Joni Mitchell: Her Ten Best Albums
From my teenage years, when I first heard Clouds and the classic "Blue" I have loved Joni Mitchell - lyrics, music, delivery, all are incredible. Soon afterwards I bought Ladies Of The Canyon and I was completely hooked for life Joni Mitchell's best albums show her moving over the years from folk to jazz styles, with African influences on some records, her classical piano training adorning others. Whatever the style she delivers beautiful music. She's remained one of my favourite artists and here I list my ten favourite Joni Mitchell albums.
As a young woman Joni moved from Canada to New York, then Los Angeles, becoming part of the scene that included David Crosby, Jackson Browne and a host of now famous names from that golden era. Her background was the Canadian folk circuit but despite her lack of experience she wowed anyone who heard her: she's been doing it ever since. Here's my selection of Joni Mitchell's ten best albums: I hope they become your favourites as much as they are mine.
Ten Best Joni Mitchell Albums
Contents
- Joni MItchell: Lyrics And Music
- Song To A Seagull
- Clouds
- Songs To Aging Children Come
- Ladies of the Canyon
- Joni versus Joan, Mitchell v Baez
- Blue
- Joni Mitchell: Assorted Images
- For The Roses
- Court And Spark
- The Hissing of Summer Lawns
- Joni: Folk versus Jazz
- Hejira
- Shadows And Light
- Shine
- Joni's Own Site
- Wilson And Allroy's Joni Mitchell Reviews
- More about Woodstock
- Great Live Music On DVD
- Joni Before She Was Joni Mitchell
- Born To Take The Highway
- Joni CD In Love Actually
- Joni MItchell Fans On Twitter
- Joni MItchell Links
- Joni Mitchell Favorites as MP3s
- An Extra Treat
- Do You Have A Favourite Joni Mitchell Album?
- About Me
Joni MItchell: Lyrics And Music
Official site
Joni Mitchell officlal site: lyrics and music
Song To A Seagull
Joni Mitchell best albums #1
Released in 1968 when she was 25, her first album is a haunting collection of songs, performed perfectly against her classical-pianist-influenced melodies and arrangements.As you can see from the track listing below, Joni thought of this as a two-part collection. The first part is melancholy (post-marriage collapse), the second deals with freedom and the sea.
Produced by David Crosby of CSN&Y fame.
Side 1: "I Came to the City"
1."I Had a King" - 3:37
2."Michael from Mountains" - 3:41
3."Night in the City" - 2:30
4."Marcie" - 4:35
5."Nathan La Franeer" - 3:18
Side 2: "Out of the City and Down to the Seaside"
1."Sisotowbell Lane" - 4:05
2."The Dawntreader" - 5:04
3."The Pirate Of Penance" - 2:44
4."Song to a Seagull" - 3:51
5."Cactus Tree" - 4:35
Clouds
Joni MItchell best albums #2
Joni's second album: very lightly arranged, which lets us appreciate her amazing voice and guitar work, Other artists had recorded "From Both Sides Now" but here she records it herself for the first time -- and it's majestic. Clouds won a Grammy for Best Folk Album 1969.The Youtube clip below is "Songs To Aging Chidren Come" - I've actually chosen someone else's version because this is from the film "Alice's Restaurant" and shows the burial of Woodie Guthrie.
Side 1
1."Tin Angel" - 4:09
2."Chelsea Morning" - 2:35
3."I Don't Know Where I Stand" - 3:13
4."That Song About the Midway" - 4:38
5."Roses Blue" - 3:52
Side 2
1."The Gallery" - 4:12
2."I Think I Understand" - 4:28
3."Songs to Aging Children Come" - 3:10
4."The Fiddle and the Drum" - 2:50
5."Both Sides, Now" - 4:32
Does the moon play only silver
When it strums the galaxy
Dying roses will they will their
Perfumed rhapsodies to me
Songs to aging children come
This is one
Ladies of the Canyon
Joni MItchell best albums #3
1970 saw Joni's third album released and I have to say it's one of my favourites - partly because of the time in my life that it coincided with but mainly because of the beauty of the lyrics. I've often thought that she doesn't write songs, she writes poetry set to music, and some of the tracks here are glorious,.Most of you will have heard of Big Yellow Taxi, Woodstock and The Circle Game - three songs off one album that have crossed musical barriers and become standards.
