Joni Mitchell's Blue

 

The Album Cover

As it is 2021, events of any note from 1971 are celebrating their 50^th Anniversary.  On January 2 of this year, I wrote about it being 50 years since I graduated from high school (1971 - 2021: 50 Years).  A few weeks ago, I heard on NPR that it was the 50^th Anniversary of the release of Joni Mitchell’s iconic album:  Blue.  I never heard the actual story but only that it was “coming up in the next hour.”  

I noted the anniversary, smiled as it is one of my favorite albums of all time, and made a mental note to listen to it again soon.  I did not give it any further thought until yesterday.  The New York Times devoted five full pages of the Arts & Leisure section to this anniversary.  Here is the link for the online version of the print article:  50 Reasons to Love Joni Mitchell’s ‘Blue.’

I was late coming to Joni Mitchell.  I loved the song Clouds.  It was a great folksy kinda song with, what I thought were, really poetic lyrics.  But, I made an error.  As Judy Collins, had a really good cover of the song, I thought the song was hers.  I probably confused Judy and Joni and, frankly, I was not paying enough attention.  So, I bought a Judy Collins album.  I liked it.  She is a really good singer but in retrospect she is not in the same class as Joni. 

Like a few of those that were interviewed in the NYT article, it was women that introduced me to Joni.  In my case, I noticed how popular Joni Mitchell was with the several of the Armenian girls my age.  I asked what it was about Joni that made them such devoted fans.  Note, that I was still confusing Collins for Mitchell and thus still not paying enough attention.  They said in one form or another that “She sings to my soul.”  They helped me realize my Judy and Joni confusion when I tried to participate intelligently in one of these conversations. Finally understanding my error, I went out and bought the Clouds (1969) album.  I loved it.  I then bought Ladies of the Canyon (1970) and then, finally, Blue (1971).  I bought them again on CD and have them in my iTunes library (no Spotify as yet… this being late to the party is a lifelong habit).

Side 1

Let’s be honest.  These days, listen to something like 500 Armenian, Turkish, Greek, Arabic, and Persian songs to 1 pop or rock song from my youth.  Back in 1971, it was probably closer to 1:1.  I still listen to Crosby, Stills, Nash (and Young), Jimi Hendrix, and Joni Mitchell.  I never tire of the three albums of Joni’s that I have mentioned.  They take me back to my youth and it is always a pleasant and reflective journey.  I play them when I work, stopping to listen more intently to this song or that.  Sometimes, I listen to listen to her.  I let her talent and words wash over me.  Her music and lyrics are both exquisite and timelessly fresh.

Here is another example.  In the movie, Love Actually, there is a couple Harry played by Alan Rickman and Karen, his wife, played by Emma Thompson have this exchange:

Harry: I can't believe you still listen to Joni Mitchell.
Karen: I love her. And true love lasts a lifetime. Joni Mitchell is the woman who taught your cold English wife how to feel.

  In reading the NYT article, I learned quite a bit about the songs on Blue.  She knew Crosby, Stills, and Nash.  She probably knew her Canadian countryman, Neil Young, as well though the article did not talk about this.  Joni lived with Graham Nash for a year.  She left him to travel around the world live, experience things, and write songs.  The result was this album, Blue.  David Crosby played on at least one track on the album.  James Taylor, with whom she also had an affair, played guitar on three cuts.  Joni and Judy Collins also knew each other, and Judy covered a few other of Joni’s songs.  Chaka Khan, Roseann Cash, and others gave beautiful testimonials.

Side 2

     Reading the observations of her peers and professional contemporaries was most interesting.  As I noted above, I let her music, her vocal and instrumental stylings, and lyrics wash over me.  I did not dissect them musically or her lyrics poetically.  I innately knew but never articulated anything about her amazing vocal range back in the day, her chord progressions, her skills on the dulcimer and piano.  I never really read or analyzed her lyrics either.  I just enjoyed her amazing talent en toto.

If you are a Joni Mitchell devotee, it is worth reading the NYT piece and the NPR broadcast, Her Kind Of Blue: Joni Mitchell's Masterpiece At 50.  The prose in both is beautiful and the praise so well deserved.

I tried to start another blog and titled it after one of Joni’s pieces:  Songs to Aging Children.  Read the first piece Aging Children, I am One and The Songs to Aging Children Project.  The concept never took off but I am still trying to figure out how to make it work.   I also wrote a poem acknowledging her impact on me and so many others.

 

Joni Lansing

 

i could write every poem

listening to joni mitchell songs

'a case of you' playing

like a winter long ago

up there in the east of lansing

trying not to fall in love

and trying to be brilliant

failing at both

kicking back...

thinking and writing

sipping a cup of mesmer

icing on the cake of this day

wondering what canada

i might have lived in musing

‘bout trying to live at living.

 

you make everything better

and angstful at the same time

 

you make poems just ooze

out of my natural self

what can i say but...

thanks