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- David Browne,Jon Dolan,Stephen Thomas Erlewine,Angie Martoccio,Hank Shteamer,Simon Vozick-Levinson,Douglas Wolk
- “Day After Day” (1965) In her early days, Mitchell bristled at being labeled a folk singer, but she came around in 2020 with the launch of her Archives series, the first installment of which focused on the period leading up to her 1968 debut.
- “Urge for Going” (1965) “Urge for Going” keens with a sense of longing, capturing the yearning desire to be somewhere, anywhere different from where you are.
- “Night in the City” (1968) Written in the mid-Sixties and performed during some of Mitchell’s earliest TV appearances, “Night in the City” is a sweet, anticipatory ode to Yorkville Avenue in Toronto, the hub of the local folk scene.
- “Michael From Mountains” (1968) Mitchell’s relationship with a Colorado musician, Michael Durbin, inspired this enchanting reverie about a couple taking a morning walk in the rain.
- ‘Turbulent Indigo’
- ‘I Had A King’
- ‘River’
- ‘Coyote’
- ‘The Circle Game’
- ‘The Hissing of Summer Lawns’
- ‘Hejira’
- ‘Both Sides Now’
- ‘Big Yellow Taxi’
- ‘A Case of You’
Starting her career in the sixties alongside Dylan and Baez, Mitchell suffered a similar fate in the eighties. With attention drawn to the new wave sounds being made through synths and drum machines, the music world disowned the folk clique which had laid so many foundations before them. It meant that Mitchell spent some years in the wilderness of ...
Though Joni Mitchell had been travelling around the world writing and singing her songs for some time, for many people, the first song on Joni’s first album Songs from a Seagull was their introduction to the talented singer. Introductions don’t get much better than ‘I Had A King’. Mitchell displays all of the poetic qualities and pop sensibilities ...
The track is a wildly popular classic. It’s been recorded more times than any other of Mitchell’s compositions, having been recorded over 432. That said, nothing can really match the tender vulnerability that Mitchell brings to the song. It might well be something to do with ‘River’s origination. The singer is in deep longing to escape her emotiona...
One of the more famous songs on this list, ‘Coyote,’ was written about Sam Shepherd as the duo shared a brief relationship during the Bob Dylan Rolling Thunder Revue, of which they were both a part. It sees Mitchell lament their “different sets of circumstances” and how difficult it is for her to maintain a fruitful relationship when living in a cr...
One track saw Mitchell pen a tune about an old buddy from Canada. In Toronto back in 1964, a young Joni Mitchell was a member of a tiny but growing folk scene. Another member of that scene was Neil Young, and the two performers met in 1964 at the Fourth Dimension folk club at the University of Manitoba. Mitchell would take her talents towards songw...
When Joni Mitchell released her seventh studio album The Hissing of Summer Lawns she perhaps reached the peak of her talents. While the album isn’t quite as highly regarded as the aforementioned Blue or the upcoming Hejira, it saw Mitchell’s songcraft soar and her arrangements improve too. One of the singer’s most musically rich albums is perfectly...
If there’s one thing that Mitchell had developed over her career by the time she approached the 1976 album Hejira it was a sharp tongue. Through a series of condemnations, Mitchell had gathered a reputation as the lonely wanderer and in Hejirashe embraced it. With no rules and only the road ahead of her, Mitchell delivered one of her finest albums ...
‘Both Sides Now’, originally released in 1969, is one of Mitchell’s unstoppable anthems. Touching and emboldened by potent emotion, the song has become a mainstay of her canon. But perhaps an even more revealing version of the song came in 2000 when Mitchell covered her own song. The difference between the versions of the songs is massive. While th...
It’s hard to ignore a song as anthemic as ‘Big Yellow Taxi’. However, it is equally difficult to imagine the song with a fresh mind’s eye. ‘Big Yellow Taxi’ has become a universally adored song for its hopeful message of humanity eventually triumphing over its own greed. Whether or not we feel any closer to such a triumph over 50 years after the so...
Mitchell was never scared to share a piece of herself in her music, and on ‘A Case of You’, she wrote the defining confessional track. Whether or not it is Mitchell herself in the smoke and mirrors of the lyrics is up for debate. However, what she brings in the song’s vocal performance is about as close to putting one’s heart on a plate as you can ...
Mar 31, 2020 · 13. ‘The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines’ (from Mingus) Joni Mitchell’s album Mingus is the height of her jazz journey. Worked on in collaboration with Charles Mingus himself, it’s an ...
- “Both Sides Now” “Both Sides Now” is undeniably one of Joni Mitchell’s greatest hits. It is a folk-pop classic that has been covered by many great artists over the years, but none can come close to Mitchell’s unique rendition.
- “A Case Of You” Next up in our journey through the greatest Joni Mitchell songs of all time is “A Case Of You”, a sublimely romantic track that showcases the singer-songwriter’s ability to capture both the beauty and pain of love.
- “River” One of Joni Mitchell’s best and most recognizable songs is her 1971 classic, “River”. It’s a melancholic folk tune that paints a vivid picture of holiday blues, longing for warm summer nights, and the hope of new beginnings.
- “Big Yellow Taxi” Following the soulful melancholy of “River”, Joni Mitchell’s classic “Big Yellow Taxi” is a jaunty, upbeat tune that continues to captivate listeners today.
- Michael Gallucci
- 'Big Yellow Taxi' From: 'Ladies of the Canyon' (1970) Mitchell's first chart hit (which stalled at No. 67 in 1970) is also her most poppy song, a pro-environment warning released at a time when people still tossed Styrofoam cups from their cars.
- 'Help Me' From: 'Court and Spark' (1974) Mitchell's biggest hit (it reached No. 7, her only Top 10 showing) is also one of her instantly likable songs, thanks to an impeccably played melody that splits the difference between soft rock and smooth jazz.
- 'Free Man in Paris' From: 'Court and Spark' (1974) Mitchell wrote "Free Man in Paris" about her pal, music lifer and all-around rich guy David Geffen. But the song – Court and Spark's third single and Mitchell's second biggest hit – is more interesting musically than lyrically.
- 'A Case of You' From: 'Blue' (1971) One of Mitchell's most romantic songs is also one of her most covered: Tori Amos, Diana Krall and even Prince performed "A Case of You" over the years.
On page 30, then, you'll find 30 insightful pieces on 30 exceptional Joni songs, arranged in the order they were released, beginning with Radiohead's Philip Selway on "Both Sides, Now" and ending with the 2002 orchestral version of "Amelia," nominated by Robert Plant.
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Jan 20, 2017 · Joni Mitchell - Help Me 01/16/1976. 00:00. /. 00:00. Free Man In Paris. 12. “Coyote”. “Coyote” is the first track off Hejira, Mitchell’s 1976 album. It features the masterful electric ...
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