Joni Mitchell - COMPLETE GEFFEN RECORDINGS

[DrJ]

On sale at Tower, so I took the plunge - glad to trade in my late 80's/early 90's CD copies of WILD THINGS RUN FAST and NIGHT RIDE HOME and some grungy vinyl of DOG EAT DOG and CHALK MARK IN A RAIN STORM.

Acknowledging up front this is not absolutely prime Mitchell through and through, I am amazed on revisiting the period how much of this music has held up splendidly. Even some of the 80's production touches are not distracting as much as I had figured they would be, and it seems as though the remastering and mixing was done with an eye toward toning down some of those excesses. Very warm, inviting sound. The booklet is nice too, with Joni's personal comments about how the music came to be reissued (insufferable but still oddly entertaining - I love her music, but find her public persona off-putting at best, obnoxious at worst), and some nice repros of some of her paintings, plus all the lyrics.

WILD THINGS is one of my sentimental favorite albums, since I discovered it right about the time my future spouse and I started dating way back when and that led to my delving into her back-catalog to get to masterpieces like HEJIRA. It's also full of good music, with a few absolute classics ("Chinese Cafe," "Moon at the Window," and "Love" in particular). Many of the rest are fun, uncharacteristically lighthearted love songs. A little LA-studio slick in its packaging, but still a strong one, and still my fave of the 4 albums represented.

DOG EAT DOG is the most uneven, but here again there is much good music. The title track, and "Fiction" have jumped out at me on first listen as worthy of a lot more attention than I'd given them in the past. What sinks some of the rest are the lyrics, some of her most strident and least creative. But again there's some humor, e.g. "Nicotine." I must admit I probably wouldn't have bought this CD as a single, but it's nice to have the best along for the ride with the other 3 albums.

CHALK MARK strikes me as the one that was the real sleeper for me. I never listened to it much before, despite having the vinyl. It sounds gerat, and I wonder now why I ever overlooked it. Some gorgeous tunes, strong from start to finish. Thisprobably surpasses WILD THINGS objectively, but the strong memories associated with the earlier album still make me give it the nod.

NIGHT RIDE HOME I've had since it's release on CD. It sounded pretty good even in the 1991 original CD release, but sounds stunning here, and this is a recording chock full of great song writing that defies gravity. If nothing else, it marked a most welcome return of her idiosyncratic, highly percussive acoustic guitar playing. Probably the most consistent of all these albums, and has a few more all-time classic Joni tunes ("Passion Play," "Slouching Towards Bethlehem," and "Cherokee Louise" for sure).

One of the perks of having all these, of course, is getting to hear Wayne Shorter's amazing soprano contributions. His work takes already great songs like "Moon at the Window" or "Cherokee Louise" and and rockets them into the stratosphere. I've always liked that Joni is big on bass in her music too (which roots songs that could otherwise end up so ethereal they'd just drift away altogether), and Larry Klein's playing, while not quite at the exhalted level Jaco had reached with her earlier, is a joy throughout.

So, as an appetizer for what I hope will eventually be a Complete Reprise recordings boxed set, this could hardly be bettered. It will probably not convert anyone who isn't already a convert, but for those of us who are, it's pure pleasure.

Edited October 20, 2003 by DrJ

[DrJ]

Hmm, 24 views but no further comments - nobody has any love for Joni's wayward years?

[AfricaBrass]

I'll chime in, Tony.

The truth is, I have her eighties cds, but I've never gotten into them. The Hissing of the Summer Lawns is the newest Joni Mitchell album I actually got into and that was from 1977.

I think I'll give this period another shot. Any suggestions on which album to listen to?

[DrJ]

Well, my personal favorite in the box is WILD THINGS RUN FAST, but objectively probably the strongest album is NIGHT RIDE HOME. My guess is you'd enjoy the latter more, and in fact you might want to look for a used copy of that 1991 CD (it sounds real good and shouldn't be too hard to find).