Side 1:
1."Morning Morgantown" - 3:12
2."For Free" - 4:31
3."Conversation" - 4:21
4."Ladies of the Canyon" - 3:32
5."Willy" - 3:00
6."The Arrangement" - 3:32
Side 2:
7."Rainy Night House" - 3:22
8."The Priest" - 3:39
9."Blue Boy" - 2:53
10."Big Yellow Taxi" - 2:16
11."Woodstock" - 5:25
12."The Circle Game" - 4:50
Joni versus Joan, Mitchell v Baez
Blue
Joni MItchell best albums #4
The monster album, the one that still has people raving to this day. Teenagers and solitary souls of the era ranked this with Leonard Cohen's Songs From A Room - it was so powerful in its lyrics. Many who heard this first rank it as the best Joni Mitchell album, a favorite to listen to year after year,The songs were written in several locations as Joni travelled after she and Graham Nash had broken up. They are raw with emotion, sad, and will strike a chord with anyone today. Do not however let the sadness and pain behind them put you off - this is a truly amazing set of songs.
In 1979 Mitchell reflected to Rolling Stone, "The Blue album, there's hardly a dishonest note in the vocals. At that period of my life, I had no personal defenses. I felt like a cellophane wrapper on a pack of cigarettes. I felt like I had absolutely no secrets from the world and I couldn't pretend in my life to be strong. Or to be happy. But the advantage of it in the music was that there were no defenses there either".
1."All I Want" - 3:32
2."My Old Man" - 3:33
3."Little Green" - 3:25
4."Carey" - 3:00
5."Blue" - 3:00
6."California" - 3:48
7."This Flight Tonight" - 2:50
8."River" - 4:00
9."A Case of You" - 4:20
10."The Last Time I Saw Richard" - 4:13
For The Roses
Joni MItchell best albums #5
A slightly odd album in some ways, Roses sees Joni moving away from the folk roots and incorporating jazz themes for the first time. It's not a smooth transition as she was undergoing some turmoil in her private life at the time of recording - indeed the title track presaged her breaking from performing for twelve months:Remember the days when you used to sit
And make up your tunes for love
And pour your simple sorrow
To the soundhole and your knee
And now you're seen
On giant screens
And at parties for the press
And for people who have slices of you
From the company
They toss around your latest golden egg
Speculation-well, who's to know
If the next one in the nest
Will glitter for them so
Quibbles aside, there are several excellent tracks - the rest are merely very good!
Side 1:
1."Banquet" - 3:01
2."Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire" - 4:17
3."Barangrill" - 2:52
4."Lesson in Survival" - 3:11
5."Let the Wind Carry Me" - 3:56
Sise 2:
6."For the Roses" - 3:48
7."See You Sometime" - 2:56
8."Electricity" - 3:01
9."You Turn Me on I'm a Radio" - 2:39
10."Blonde in the Bleachers" - 2:42
11."Woman of Heart and Mind" - 2:38
12."Judgement of the Moon and Stars (Ludwig's Tune)" - 5:19
The best of the first five favourite Joni Mitchell albums?
Ladies Of The Canyon
Ladies of the Canyon
Amazon Price: $4.19 (as of 02/22/2012)
Lights down low, candles lit, glass of wine and lean back and listen to the music Put it on repeat - you'll play this over and over.
More Joni Mitchell Favourite Albums
Court And Spark
Joni MItchell best albums #6
Back recording, Joni moves strongly into the jazz world with Court And Spark. The folk/rock/jazz mix proved surprisingly popular and this was Joni's most successful album commercially, reaching number 2 in the BIllboard chart. As cited on Wikipedia: "The album was kept from the top spot by three #1 albums-in order Bob Dylan's Planet Waves, Barbra Streisand's The Way We Were and John Denver's Greatest Hits". Not sure about John Denver but can't complain about the other two!The album also featured her only top ten single: Help Me.
Other point: it was the first time she'd released an album where she didn't write all the songs -- the last track "Twisted" isn't hers.
Side 1:
1."Court and Spark" - 2:46
2."Help Me" - 3:22
3."Free Man in Paris" - 3:02
4."People's Parties" - 2:15
5."Same Situation" - 2:57
6."Car on a Hill" - 3:02
Side 2:
7."Down to You" - 5:38
8."Just Like this Train" - 4:24
9."Raised on Robbery" - 3:06
10."Trouble Child" - 4:00
11."Twisted" - 2:21
The Hissing of Summer Lawns
Joni MItchell best albums #7
1975 saw the release of "Summer Lawns". Musical influences range from jazz to orchestral to African drumming to folk rock -- and yet it's a wonderfully coherent set of songs. As ever, the lyrics are beautiful and float on the arrangements, whether they be full orchestra or just Joni's guitar. One of my absolute favourite Joni MItchell albums.This was slated by various critics, which only goes to show that major media critics should be shot. Unles this lens becomes a massive hit, of course, we have to be reasonable!
