Joni Mitchell

All posts tagged Joni Mitchell

Forty Years Ago Today – Jan/Feb/Mar 1974 Album Releases

Posted by thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard on April 5, 2014
Posted in: Artists That Time Forgot, Be Amazed!, Canada Music Celebration, Forty Years Ago Today, Groups That Time Forgot, Rock History, The Southern California Sound, Tragic Rock Stories, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

Big Star

In 1974 I was 21, a full time college student, working three jobs, and somehow having the time of my life.  Music was a major factor in my life and, fortunately for me, there was an amazing amount of wonderful new music every month.  Let’s take a quick look at some of the key album releases during the first three months of 1974.   By the way, if you are interested, the picture above is Big Star (more about them below).

So get ready, set aside some quality time, and head back to the first quarter of 1974 with me.  Enjoy…….

January 1974 Album Releases

The Way We Were-Barbara Streisand

I’m a rocker at heart and it probably surprises many of you that I bought this album when it was released but ……great music is great music!  The only comments I have about the album are: What a voice and what an album.  It would have been easy to play the title track but here’s one that I like even better……I think you will like it……

What are you doing for this rest of your like?  I ask myself that question a lot more now that I’m older…..

Court and Spark-Joni Mitchell

Joni, part of my holy trinity of Canadian music (Neil, Joni, and Gordon), was continuing to evolve her musical style.  Court and Spark started to add in some jazz elements but lost none of it’s introspection which is what drew me to her in the first place.  I’ve learned a lot of lessons in my years and in 1974 Joni choose to write about one of them in a song…..It’s Down To You……

Everything comes and goes
Pleasure moves on too early
And trouble leaves too slow
Just when you’re thinking
You’ve finally got it made
Bad news comes knocking
At your garden gate
Knocking for you
Constant stranger
You’re a brute you’re an angel
You can crawl you can fly too
It’s down to you
It all comes down to you

Energized-Foghat

Foghat was an amazing boogie band from the 70’s and has gotten the respect that they deserve in my humble opinion.    Here is one of Foghat’s masterpieces that doesn’t get the respect it deserves……Home In My Hand.  If you were lucky enough to see them play it live back in the 70’s, as I was, I guarantee that you were entertained…….

Grevious Angel-Gram Parsons

I’ve written about the sad story of Gram Parsons as part of my Southern California Sound series.  Grevious Angel was released after Gram’s untimely death in the fall of 1973.  Brass Buttons is a classic (Poco did an amazing cover version that you might want to checkout) and you need to hear it straight from the mouth of the writer…..sing it Gram……

Sundown-Gordon Lightfoot

January 1974 was a great month for Canadian music releases with Gordon joining Joni in releasing a new album.  The title track was one of Gordon’s biggest sellers but you dig a little deeper in the album to find the real treasure……Seven Island Suite…….

Look around at the morning, guess you’re doing the best you can
Surely you know that when you go nobody gives you a hand
Think of the air you’re breathing in, think of the time you waste
Think of the right and wrong and consider the frown on your face

February 1974 Album Releases

Kiss-Kiss

Forty years after the release of their debut album, Kiss is finally going to get inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame….it’s about time!  This album wasn’t a hit, the band wouldn’t really take off until their release of their double live album, but I’ve got to give it to the boys….they had ambition.  Listen to its Kissin’ Time and you will see exactly what I mean……

Badfinger-Badfinger

If you are a reader of this blog you already know that I have a soft spot in my heart for Badfinger and their incredibly sad story.  This was the group’s first album after leaving Apple records and unfortunately the end was a lot nearer than anyone foresaw.  The song I have for you today from this album was written by Pete Ham, I Miss You………

Damn it Pete….I Miss You!  RIP buddy!

Radio City-Big Star

Looking  back it seems ironic that Big Star released their second album the same month as the Badfinger release discussed above.  September Gurls was maybe the best pop song of the 70’s and to this day very few people have even heard of Big Star…..it’s a fucking tragedy ……

Of course the entire Big Star history is pretty much one big tragedy.  I’m reading a biography of Alex Chilton, the band’s lead singer, right now and I’m planning a post dedicated to Big Star’s sad story.  Stay tuned for that…..

What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits-Doobie Brothers

The Doobies were going through some significant personnel changes in 1974, and more were on the way, but they managed to put out another great album in 1974.  The song that I have for you today makes me want to be floating down a little southern river in a canoe…..laid back without a care in the world….

