDs as well. I keep hoping we'll see more from her.

Just discovering Joni... I envy you. There's lots of gold there for you to mine.

Captain Humble · « **Reply #3 on:** 18 Dec 2005, 07:55 pm »

What do you guys think of her CD, "BOTH SIDES NOW"?

mdconnelly · « **Reply #4 on:** 18 Dec 2005, 08:14 pm »

"Both Sides Now" is good - but falls into the orchestrated compilation category -- great music, but none of the songs hold up as well as they did as originally released (IMHO).

Captain Humble · « **Reply #5 on:** 18 Dec 2005, 09:29 pm »

Quote

"Both Sides Now" is good - but falls into the orchestrated compilation category -- great music, but none of the songs hold up as well as they did as originally released (IMHO).

I much prefer the deeper smokey voice and style of this CD to her early work. However... I was saddened by her inablility to stay on pitch for this performance and quite frankly I'm amazed that she released it as it is. Just another opinion.

Rocket · « **Reply #6 on:** 19 Dec 2005, 05:50 am »

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the response. I am quite picky and i am after similiar music to Blue and its excellent recording quality. What can you recommend?

Thanks in advance for your advice. Am i the only one or do you find it hard to buy music you like and is well recorded?

Regards

Rod

SWG255 · « **Reply #7 on:** 19 Dec 2005, 01:54 pm »

Quote from: Rocket

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the response. I am quite picky and i am after similiar music to Blue and its excellent recording quality. What can you recommend?

Thanks in advance for your advice. Am i the only one or do you find it hard to buy music you like and is well recorded?

Regards

Rod

I'd give "Ladies of the Canyon" a try next. It isn't quite as refined a recording as "Blue", and it was recorded a year or so earlier, but it has that same innocent "folky" feel, probably even more so than "Blue" in that regard. I also like "For the Roses", the album Joni released after "Blue". The vinyl album art for it was somewhat provacative in its day.

Frankly though, I agree that one can hardly go wrong with any of her recordings, her versatility and songwriting talent has allowed her to continue making excellent music, even as she has aged and her voice has become smokier and more limited in range.

Thump553 · « **Reply #8 on:** 19 Dec 2005, 02:59 pm »

Any album up to and including For The Roses is excellent throughout. After that, her songwriting got inconsistent but there are some good moments. Personally, I never cared much for her jazz much (but I'm not much of a jazz fan either). As far as anything recent, unfortunately cigarettes have totally ruined her voice.

Rocket · « **Reply #9 on:** 20 Dec 2005, 01:23 am »

Hi Guys,

I appreciate you comments. I'll buy one before xmas.

Regards

Rod

Neil G · « **Reply #10 on:** 21 Dec 2005, 03:07 pm »

My favourite one is "Turbulent Indigo" which came out in 1994. She took home a Grammy for this album. Excellent.