1."In France They Kiss on Main Street" - 3:19
2."The Jungle Line" - 4:25
3."Edith and the Kingpin" - 3:38
4."Don't Interrupt the Sorrow" - 4:05
5."Shades of Scarlett Conquering" - 4:59
6."The Hissing of Summer Lawns" - 3:01 (Joni Mitchell, John Guerin)
7."The Boho Dance" - 3:48
8."Harry's House/Centerpiece" - 6:48 (Joni Mitchell/Jon Hendricks, Johnny Mandel)
9."Sweet Bird" - 4:12
10."Shadows and Light" - 4:19
Joni: Folk versus Jazz
Hejira
Joni MItchell best albums #8
Another album where the songs were written while she was travelling, (hence the title), and still jazz-inspired, though perhaps more accessible than some of her other jazz works. Musically and lyrically it works perfectly and is another of my absolute favourites.The album was liked by the critics but failed to appeal to commercial radio. Germany's Spex magazine rated this its 55th best album of the century and I might well agree with them,
1."Coyote" - 5:01
2."Amelia" - 6:01
3."Furry Sings the Blues" - 5:07
4."A Strange Boy" - 4:15
5."Hejira" - 6:42
6."Song for Sharon" - 8:40
7."Black Crow" - 4:22
8."Blue Motel Room" - 5:04
9."Refuge of the Roads" - 6:42
Shadows And Light
Joni MItchell best albums #9
The first eight albums I've chosen have all been studio recordings; Shadows is a live double CD concert, with Jaco Pastorius, Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays. If you've listened to any of the tracks above you'll know what a great live performer Joni has been and this is her at her best. There aren't many artistes who transfer lush and complex studio arrangements so successfully to live performances - she does.There are a few great concerts I can almost literally say I'd kill to have been there -- this is one of them, along with Woodstock and a certain Captain Beefheart night where bad things were thrown to the audience. Seriously, glorious music.
Disc: 1
1. Introduction
2. In France They Kiss On Main Street
3. Edith And The Kingpin
4. Coyote
5. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
6. The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines
7. Amelia
8. Pat's Solo
9. Hejira
Disc: 2
1. Black Crow
2. Don's Solo
3. Dreamland
4. Free Man In Paris
5. Band Introduction
6. Furry Sings The Blues
7. Why Do Fools Fall In Love?
8. Shadows And Light
9. God Must Be A Boogie Man
10. Woodstock
Shine
Joni MItchell best albums #10
Back in the studio after years away, A sticker on my CD says "The radiant return of one of the greatest singer/songwriters of our time". I don't think I'd ever use the word radiant unless I was reviewing gas fires but I can understand and forgive whoever wrote that - decades after her first songs and she's still producing some beauties. To illustrate her quality, the first track "One Week Last Summer" won the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance.The voice isn't quite what it was, sadly, and the songs are often harsher, reflecting the events that helped make her come back to speak out against "warmongering politicos and environmental myopia" (Paul Sullivan). Nonetheless, 99% of all known musicians must listen to this and weep.
The last track "If" is based on Rudyard Kipling's poem.
1.One Week Last Summer - 4:59 .
2.This Place - 3:54
3.If I Had a Heart - 4:04
4."Hana" - 3:43
5.Bad Dreams - 5:41
6.Big Yellow Taxi - 2.47 (fascinating to compare with the original)
7.Night of the Iguana - 4:38
8.Strong and Wrong - 4:04
9.Shine - 7:29
10.If - 5:32
Another favourite Joni Mitchell album to choose ...
The Hissing of Summer Lawns
The Hissing Of Summer Lawns
Amazon Price: $9.90 (as of 02/22/2012)
Musically more complex, lyrically as poetic as ever, play this after the tenth repeat of Ladies Of The Canyon.
