# Any Joni Mitchell fans? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 17, 2007, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-joni-mitchell-fans/419516 "2007-09-17T18:11:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-joni-mitchell-fans/419516/21 "2007-09-18T10:12:00Z")
[QUOTE=Blue Mood] Are you referring to **River**? Although the lead-in is eight bars of (stylised) Jingle Bells, it’s a song about heartbreak, not Christmas. [/QUOTE] Well let’s be honest, it’s about heartbreak _in the context of_ Christmas, as the first lines are: > [@](#): > > It’s coming on Christmas, > They’re cutting down trees, > They’re putting up reindeer, > And singing songs of joy and peace. > Oh I wish I had a river I could skate away on. Anyway, that there’s only one track I don’t particularly care for in the entire first three albums is pretty good in my book. ---
**Author:** ![mamboman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecb155/32.png) [@mamboman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mamboman)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-joni-mitchell-fans/419516/22 "2007-09-18T10:34:31Z")
I love “_The Hissing of Summer Lawns_” album, in toto - but my JM top 10 songs would be: 1. Coyote 2. Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter 3. The Circle Game 4. In France They Kiss on Main St 5. Last Time I saw Richard 6. Don’t interrupt the Sorrow 7. Raised on robbery 8. You turn me on I’m a radio 9. Chelsea Morning 10. Harry’s House 11. Carey. also, I think Joni Mitchell would be really cool to hang out with, too. ---
**Author:** ![mamboman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecb155/32.png) [@mamboman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mamboman)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-joni-mitchell-fans/419516/23 "2007-09-18T10:38:00Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] My favorite song of hers is _Help Me_ from Court and Spark. It has a great bridge and Wilton Felder of the Crusaders plays bass on it (and the rest of the album, I think.) He actually is the saxophone player in the Crusaders but he plays bass on Court and Spark. [/QUOTE] Wilton Felder was a pretty handy bass player, playing as he did on the two greatest (in the mambo universe) bass parts ever - on Marvin Gaye’s “_Let’s Get It On_” and The Jackson 5’s “_I Want You Back_”. There was a guy who could have quit his day job! mm ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-joni-mitchell-fans/419516/24 "2007-09-18T12:45:37Z")
[QUOTE=askeptic] Coyote. [/QUOTE] Particularly the live version with the Band from **The Last Waltz** And I have to second the thought about getting the entire albums - singles don’t cut it. I’m partial to When Morning Comes to Morgantown ---
**Author:** ![askeptic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@askeptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/askeptic)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-joni-mitchell-fans/419516/25 "2007-09-18T14:20:52Z")
[QUOTE=plnnr] Particularly the live version with the Band from **The Last Waltz** [/QUOTE] Preach it, brother. That version was enough for me. She has a great voice. I still prefer Emmylou (voice of an angel(from montgomery)) Harris. Joni is a clear runner up from that era. If I was going to list my favorite singer/songwriters from that era then John Prine is at the top, hands down. (hi, Sam Stone) ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-joni-mitchell-fans/419516/26 "2007-09-18T18:11:58Z")
I could listen to the album _Blue_ over and over again, and hav e done more than once. I love _Carey_, _My Old Man_ has my favourite lyric _“But when he’s gone, Me and them lonesome blues collide, The bed’s too big The frying pan’s too wide”_ - A Case of you\* is a breath-taking song about lost love - Little Green\* makes more sense if you know she gave up a daughter for adoption. I also have a soft spot for _Ladies of the Canyon_, especially _Woodstock_- _“We are stardust Billion year old carbon We are golden”_ - The Circle Game\* Other than that, I have a Joni compilation that my friend’s dad made for me when he heard me listening to Blue. My favourite songs from it are _“Raised on Robbery”, \* “Chelsea Morning”, “Free Man in Paris” and_ “Both Sides Now”\* Seriously, most music shops will have her CD albums in the bargain bin or priced to go…you could probably buy a couple of her CDs for the same price as cherry-picking 3 tracks on i-tunes. ---
**Author:** ![shelbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@shelbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shelbo)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-joni-mitchell-fans/419516/27 "2007-09-18T21:19:18Z")
**Any Joni Mitchell fans?** I think that most people who appreciate music are fans, or at least are appreciative of her talent. I love all the songs that have been mentioned in this thread, and I wish I were at home so I could listen to them! ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-joni-mitchell-fans/419516/28 "2007-09-18T21:26:33Z")
My favs. \*\*Big Yellow Taxi \*\* \*Don’t it always seem to go That you don’t know what you’ve got Till it’s gone They paved paradise And put up a parking lot. \* **Both Sides, Now** _I’ve looked at life from both sides now From up and down, and still somehow It’s life’s illusions I recall I really don’t know life at all._ \*\*The Circle Game \*\* _And the seasons they go round and round And the painted ponies go up and down We’re captive on the carousel of time We can’t return we can only look Behind from where we came And go round and round and round In the circle game._ \*\*Michael From Mountains \*\* _Michael from mountains Go where you will go to Know that I will know you Someday, I may know you very well_ ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2007, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-joni-mitchell-fans/419516/29 "2007-09-21T03:44:11Z")
Will only add **Twisted** to what’s already been posted (the little Cheech and Chong bit it priceless), and to add she has a new disc coming out [http://jonimitchell.com/musician/album.cfm?id=28](http://jonimitchell.com/musician/album.cfm?id=28) ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2007, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-joni-mitchell-fans/419516/30 "2007-09-21T03:56:37Z")
