Best Joni Mitchell album?

No question about it.
An Incredible artist.

 

Court and Spark innit?

 

Messed up the quotes, but my list was very similar to that posted by Parachute Woman:

1. Blue
2. Ladies of the Canyon
3. For the Roses
4. The Hissing of Summer Lawns
5. Hejira
6. Court and Spark
7. Live at the Second Fret
8. Song to a Seagull
9. Clouds
10. Mingus

 

Court and Spark or Blue.

 

Another factor in the Joni Mitchell collection "The Studio Album", aside from the already established musical excellence and the adventurousness, is that the vocals are exceptional.
Was quite impressed with the vocals on "Don Juan's Reckless Daughter".
Very very different, deeper fuller voice, from the earlier albums but still definable as Joni Mitchell.
(Reminiscent of contemporaries at the time, Maria Muldaur, Rickie Lee Jones, etc.)

 

1) Live at Club 47 (1968)
2) Hejira
3) Joni Mitchell
4) For the roses
5) Travelogue
6) Mingus
7) Night Ride Home
8) Clouds
9) Don Juan's Reckless Daughter
10) Hissing of Summer Lawns

 

The bottom five Blue chalk mark spark shine wild things

 

Decided to repost with top 5

1. Blue
2. The Hissing Of Summer Lawns
3. Court And Spark
4. Heijera
5. Both Sides Now

 

I'll go with my personal favorite For the Roses

Close would be Hejira. One of my favorite album titles not to mention
my favorite album cover.

Also want to give a shoutout to Shadows and Light.
Must be one of the best Live albums ever, but doesn't
seem to get proper praise.

 

1. Hejira
2. Night Ride Home
3. Court and Spark

 

Your top three are my top three,in that order. If I had a bowl of roses I'd prance around and shower you with petals Parachute Woman.

 

Too right. I saw a film of this show and it was what turned me on to her.

 

Here's what I've got
Blue
For the Roses
Court and Spark
Hissing of Summer Lawns
Hejira
Dog eat Dog.
My Favorite is Hissing of Summer Lawn but their all great

 

A long time ago, I bought a block of four consecutive releases:
Ladies of the Canyon, Blue, For the Roses and Court and Spark.
To this very day, that's all I have and that's all I need.
Picking one of them over the others is a task I choose not to attempt.

 

An incredible sequence of albums, but The Hissing of Summer Lawns is absolutely on the same level.

 

Have you had a chance to listen to 'Travelogue'? It is a perfect storm of the best of her songwriting with that wonderful voice she's using on 'Both sides now'

 

You have my deepest sympathy for your lack of curiosity

 

It's a far better live album than 'Miles of Aisles' which is ruined by Tom Scott's obtrusive input into the arrangements. Pat and Joni did a much better job 6 years later

 

And two or three are better

 

Hejira then Hissing. Close third is Night ride home..

 

You never saw Joni with the LA express then ?

 

Let's just say the YouTube videos of Joni playing her solo set from that tour are amoung my most watched. That could be for slightly less than pure musical motives admittedly.
You're entitled to your opinion but I'll claim the arrangement the L.A. Express played on Carey as the moment I least enjoy in all 40 releases I have of hers

 

I can assure you that you are in the minority of people who think Tom Scott's playing on MOA is obtrusive.
Such a brilliant player, as was the entire L.A. Express.

 

2 issues: firstly, I think the problem here is that the Court and Spark sessions with Scott were very successful and Joni is really happy with the band set up. The Court and Spark songs on MoA are a continuation of the arrangements, whereas the Blue and FTR songs are squeezed into the band's style and don't work. Joni's solo 'A Case of You on MoA beats the album version as does the solo 'Woman of heart and mind'.
Secondly, how many of you have actually given 'Shadows and Light' its dues and resisted dismissing it because of the lack of material from Blue and CAS on it?

 

Hejira for me. Love that record.