Does anybody else out there like this Joni Mitchell album as much as I do? For some reason it is hard to find and I’ve talked to big Joni Mitchell fans who haven’t heard of it. But I think it’s about the best thing she’s done.
Admittedly it’s an old album (1978) but I’m an old guy (1954). And a lot of her popular songs are older.
So, all you Joni Mitchell fans (or wannabes) hop on down to the record store and pick up a copy.
BTW, they have these small, shiny records now called CDs. I’ve tried them but none of them have any grooves – on either side! Almost wrecked the needle. (p.s. They won’t work in an 8-track cassette player either! What a ripoff!)
What about Ladies of the Canyon? Isn’t that pretty much a Classic Soft Rock/Folk Cornerstone?
I liked “Morning Morgantown” the best for her voice in it. And the “Circle Game” always makes me cry because it reminds me of inevitable Death. Oh, that’s why I don’t listen to it anymore - too sad to even contemplate listening to, sorta like Jim Croce songs.
Me too! Hissing of Summer Lawns is by far my favorite Joni!
Hey Pluto, your opinion please: does the entire album tell a story (i.e., the girl’s early teenage years is spent kissing under bridges and rock & rolling, but she trades on her sexuality, and exploits that of Harry, to get married and live in suburbia amidst the hissing of summer lawns; Harry wants her for his centerpiece 'cuz nothing’s any good without her, but she finds that nothing is any good at all, she hates being a suburban housewise with a dorky husband, and Harry’s take-home pay doesn’t make up for the results of ‘the lady’s choice’, from all of which we come to understand Joni’s point about the perils of benefactors and the blessings of parasites)? Or do you think of the album as a series of good interesting songs that don’t necessary have a lot to do with each other?
I agree with AHunter3’s analysis of the album. My favorite track is “Harry’s House-Centerpeice.” Great lines like “A helicopter lands on the Pan Am rook/Like a dragonfly on a tomb.”
One minor correction: The album came out in 1975, not 1978.
My vote for favorite Joni album, however, is 1976’s Hejira. Anyone else know that one?
I agree with the foregoing analysis, up to a point. IMO, It’s not quite coherent enought to tell a complete story. But that is one of the things I like about the album – the common thread through the songs. Lot’s of references to “primitive” emotions lurking under a civilized veneer. She invokes Rousseau explicitly at least once. My favorite cut is “The Jungle Line”. Love those drums. My favorite line is, “In France they kiss on Main Street, amour mama, not cheap display!”
Her latest album (can’t remember the title!) has a bunch of jazz vocal standards that are deliberately chosen to follow the progression of a relationship. She points this out in the liner notes.
I got the 1978 date off the CD cover but I was in a hurry and may have misunderstood or misread it.
I’ve seen Hejira but never listened to it. May have to do that.
Also her “Hits” album is a great selection of her songs, but “Misses” is, IMO, just that.
The artwork for the cover (the natives hawling the snake through the grass) came from a photograph in National Geographic. Brazilian indians are shown carrying a python or anaconda out of a river for a feast. Just to add a little bit more to the story.
