Joni Mitchell (The beginnings)– one of the very greats.  I remember seeing her on a Sight and Sound concert on BBC2 singing mostly songs from Blue; her first Masterpiece.  I bought it and slowly worked my way back to her first 3 albums.  Her debut was Song To A Seagull (1968) – and really I cannot see much evidence of the greatness that was to come.  The songs seem almost twee – very much in the folk mode, and her voice is so high it is almost shrill at times.  I quite like the title song and ‘Night in The City’ – but I almost cannot listen to the rest.  Apparently, it was produced by David Crosby and has lately been remastered and sounds much better.  However – I have no wish to buy it again and be inevitably disappointed all over again.  Coincidentally Dylan’s debut I also disliked – so what do I know?  The following year and a much better effort – Clouds – came out.  The voice is a bit more varied, less shrill and I have always loved her deeper notes.  The songs seem more interesting too – better melodies and sumptuous guitar strumming.  This record sold much better, partly on the back of the single ‘Both Sides Now’ with its unforgettable words.  I also like ‘Chelsea Morning’, ‘Gallery’ and ‘Songs to Ageing Children Come’.  But almost all the songs are interesting and varied.  She was beginning by now to get into her stride, stepping out of her folk style and into one of her very own.  Several artists had begun to record her songs too and she was unashamed of her quite personal and emotional lyrics.  She was beginning to write pure poetry, just like Dylan had before her and Leonard Cohen was just arriving on the scene.   Ladies Of The Canyon followed in 1970 and was pretty damn good, in fact I really like this album.  In fact, quite a few ‘slowburn’ artists’ albums preceding the ‘Big One’ are usually pretty excellent.  And this is no exception.  Joni was almost famous, starting to fill larger venues and just on the cusp of Worldwide Acclaim.  The template of simple acoustic guitar and piano was expanding to include jazzier elements and the songs were stretching out into Joni’s signature sound.  One of the defining elements of greatness is that the listener instantly recognises the voice; and not just the tone, but the emphasising, the phrasing, the breathing almost.  Joni, in a later interview, called it your ‘Auk’ – that distinctive thing about voices that means we just ‘know’ it is Joni or Dylan or whoever as soon as a new song is heard.  Almost every song on ladies is very good.  If I have to choose, it would be ‘Woodstock’, ‘For Free’ and of course ‘Big Yellow Taxi’ (her first big hit) – not forgetting a much earlier written song now committed to record – ‘The Circle Game’.  But of course, in many ways Joni was only just beginning.  She was still something of an ingenue, a beginner, unsure of just how far she would travel in her search for perfection. We were soon to discover exactly how incredible an artist, a poet, a musician and a singer she would become. But before we get to Blue, her first and maybe most enduring masterpiece we have a rare little album of a live performance from 1970 called Amchitka.  She had agreed to play a concert on behalf of early Greenpeace in Northern Canada.  I am not sure if Blue had been released yet but she sung a few songs from that and some earlier ones too.  Best was a duet with James Taylor (see T) where she segued ‘Carey’ and ‘Dylan’s ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’.  In later years she would criticise Bob, but she sung his song and joined him on The Rolling Thunder Review in ’75.   Then we come to her Masterpiece – Blue. From the superb dark blue photo on the cover the mood is set for a great batch of some of her best songs.  In the latest Rolling Stone top 100 albums of all time, Blue is at number 3.  The album keeps growing in popularity and fame, and even now – though I know every note and word off by heart – the album still sounds fresh and bright and NEW.  Every song is just right, they follow each other, one after the other as if Joni is writing a daily diary, one day happy ‘My Old Man’ ‘Carey’ and then sad and devastated ‘The Last Time I Saw Richard’ and ‘Blue’; songs of love ‘A Case Of You’ and ‘River’ and songs of personal loss ‘Little Green’ (about the child she gave up for adoption, and ‘This Flight Tonight’.  Her playing, guitar, piano and Appalachian Zither, and oh, that voice – now maturing and slightly deeper are magnificent.  But the whole feel of the album is of an open and wounded and sometimes elated heart….and honesty.  There is absolutely no artifice here at all.  Similar in it’s way to Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks, which would follow a couple of years later – and is likewise (possibly) my favourite album of all time.  I could happily listen to Joni and Bob and Leonard all day without tiring at all.  And Blue is just 10 songs – less than 40 minutes of perfection.   She followed this a year later with another brilliant album For The Roses.  And though brilliant it didn’t sound quite as wonderful as Blue, which was such a hard act to follow.  For my ears the songs don’t quite flow so well, and just a touch too much heavy piano songs.  However, having said that it is very hard to find any fault with the album.  Not a poor song, and some are slightly angrier or seem do to me.  I particularly like the hit single ‘You Turn Me On, I’m A Radio’, which she apparently wrote because the record company said they wanted a hit. But I also love ‘lesson in Survival’ and ‘Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire’ – which was apparently written about her then lover James Taylor’s heroin addiction.  Another great record really – but Joni had not reached her peak at all.   

