I was looking for an opening to post about one of my favorite records from the 70′s and I thought if I don’t do it now, this month, when will I do it?  It’s not Indie music, it’s not really Classic Rock (anymore) and it’s an album that seems to have long been forgotten all around…but not by me.   Folk Rock may not be your thing, but Joni Mitchell put out some of the very best records of  the genre.  If you don’t have copies of Ladies of The Canyon, Blue and or Court and Spark I kind of feel sorry for you.  With a voice like an angel Mitchell could literally paint a picture of what she was singing about with her unique style of inflection and pitch.   Her vulnerability was always a big draw in evaluating her body of work.  Her music could be described as Folk music with Jazz leanings, but her voice really transcended the whole package.  You may know her mostly as the author of the song “Big Yellow Taxi, Both Sides Now” or as the person who wrote “Woodstock,” but she had a string of really great songs.

It’s hard to pick a favorite among the records I mentioned above, but Court and Spark really put Joni Mitchell over the top as far as sales and radio airplay.   The song “Court and Spark” was a sexy intro to her thoughts at the time and the record just explodes.  “Help Me” was her take on falling in love at the speed of light and feeling a bit overwhelmed.  “Free Man in Paris” is still a masterful single surviving  decades of massive airplay to remain a solid track even as it makes the transition into Oldies land.   It is literally the perfect single.  Breezy and airy and the lyrics are tremendous.  From there the record continues on non stop; People’s Parties, The Same Situation, Car On a Hill, Down To You, Just Like This Train, Raised On Robbery (the only other single of any consequence), Trouble Child and Twisted.   I know every word and nuance of Joni’s wordplay and delivery.  Brilliant.  It went to #1 in Canada (shocking), #2 in The United States and #14 in the United Kingdom.   It went Double Platinum and finished #111 in that 2003 Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Albums of all Time poll.   I still play this record, without fail, at least once a year start to finish and that is saying a ton with the number of choices I have here.  I can’t recommend it enthusiastically enough.

Roberta Joan Anderson, who later became known as Joni Mitchell, hailed from the Canadian Province of Alberta.  She worked in Toronto for a time (eventually teaming up with and eventually marrying Folk singer Chuck Mitchell) and Detroit before making a beeline to the Folk Rock hotbed of New York City around 1967.  Mitchell performed up and down the east coast and luckily bumped into one David Crosby in a Coconut Grove, Florida club called The Gaslight South.  Mitchell’s marriage eventually failed, but she kept the name and was coaxed into following Crosby west to Los Angeles.   David Crosby was already a big star by virtue of his work with The Byrds, but he clearly had an eye for talent.  He had no trouble getting Mitchell on track to sign a deal with Reprise Records in 1968 and getting her recorded.   Joni didn’t need much in the way of backing;  all she needed was a guitar, that beautiful voice and that god given talent.   Her first record, Song To a Seagull (sometimes referred to as just Joni Mitchell), was followed by Clouds in 1969.   Not only did she paint her own portrait for the cover, but “Chelsea Morning” and “Both Sides Now” were included on the record.  Judy Collins, one of the few women…maybe Joan Baez as well…who were in Mitchell’s vocal class at the time, actually covered “Both Sides Now” with more success.  Clouds ended up winning a Grammy Award for best Folk Performance.   She was on her way…

I don’t think many folks would actually have foreseen the greatness that was to follow though.   1970′s Ladies of The Canyon is a masterpiece of the highest order.   It begins with “Morning Morgantown” and doesn’t make a mistake for the ensuing 11 tracks culminating in “The Circle Game.”   I remember a band called The Neighborhood covering “Big Yellow Taxi” with a lot of success.  Everybody now knows the famous line “they paved paradise and put up a parking lot.”  ”Woodstock” also appeared on this record (if memory serves, from reading about her last year, she wasn’t even at Woodstock…the song was written in a hotel room, but please don’t quote me), but it was immediately covered by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young on their stellar Deja Vu record.   Joni Mitchell and the boys from this group had a lot of ties.  Mitchell was Canadian as was Neil Young so they had that in common.  Crosby shepherded her cross country and you can bet they may have kissed a time or two as Mitchell was quite attractive in addition to her talent.  But if I remember correctly she was living with Graham Nash at the time of Ladies of The Canyon.   There are some who claim the C,S,N & Y song “Our House” was written about their alleged domestic bliss at the time.

Mitchell was hardly done here though.  1971′s Blue may be universally thought of as her very best piece of work.  “Carey, California, The Last Time I Saw Richard” and on and on.   1972′s For The Roses yielded “You Turn Me On, I’m a Rado.”   I don’t know anything about the process of genius, but I can see why Mitchell might have needed some time off in 1973, at least as far as recording goes.   This is the exact point where Jazz and horns began to make their way into her music.   Court and Spark was a monster.   It may have been all too much for her because after Court and Spark, with the possible exception of “In France They Kiss On Main Street” from 1975′s The Hissing of Summer Lawns, “Coyote” from 1976′s Hejira and possibly “Jericho” from 1977′s Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter Mitchell’s radio appeal began to fade seriously.  Now radio changed a lot too, don’t get me wrong, but I can barely remember a couple of weeks of  airplay for “You’re So Square (Baby I Don’t Care), which wasn’t even her song, from 1982′s Wild Things Run Fast.  After that forget it.  Now that doesn’t mean she didn’t make great records, it’s just that the public was no longer getting the news.

OK, I’ve gone on long enough about my love of Joni Mitchell’s work.   She has over 20 records on the market counting the inevitable Greatest Hit packages.  If you are inclined towards Jazz and don’t mind a bit of Folk mixed in with that you should be OK with her catalogue.  I’m probably not going to convince anyone out there in this forum, but I felt like it had to be said.   If you’re looking for a woman to Court and Spark this is the month and this is the time.  Happy Valentine’s Day to all…

Joni Mitchell – Free Man in Paris.mp3

Joni Mitchell – Car On a Hill.mp3

Joni Mitchell – Raised On Robbery.mp3

Joni Mitchell – Raised On Robbery.mp3 YSI

Buy or download Court and Spark from Amazon.com here.

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