If you listen closely, you can appreciate some amazing steel guitar added by Skunk Baxter.  He would be an official member of the group by 1975 as the band’s sound started to change.  More about that next……

A New Life-Marshall Tucker Band

This was Marshall Tucker’s second release and it confirmed that they were  not just a one trick pony.   The title track from this album highlights everything that makes Marshall Tucker Band one of the best bands from the 70 (great vocals, amazing musicianship, and great songwriting)…..listen and be amazed……

March 1974 Album Releases

Kansas-Kansas

I’m a sucker for bands named after the states that they’re from and Kansas is one of the best examples of such a band.  This was the debut album for Kansas and if you listen to the lead off song and it immediately let’s you know that you should expect great things from this band……

Bridge Of Sighs-Robin Trower

Jimi Hendrix was gone but we still had Robin to blow our minds.  You can’t go wrong with the title track from this album….absolutely Epic……..

On The Border-Eagles

1974 found the Eagles, one of my favorite Southern California Sound bands, starting to move towards a more rock oriented sound.  You wouldn’t know it from the song I have for you today, Ol’ 55, one of the few songs on the album not written by the group.  The amazing Tom Waits wrote the song and the Eagles performance of it is something to be treasured. It brings back some amazing memories of driving back home from various girlfriends houses as the sun was coming up in my rear view mirror……

Get Your Wings-Aerosmith

On their sophomore album Aerosmith fully hit their stride.  It was an amazing album and the start of a string of releases that would make Aerosmith one of my all time favorites.  Let’s listen to Track 5 from the album, SOS (Too Bad)……in case you are wondering SOS stands for Same Old Shit…….

Somethin’s Happening-Peter Frampton

In 1974 something was at least on the verge of happening for Peter.  The release of Frampton Comes Alive in 1976 would make him a superstar but you could see it coming by listening to this 1974 release.   Let’s listen to the title song from the album, Somethin’s Happening……

Holiday Music Countdown (#9)/Two’Fer Tuesday – River

Posted by thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard on December 18, 2013
Posted in: Canada Music Celebration, Holiday Songs, I Got You Covered, Two'fer Tuesday. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

joniriver

Today’s post continues our Holiday Music Countdown in Two’Fer Tuesday style.  I have two great versions of Joni Mitchell’s song River.  First up is a performance by James Taylor which is followed by a performance by Sarah McLachlan.  I would be hard pressed to say which is my favorite….they are both great and I think you will enjoy them.

Thanks to Joel Bernstein for the great picture of Joni skating on a river.

Two’Fer Tuesday – For Free

Posted by thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard on October 8, 2013
Posted in: Great Rock Stories, I Got You Covered, Rock History, Two'fer Tuesday. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

davidcrosby110613w

Continuing our CSN focus for this week I have a wonderful treat for you today…..a recent video of David Crosby singing Joni Mitchell’s For Free during a photo shoot.  This is really good stuff……

Since it’s Two’Fer Tuesday here is a great video of Joni singing For Free on BBC from 1970.

Monday Music Matinee #4 – Hotel California

Posted by thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard on April 8, 2013
Posted in: Great Rock Stories, Monday Music Matinee, Rock History, The Southern California Sound, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

LA From The Byrds To The Eagles

LA from The Byrds to The Eagles

This is a great BBC documentary that makes a nice companion piece for our Southern California series from last year.  Here is what the BBC website has to say about it….

Documentary looking at the music and mythology of a golden era in Californian culture, and telling the story of how Los Angeles changed from a kooky backwater in the early 1960s to become the artistic and industrial hub of the American music industry by the end of the 1970s.

Alongside extensive and never before seen archive footage, the programme features comprehensive first-hand accounts of the key figures including musicians (David Crosby, Graham Nash, J. D. Souther, Bernie Leadon and Bonnie Raitt, music industry bosses (David Geffen, Jac Holzman, Ron Stone and Peter Asher) and legendary LA scenesters including Henry Diltz, Pamela Des Barres and Ned Doheny.

The film explores how the socially-conscious folk rock of young hippies with acoustic guitars was transformed into the coked-out stadium excess of the late 1970s and the biggest selling album of all time.

I think you will like this one!  Let me know what you think………

Response Songs #4 – A Blinding Insight?

Posted by thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard on February 21, 2013
Posted in: Response Songs, Rock History. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

Joni and Graham

I have made several posts over the past year about response songs.  All of these posts were based on things that I read.  This week I had a moment of blinding insight when I discovered a potential response song myself.  Here is my story…….

