My Love Affair With Joni Mitchell

  I'm proud to say I finally own every one of Joni's CDs. That must make her my favorite female singer. KD Lang comes close as well as Babs. So why this almost obsession with Joni? Usually when I like a certain author or filmmaker or musician, I will get or see everything that they have out there. So this explains my form of obsession/compulsive disorder. She strikes a sympathetic cord in me that I can't really explain at this time, maybe later. I admire her as an evolving artist who fearlessly ventures in new directions without concern of sales or popularity.  She may have lost fans along the way but picked up new ones and kept the faithful who continue to explore her music. 

     I was a fan in the 60's when she arrived on the music scene offering her 'hippy-type' folk songs of love and yearning. I thought she was above the rest with her haunting lyrics that stuck in your head and that high trilling, thrilling voice at times. For some unknown reason I lost interest in her during the 70's. I wasn't   aware she changed her style, making her lose radio air time as her later, mature work was considered 'uncommercial.'   Then as we moved away from vinyl to cassettes and to CDs, she became more distant.

      About six months ago I was browsing through the CD racks at Borders and noticed this large section of her music. I saw all these titles of her later work unfamiliar to me as well as new compilations featuring them. Since I don't own any of her CDs, I started with Dreamland, a nicely packaged collection spanning her career and featuring her paintings, another of her talents unknown to me. I've given this CD as gifts.  Then I followed this with two more collections of later songs, The Beginning of Survival and Songs Of A Prairie Girl. If you purchase all three, you have the 'Best' of Joni. Or so I thought.....

     Listening to these last two compilations reveals the growth of an artist from folk music to different genres:  jazz, rock, oldies. others.  This led me to acquire the rest of her CDs on shopping trips and as requested gifts. She's never afraid to try new forms as a composer, musician, and singer.  Listening to all of her CDs in chronological order is an aural journey into countless pleasures. . She never disappoints, she only amazes you in her daring. 2002's Travelogue is a symphonic reworking of her songs featuring her deeper but still poignant voice weathered from years of cigarettes. She's won many awards over the years and you can learn all about her on her website: http://jonimitchell.com/    She's profiled in a new book, Girls Like Us: Carol King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon - And The Journey of A Generation, an upcoming acquisition for my obsession.

      if you only want another or one single collection, try Hits featuring her well known songs. It's a good starting point and will tempt you to follow it with the facetiously- titled Misses, a collection of lesser known but adventurous works. For a DVD concert, Painting With Words & Music is a must.

     Composer, musician, singer, painter...  She does it all and so well for over 40 years. She admired by her peers. Here's her being interviewed by Elvis Costello, a long time fan: http://www.elvis-costello.com/news/2004/10/elvis_costello_interviews_joni.html   Joni has been an inspiration to many including Herbie Hancock whose tribute to her, River: The Joni Letters, won the Grammy for Best Album of the Year.  She also won a Grammy for an instrumental on 2007's Shine.

      For my 59th birthday, I received, upon request, a four CD boxed set called The Geffen Years. Here's four albums from 1982 -1991 that were not well received at the time but after hearing them, I don't know why. It's an expensive collection my wife found for half price and worth every penny to me. Again each song demonstrates her marvelous artistry and her notes offer background to each one. It's time for a serious reappraisal of her later music.

  If you want to know more about Joni, ask away!