More Joni Mitchell Favourite Albums
Joni's Own Site
Wilson And Allroy's Joni Mitchell Reviews
One of the more outspoken record review sites, they do a full breakdown of Joni's albums. At times you'll scream at them but it's interesting stuff.Wilson And Allroy's website,
More about Woodstock
Watched by Joni from a hotel room
Joni Mitchell's Best Albums Rated
Click an arrow to rate your favourite
Ladies of the Canyon
5 points
Court And Spark
5 points
Song To A Seagull
4 points
The Hissing of Summer Lawns
1 point
Shadows And Light
1 point
For The Roses
1 point
Great Live Music On DVD
Joni Mitchell - Collectors Edition
Amazon Price: $17.89 (as of 02/22/2012)
Glorious live music and more, this DVD set is actually two separate releases (so don't buy if you already have either of them).
Painting With Words And Music is a recording made on Warners lot, set against a backdrop of Joni's own paintings. Includes full versions of a dozen songs.
Woman of Heart and Mind Two hour documentary covering Joni's life, her music, art, loves, losses. Puts other such documentaries to shame for its candour and insight. Four suoerb bonus tracks as well.
Joni Before She Was Joni Mitchell
Joni Anderson
The clip below, and thank you to LiseFunderburg for Tweeting it, is a 1965 clip of Joni Anderson singing "Borm To Take The Highway" - a simple but beautiful song and definitely prophetic - travelling to or travelling away from would become a feature of Joni's life.
I was born to take the highway
I was born to chase a dream
Any road at all is my way
Any place is where I've been
Anything is what I've seen
Joni CD In Love Actually
Both Sides Now
Joni recorded a CD of jazz standards, plus two of her own songs, under the title Both Sides Now. The tracks are ordered to show the course of a love affair from start to sad finish.In the film Love Actually Emma Thompson knows her husband has bought an expensive necklace. When she opens her Christmas present to find the Both Sides Now CD she realises that husband Alan Rickman is having an affair, the jewelry destined for his lover.
Buy Both Sides Now
from Amazon. Joni MItchell Fans On Twitter
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- vsbear
- RT @dgmbear: Joni Mitchell 'Hejira'. I'll never forget hearing this for the first time. A work of art. http://t.co/ByNIF0Qj
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- RobAdams6
- One more plug for SNJO's Weather Report celebration this weekend from superb Joni Mitchell arranger Vince Mendoza at http://t.co/esIoyTje
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- guzokumireh
- barry bought me CD Joni Mitchell, I think it's etiolated.
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- swirlyRadioList
- "God Must Be a Boogie Man" - Mingus (Joni Mitchell)
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- Shawneewdm
- Joni Mitchell: Updated from the well-received edition, this new edition brings the Joni Mitchell story up to date. http://t.co/PqeCTuWb
Joni MItchell Links
- Rock 'n' Roll's Leading Lady - TIME
- Excellent article by Time magazine from 1974
- http://www.last.fm/music/Joni+Mitchell
- Last FM's Joni section
- Joni Mitchell - Wikipedia,
- Decent Wikipedia entry
- The Official Website of Joni Mitchell
- Official site - great site
- Top 20 studio albums
- Interesting list by a knowledgeable fan
Joni Mitchell Favorites as MP3s
Click the button in the middle to start playing samples.
An Extra Treat
I've looked at lenses from both sides now
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Do You Have A Favourite Joni Mitchell Album?
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SophiaStar
Feb 17, 2012 @ 2:22 pm | delete
- Blue is my favorite, but here are still so many songs I have to yet to listen to. What a wonderful compilation you put together!
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SuperBrainwave
Feb 17, 2012 @ 11:46 am | delete
- I have almost all the early and mid albums and would agree with your choices. My feelings about her later, jazzy albums are more mixed. Blue is probably her best album, but as I've overplayed it so much in the past, I rarely listen to it nowadays! :-)
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fanfreluche
Feb 13, 2012 @ 1:30 pm | delete
- I love Joni Mitchell, she has a beautiful voice and some amazing songs. But you are truly a bigger fan than I am!
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Ysis
Feb 9, 2012 @ 1:27 pm | delete
- Ηi Paul,
I would like to invite you to read my lens on the Greek debt. Thank you.
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kathysart
Jan 29, 2012 @ 11:17 am | delete
- Blue.. I love Blue. I have bout 8 of her CD's, I've always been a fan. Angel blessed lens.
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Joni Mitchell: my ten favourite albums. The best albums recorded by the wonderful Joni MItchell.
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Joni's Ladies Of The Canyon
Ladies of the Canyon
Amazon Price: $4.19 (as of 02/22/2012)
One of those albums where all elements, from lyrics to production, are in harmony and excellent.
Ten Sad Songs
Songs Of Sorrow, Songs Of Loss