On Tuesday I was listening to Joni Mitchell’s 1968 debut album, Song to a Seagull, that was produced by David Crosby.   The first track of the album, I Had a King, came on and it was like I was hearing it for the first time.  As I listened to the lyrics I was thinking about how Joni and Graham Nash had been a couple and I started to wonder if Graham might have been the King that Joni was referring to.  Let’s listen to the song before I continue my story so you can share that moment with me….

This is truly a gorgeous song which makes me wonder why I was thinking so hard when listening to it (but sometimes I can’t help myself).  My blinding insight occurred as I continued to listen and here is how it sounded in my head…..

Holy shit, Graham had a song called I Used To Be A King on his 1971 debut album, Songs For Beginners.  I always thought it was just a follow-on song to his song King Midas In Reverse from his time with the Hollies but maybe it was a response song….

So…out comes Songs For Beginners and before you know it I Used To Be A King is blasting out of my stereo.  Listen with me……

So back to the conversation going on in my head….

These songs have to be related and surely I am not the first person to notice!  Let’s find out what other people might be saying….

Out comes my laptop and off I go to internet, the fountain of all knowledge.  Sure enough, I found a few references to these two songs……….the best one was from likemariasaidpaz.blogspot.com….

Graham Nash’s Songs For Beginners

I used to be a king
And everything around me turned to gold
I thought I had everything
Now I’m left without a hand to hold
But it’s alright
I’m okay
How are you?
For what it’s worth
I must say
I loved you
And in my bed
Late at night
I miss you
Someone is going to take my heart
No one is going to break my heart
Again
I love that song and I love that album. “I Used To Be A King” is ‘inspired’ by Joni Mitchell’s “I Had A King.” Joni’s song was written to early in her career to have been about Graham (she hadn’t met him yet); however, he wrote “I Used To Be A King” as he and Joni were in the process of breaking up. Though not about Graham, the two songs do work as a call and response.Graham Nash was always my favorite of the three in Crosby, Stills and Nash. I like David Crosby and Stephen Stills (and love Neil Young) but Graham Nash’s vocals and lyrics always spoke to me in a way that few ever manage to. I consider it one of the great losses of this period that Graham released so few solo albums. I think he easily outpaced other solo male singer-songwriters (including Jackson Browne and James Taylor) and that he could have been among the finest.
Songs For Beginners makes that so clear. It remains a perfect album.

After reading this I am convinced that the author of the above post nailed it!  Sure enough, Joni and Graham were not a couple when the song I Had A King was written and recorded!   Even though the song was not about Graham, I Used To Be A King is clearly about Joni and is almost certainly a clever reference back to I Had A King.

At the end of the day, I feel somewhat vindicated by my blinding insight!  Regardless, it was a really fun exercise.  As always, let me know what you think.

Here’s a little bonus.  Let’s listen to King Midas In Reverse, the Hollies song that I thought might might be related to I Used To Be A King…….

Response Songs #1

Posted by thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard on May 19, 2012
Posted in: Response Songs. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

Today’s post is the first in a new series that is titled Response Songs.  Response songs are ones that were written in response to another song.  To kickoff this new series we have Neil Young performing Sugar Mountain.  In the introduction to the song he mentions that Joni Mitchell wrote a song in response to Sugar Mountain.  Let’s listen to Neil…

Joni did indeed write her song The Circle Game after hearing Sugar Mountain.  Her is the story, in her own word, as provided by thrasherswheat.org (a website about Neil).

“In 1965 I was up in Canada, and there was a friend of mine up there who had just left a Rock’n’Roll band in Winnipeg/Manitoba near where I come from on the prairies to become a folk singer a la Bob Dylan, who was his hero at that time, and at the same time there were breaks in his life and he was going into new and exciting directions.

He had just newly turned 21, and that meant in Winnipeg he was no longer allowed into his favorite hangout which is kind of a teeny-bopper club and once you’re over 21 you couldn’t get in there anymore, so he was really feeling terrible because his girlfriends and everybody that he wanted to hang out with, his band could still go there, you know, but it’s one of the things that drove him to become a folk singer was that he couldn’t play in this club anymore. But he was over the hill.

So he wrote this song that was called “Oh to live on sugar mountain” which was a lament for his lost youth. And it went like this… [sings a few verses].

And I thought, God, you know, if we get to 21 and there’s nothing after that, that’s a pretty bleak future, so I wrote a song for him, and for myself just to give me some hope. It’s called The Circle Game.”

Let’s listen to Joni singing the Circle Game……

Let me know if you like the premise behind this post.  Also, let me know if you know of other response songs that I can include in future posts.