ngs)– one of the very greats.  I remember seeing her on a Sight and Sound concert on BBC2 singing mostly songs from Blue; her first Masterpiece.  I bought it and slowly worked my way back to her first 3 albums.  Her debut was Song To A Seagull (1968) – and really I cannot see much evidence of the greatness that was to come.  The songs seem almost twee – very much in the folk mode, and her voice is so high it is almost shrill at times.  I quite like the title song and ‘Night in The City’ – but I almost cannot listen to the rest.  Apparently, it was produced by David Crosby and has lately been remastered and sounds much better.  However – I have no wish to buy it again and be inevitably disappointed all over again.  Coincidentally Dylan’s debut I also disliked – so what do I know?  The following year and a much better effort – Clouds – came out.  The voice is a bit more varied, less shrill and I have always loved her deeper notes.  The songs seem more interesting too – better melodies and sumptuous guitar strumming.  This record sold much better, partly on the back of the single ‘Both Sides Now’ with its unforgettable words.  I also like ‘Chelsea Morning’, ‘Gallery’ and ‘Songs to Ageing Children Come’.  But almost all the songs are interesting and varied.  She was beginning by now to get into her stride, stepping out of her folk style and into one of her very own.  Several artists had begun to record her songs too and she was unashamed of her quite personal and emotional lyrics.  She was beginning to write pure poetry, just like Dylan had before her and Leonard Cohen was just arriving on the scene.   Ladies Of The Canyon followed in 1970 and was pretty damn good, in fact I really like this album.  In fact, quite a few ‘slowburn’ artists’ albums preceding the ‘Big One’ are usually pretty excellent.  And this is no exception.  Joni was almost famous, starting to fill larger venues and just on the cusp of Worldwide Acclaim.  The template of simple acoustic guitar and piano was expanding to include jazzier elements and the songs were stretching out into Joni’s signature sound.  One of the defining elements of greatness is that the listener instantly recognises the voice; and not just the tone, but the emphasising, the phrasing, the breathing almost.  Joni, in a later interview, called it your ‘Auk’ – that distinctive thing about voices that means we just ‘know’ it is Joni or Dylan or whoever as soon as a new song is heard.  Almost every song on ladies is very good.  If I have to choose, it would be ‘Woodstock’, ‘For Free’ and of course ‘Big Yellow Taxi’ (her first big hit) – not forgetting a much earlier written song now committed to record – ‘The Circle Game’.  But of course, in many ways Joni was only just beginning.  She was still something of an ingenue, a beginner, unsure of just how far she would travel in her search for perfection. We were soon to discover exactly how incredible an artist, a poet, a musician and a singer she would become. But before we get to Blue, her first and maybe most enduring masterpiece we have a rare little album of a live performance from 1970 called Amchitka.  She had agreed to play a concert on behalf of early Greenpeace in Northern Canada.  I am not sure if Blue had been released yet but she sung a few songs from that and some earlier ones too.  Best was a duet with James Taylor (see T) where she segued ‘Carey’ and ‘Dylan’s ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’.  In later years she would criticise Bob, but she sung his song and joined him on The Rolling Thunder Review in ’75.   Then we come to her Masterpiece – Blue. From the superb dark blue photo on the cover the mood is set for a great batch of some of her best songs.  In the latest Rolling Stone top 100 albums of all time, Blue is at number 3.  The album keeps growing in popularity and fame, and even now – though I know every note and word off by heart – the album still sounds fresh and bright and NEW.  Every song is just right, they follow each other, one after the other as if Joni is writing a daily diary, one day happy ‘My Old Man’ ‘Carey’ and then sad and devastated ‘The Last Time I Saw Richard’ and ‘Blue’; songs of love ‘A Case Of You’ and ‘River’ and songs of personal loss ‘Little Green’ (about the child she gave up for adoption, and ‘This Flight Tonight’.  Her playing, guitar, piano and Appalachian Zither, and oh, that voice – now maturing and slightly deeper are magnificent.  But the whole feel of the album is of an open and wounded and sometimes elated heart….and honesty.  There is absolutely no artifice here at all.  Similar in it’s way to Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks, which would follow a couple of years later – and is likewise (possibly) my favourite album of all time.  I could happily listen to Joni and Bob and Leonard all day without tiring at all.  And Blue is just 10 songs – less than 40 minutes of perfection.   She followed this a year later with another brilliant album For The Roses.  And though brilliant it didn’t sound quite as wonderful as Blue, which was such a hard act to follow.  For my ears the songs don’t quite flow so well, and just a touch too much heavy piano songs.  However, having said that it is very hard to find any fault with the album.  Not a poor song, and some are slightly angrier or seem do to me.  I particularly like the hit single ‘You Turn Me On, I’m A Radio’, which she apparently wrote because the record company said they wanted a hit. But I also love ‘lesson in Survival’ and ‘Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire’ – which was apparently written about her then lover James Taylor’s heroin addiction.  Another great record really – but Joni had not reached her peak at all.