But if you're not a huge later-period Joni fan, I would STRONGLY suggest delving into the slightly earlier stuff originally released on Asylum...have you ever checked out the albums that came after HISSING (1975 actually), but well before the Geffens, particularly HEJIRA (1976) and DON JUAN'S RECKLESS DAUGHTER (1977)? For me, HEJIRA was and will always be her crowning achievement, an astonishing accomplishment from start to finish. Mitchell at her most dizzyingly romantic, creative, and clear-headed, with lyrics so good you feel like you've read a great novel by the end. Chock full of great, sympathetic bass playing by Jaco Pastorius, to boot. Start with that one - it's been reissued in a HDCD remastering within the past few years and it sounds really good.

DON JUAN, the follow-up, is certainly a comedown when taken as a whole - here Joni was far less clear-headed, falling prey to over-ambition and probably a healthy dose of vanity - but the first 4 or 5 songs are great, particularly the opening salvo of "Cotton Avenue" followed by "Talk to Me," she should have stopped about midway through the original side 2 with a nice, short single LP. Again Jaco comes on strong, probably even a bigger force here because he's having to carry a greater load with slightly less compelling tunes and a fuzzier concept.

Many people also love the live SHADOWS AND LIGHT but to be honest I'm not a huge fan, solid but not nearly up to the level of the studio stuff. Finally, MINGUS is fascinating and good for an occasional listen, and has more jaw-dropping Jaco, but honestly I feel like it's in the heartfelt but ultimately kind of self-indulgant category much of the time. Nice version of the ubiquitous "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat," though, and some fun stuff elsewhere.

You're no doubt seeing a pattern - Joni's recordings are, a few amazing ones (BLUE, COURT AND SPARK, HISSING, and HEJIRA for sure) aside, uneven - it's just a fact of life. She hits soaring highs and a goodly number of lows. But one thing you can never say is that these albums are boring - never a dull moment, or seldom at least. And I don't know about you, but I find sometimes those types of artists are the most interesting and the ones you find yourself returning to over time.

Edited October 21, 2003 by DrJ

[AfricaBrass]

Thanks Tony!

I got all messed up on my album order. Sorry, I thought Hissing came after Hejira (which I know and love already). Don Juan's Wreckless Daughter and Mingus were the two Asylum albums I just couldn't get into.

I think I'll give Wild Things Run Fast a shot. I have a Mobile Fidelity copy that I picked up years ago for $10. I had Night Ride Home, but sold it.

When I was in my late teens I was a huge fan of her work from the period of her first album through Blue. I was a huge folkie back then and I especially loved her first album.

My copy of Hejira is the old cd version. Is the remastered version different enough to warrant a purchase? I've also got the album on vinyl and I have always preferred the sound of the LP to the CD.

I'll keep referring to your suggestions as I move on.

Thanks!

[DrJ]

I do think there is a readily noticeable improvement in the CD sound with the newer version of HEJIRA - like you I had always preferred the LP sound to the CD, but once I got the newer version I got rid of my vinyl.

Let me know how your revisit of WILD THINGS goes...have fun!

[AfricaBrass]

Thanks Tony!

I'll have to add Hejira to my (ever expanding) want list.

I'll give Wild Things a few listens and get back to you.

[JSngry]

For me, HEJIRA was and will always be her crowning achievement, an astonishing accomplishment from start to finish.

No shit, Dude. That's one of the best records ANYBODY'S ever made. Those chords!

SHADOWS AND LIGHT works better on video, I think. I found a VHS copy a few years ago and enjoyed it in a way that I had not previously. Too bad Brecker made the gig instead of Wayne, but that's life.

Take away "Parprika Plains", and DON JUAN is a pretty darn good record, I think. But thatt's a BIG chunk to take away!

MINGUS? No thanks, bought it on release day, kept it about 6 months, ditched it, and haven't looked back. The lyrics to "Pork Pie" are among the WORST things anybody's ever written.

Probably in the minority on this, but I think that Jaco's most MUSICAL playing was with Joni. I think it speaks volumes as to the strength of her musical vision (and personality too, probably) that this is so. More than that I'll not say.

I've heard some of the Geffen things, and I never thought that they were nearly as bad as the reviews said. The one that's got Wayne all over it (CHALK MARKS?) I thought was really good. Been meaning to pick that one up cheap somewhere sometimes.

I bought that standards w/orchestra thing she put out a few years ago and found it quite moving. She's not just a great writer, but a great interpretive singer as well. That one got really mixed reviews, but I liked it very much. The lady's got soul.

