Joni Mitchell steps out of retirement to work on new album

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BlueChair
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Joni Mitchell steps out of retirement to work on new album

Post by BlueChair »

From Uncut
http://www.uncut.co.uk/news/uncut/news/8940

JONI MITCHELL MAKES NEW ALBUM AFTER DECADE HIATUS

Joni Mitchell has announced that she has come out of self-imposed retirement and is currently recording material for a new album.

In an interview with Canadian regional newspaper the Ottawa Citizen, Mitchell said, “When the world becomes a massive mess with nobody at the helm, it's time for artists to make their mark.â€
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Post by Chrille »

Fairly interesting. I only know three of her early albums (Blue, Court... and Summer Lawns) and I've heard she hasn't released anything particularly worthwhile since those days, but perhaps I've been misinformed.
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Post by BlueChair »

Well, I think with Mitchell is pretty comparable to a lot of other artists of her generation. Her 80s and 90s output is by no means worthless, just not as classic as stuff like Blue or Hejira

Taming The Tiger, her last album of new material, was pretty well regarded. Elvis even put it on his 500 Albums You Need list a few years back.
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Post by Chrille »

Hmm, well I do intend to get more albums of hers. Any big Mitchell-fans on the board? Are there any other essential purchases than Blue, Court and Spark and The Hissing of Summer Lawns? (the latter is my favourite so far)
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Post by BlueChair »

Definitely get Hejira - that's my favorite Mitchell album, and basically takes Hissing Of Summer Lawns to the next level.
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Post by Masterpiece? »

From the 70s, Court and Spark is a classic of course, that's a must-own. Hejira is great, also Ladies of the Canyon which includes Big Yellow Taxi and Woodstock. Blue and For the Roses are also very good. I'd get those before her late-70s stuff which is more experimental, like Mingus.

I love two of her 90s albums, Night Ride Home and Turbulent Indigo. Taming the Tiger was also very good but didn't wow me like the other two, although it includes her version of the song she contributed to the movie Grace of My Heart, "Man From Mars" (there's your Elvis connection).

Her 80s work was hit-or-miss. Chalk Mark in a Rainstorm is solid, and there are a few good songs on Wild Things Run Fast, but she was trying unsuccessfully to incorporate electronics into her sound to get with the times, and the music suffers, especially on Dog Eat Dog, which I would call her only bomb.

The cocktail set will enjoy 2000's Both Sides Now, in which she reinterprets some of her older songs with a full orchestra behind her. I enjoyed "Comes Love" and the remake of the title track.

Personally, I'm thrilled that she's working again. When she spoke with Rosanna Arquette in the documentray All We Are Saying, she inferred that she was through with recording. I'm glad she changed her mind.
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Post by ReadyToHearTheWorst »

Just seen the announcement of a record deal and date for the new album:
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Post by BlueChair »

Say what you will about Starbucks as a record label, but McCartney got way more of a marketing push than he would have on Capitol/EMI. I'm sure Mitchell will get the same treatment.
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Post by Mike Boom »

Are there any other essential purchases than Blue, Court and Spark and The Hissing of Summer Lawns? (the latter is my favourite so far)
This could be a really great record, looking foward to it.
As the others have said "Hejira" is a must have, but if you like "Summer Lawns" I would also add "Don Juans Reckless Daughter" to that must have list. It takes a little listening to get into, but it contains some of her very very best work.
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Post by Chrille »

I now own Blue, Court And Spark, Hissing and Hejira and Hissing is still my favourite followed by Court and then either Hejira or Blue, all great albums either way.

I guess I should check out Ladies of the Canyon, For The Roses and Don's. How's Mingus?
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Post by Mr. Average »

Mingus is brilliant but not a starter for Joni. The songs are peppered with some dialogue or some vocal vignettes from Charles in the later years, as he was wasting from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, more commonly known as Lou Gehrigs disease, unable to play but still able to contribute musically.

But the song "Dry Cleaner from Des Moines" remains one of my all time favorites in the whole of Joni's catalog, a simple pop vignette with the late Jaco bass sound that emulated a Mingus bass, displacing acoustic with electric in a way that really works and drives the song to a level that would otherwise not have been attained. If I could play one rock instrument and effect a significant change on the sound of pop music I would choose the bass and learn from the likes of Mingus and Clarke (early) and Carter and Pastorius to effect a real sonic change.
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Post by Mechanical Grace »

I wouldn't miss Ladies Of The Canyon. Personally I like it as much as Blue, quite possibly more (heresy!). And, as I've mentioned oh, twenty or thirty times on this board, Shadows And Light is fantastic: a collection of some of her best songs, done live at what will surely be seen as the height of her powers, with a cast of musicians that will blow your mind. If I had a fancy-schmancy home theater system I'd go out and find the Blue Ray/HD-DVD version of this if/when it was available. But a good recording on CD will be heavenly enough.
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