[QUOTE=Crotalus] I enjoy her live collection, Miles of Aisles, recorded with Tom Scott’s band. I was at one of the shows from which it was compiled. For studio stuff, I like Blue and Court and Spark best. [/QUOTE] I had Miles of Aisles on vinyl. It was stolen so I got the CD. They left off _Free Man in Paris_ and _California_. :mad: Oh, other favs: _Real Good and Free_, _Last time I saw Richard_, _Love or Money_ ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2007, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-joni-mitchell-fans/419516/31 "2007-09-21T04:18:06Z")
[QUOTE=outlierrn] Will only add **Twisted** to what’s already been posted (the little Cheech and Chong bit it priceless), and to add she has a new disc coming out [http://jonimitchell.com/musician/album.cfm?id=28](http://jonimitchell.com/musician/album.cfm?id=28) [/QUOTE] I’m trying not to judge before I hear it, but I’m not loving the social commentary. Not that I disagree, really, it’s just that the poetry is kind of creaky and dull. But then, I haven’t been blown away by her lyrics since _Wild Things Run Fast_. YMMV, of course. _The dawn of man comes slow Thousands of years Here we are Still worshiping Our own ego Strong and Wrong! Strong and Wrong!_ [from _Strong and Wrong_, on her new disk] ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2007, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-joni-mitchell-fans/419516/32 "2007-09-21T05:53:34Z")
I’m listening to Both Sides Now as I type. ---
**Author:** ![ambushed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3bc359/32.png) [@ambushed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ambushed)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2007, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-joni-mitchell-fans/419516/33 "2007-09-21T06:55:52Z")
Thanks to this thread for reminding me to listen to Joni’s work with Pat Metheny. _ **Pat Metheny!** _ Regarding the OP, I’d have to strongly recommend the whole album _Court and Spark_. With the exception of _Twisted_ (of which I’m very fond), I just can’t quite imagine cutting the album up into pieces (although I know it’s been done with considerable commercial success). They very much blend together in my aural imagination and each piece seems to draw some context from the previous pieces. Or maybe that’s just arty-farty bullshit… YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2007, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-joni-mitchell-fans/419516/34 "2007-09-21T09:06:35Z")
**ambushed** , Pat Metheny when to high school with my first husband’s little sister. He used to practice in their basement. Even though Joni wrote twisted, Bette Midler did it better. (and two heads are better than onnnnee.) I was wrong earlier, the other song missing from the Miles of Aisles CD wasn’t _California_, it was _Court and Spark_. I’m just that old. I was at Barnes & Noble at Christmas time and found a poetry book of her complete works on the remaindered table. Stupid me, I didn’t buy it. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2007, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-joni-mitchell-fans/419516/35 "2007-09-21T09:39:43Z")
I urge you all to watch this extraordinary live performance of California [on the Johnny Cash show](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZqihfAolqg). My God her voice is out of this world. And [here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBdC8lORHh8) is a clip of her looking totally hot back in 1965, seemingly during her “A Mighty Wind” era… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Quint](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/76d3ee/32.png) [@Quint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quint)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2007, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-joni-mitchell-fans/419516/36 "2007-09-21T10:01:09Z")
I never liked Joni Mitchell- too hippie dippy for my bad assed self. Then, of course, I started dating a girl who _loved_ her. She was pleasant enough to listen to my constant AC/DC (I was only a kid!), so I was more than willing to listen to her hippie music. Wow- Jonie Mitchell covers Nazareth, cool. Nice version of “their” song to boot. Nice CSNY cover too… :smack:. I still look back on this and cringe at what a putz I was. Joni Mitchell is amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2007, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-joni-mitchell-fans/419516/37 "2007-09-21T12:42:47Z")
[QUOTE=picunurse] Even though Joni wrote twisted, Bette Midler did it better. (and two heads are better than onnnnee.) [/QUOTE] Joni didn’t write that one; it’s a Lambert, Hendricks & Ross song written by Annie Ross and Wardell Grey. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2007, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-joni-mitchell-fans/419516/38 "2007-09-21T14:21:59Z")
For some reason I thought Tom Rush wrote **Circle Game** but I’m not finding any reference to that - must have been my imagination. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2007, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-joni-mitchell-fans/419516/39 "2007-09-21T16:09:45Z")
[QUOTE=plnnr] For some reason I thought Tom Rush wrote **Circle Game** but I’m not finding any reference to that - must have been my imagination. [/QUOTE] Joni wrote it, but Tom Rush used it as the title track of an album on which he covered no fewer than three Joni songs (“Tin Angel” and “Urge for Going” being the others). ---
**Author:** ![Ready\_for\_my\_closeup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c37758/32.png) [@Ready\_for\_my\_closeup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ready_for_my_closeup)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2007, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-joni-mitchell-fans/419516/40 "2007-09-21T17:05:11Z")
This thread was just what I needed now. It reminded me to listen to Joni and now all is right in the world. 🙂 Listening to the album Blue right now and loving it. Last time I saw Richard, A Case of You, Circle Line, Both Sides Now, Free Man in Paris, Big Yellow Taxi are my favourites right now. And I really like River, so there. 😃 Of all things, it was the movie Love, Actually that made me aware of Joni Mitchell. (Yes, I’m young) That scene with Emma Thompson breaking down in the bedroom while listening to Both Sides Now… Surprisingly powerful for such a lighthearted movie. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-joni-mitchell-fans/419516.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-joni-mitchell-fans/419516.md?page=3)