Joni's fine by me, sometimes overwrought lyrics and all. I wish more people had her spirit.

[DrJ]

Probably in the minority on this, but I think that Jaco's most MUSICAL playing was with Joni. I think it speaks volumes as to the strength of her musical vision (and personality too, probably) that this is so. More than that I'll not say.

TOTALLY agree, and said so on the recent Weather Report discussion thread (actually it was the BLACK MARKET Album of the Week discussion, now that I think of it).

The spirit comment is also dead on - kind of a similar thing to the "she's never boring" comment I made. Whatever she does, she almost always sounds totally committed. In other words: if you're gonna fail, then fail "Paprika Plains" big, I always say!

[danasgoodstuff]

I pretty much agree with the comments above re Joni & Jaco, etc. so I've not much to add on the music itself but I do have a story y'all might find interesting. I happened to be in Saskatoon at the same time as Joni's big show of paintings and photo's at the Mendal Art Gallery there ('the Mental' to locals). I went and quite enjoyed it but the funny part was that nobody I knew in saskatoon even considered going even though they all knew about it--"It's just Joni, she can't really paint can she?" I still have the program, maybe I should put it on ebay...

[A Lark Ascending]

Add me to the Hejira fan list. Just wonderful.

Up to recently its been the point where I part company with Joni. I've always found Don Juan patchy (could never get on with Paprika Plains) and disliked much of Mingus (despite hearing it at a time I was first hearing Mingus the jazz player.

Recently I've acquired CD versions of the latter two and enjoyed them much more. I think Don Juan benefits from being on one CD instead of four short LP sides.

What brought JOni back into focus for me was her standards disc of a couple of years back and the recent retrospective double. I steered away from that on hearing her 'grumpy aunty' comments around the time of its release but came across a very cheap copy and have been very taken by it.

My take on Joni - as far as I'm concerned the most literate of all the rock writers and one of the most sophisticated musically is:

First album to Ladies of the Canyon: nice moments but a little too confessional little-girly.

Blue to Mingus: Astounding!

The 80s: ER, no thanks!

The 90s: Generally not very appealling though the occasional good track (Slouching Towards Bethlehem).

The last two recordings: Very engaging twilight recordings; nice smokey voice and nostalgic delivery.

[Kyo]

Just got this set today, never heard any of it before. I've listened to the first disc

and so far I'm digging it quite a lot.

On a related note, is there a 2CD version of Shadows and Light that doesn't omit

songs like the single disc version that I got yesterday? It seems that tracklistings

for this album often list the original LP content and the DVD has some different

songs as well - it's all pretty confusing.

[rockefeller center]

On a related note, is there a 2CD version of Shadows and Light that doesn't omit

songs like the single disc version that I got yesterday? It seems that tracklistings

for this album often list the original LP content and the DVD has some different

songs as well - it's all pretty confusing.

The DVD only omits "God Must Be a Boogie Man" which comes from a different show.

Some samples from the DVD:

[AllenLowe]

she's a great singer, but she lost me years ago - her writing, to me, hit the same wall that American folkies tend to always hit - too much photo realism, even in the guise of mediocre symbolist lyrics; too much ego. My favorite Joni Mitchell is Dave Van Ronk singing "River" -

[Kyo]

The DVD only omits "God Must Be a Boogie Man" which comes from a different show.

Thanks. Does anyone know for sure whether there's a 2CD version?

[rockefeller center]

The DVD only omits "God Must Be a Boogie Man" which comes from a different show.

Thanks. Does anyone know for sure whether there's a 2CD version?

http://www.amazon.com/Shadows-Light-Joni-M...l/dp/B000002GXI

The item description is inconsistent. It says "Number of Discs: 1" but has samples for two discs. Looks like 'Raised On Robbery' and JP's solo are omitted.

[randyhersom]

Yes, I have the 2 CD version. I don't remember Raised on Robbery being on the Shadows and Light LP, Cassette or CD, perhaps that's DVD only. I love this set and know the Mingus pieces only from here. Brecker really adds kick to Black Crow and Free Man in Paris. Dog Eat Dog was also a favorite.

[Kyo]

Thanks. Guess I'll return my single disc edition (the tracklisting of the online store I got it

from actually included all tracks from the two disc edition) and look for the complete one.