Blue is an intensely personal record, primarily about heartbreak, and the musical accompaniment is stark and simple. Many of the songs use a simple piano backing, or rely largely on her dulcimer, a thin, spare sounding instrument. I can imagine that it would be difficult to get into if one were hearing for the first time in 2016. I would recommend starting with Court & Spark, which features full band accompaniment (from 70's Southern California's finest), tighter melodies and much more accessible lyrics. It also happens to be a great record. Then, having satisfied myself that I "like Joni Mitchell", I would return to Blue because it's worth the effort.
She's got a different look - her face is quite long, the distance from eyes to mouth being a bit longer than usual. But, like Rod Stewart said, she wears it well.
I have always loved her later albums like Chalk Mark... and Night Ride Home. They are often overlooked but quite rewarding.
Yes, perhaps that was a bad choise of words. I wish I could get into Joni's music, but I gave up long ago.
Songs of a Prairie Girl is an inexpensive compilation which shows her as a very varied artist. The tracks are chosen by the artist, and it's a nice selection.
Yeah, no. I wasn't referring to the "she's hot" post. That one about being "into her" would have never have been written about a male singer/songwriter of her calibre. I thought it was tacky and maligned the merit of the thread and shows a lot of disrespect for Joni. But a lazy "lol its fine lal i waz just kiddingggg!1111" makes up for that, I guess...
If you don't like "Blue" nor her earlier more acoustic folky albums then the only course of action is too now try "Hejira" and if that doesn't work for you then nothing else will cos basically she's either folky or Jazzy. Personally I love everything up to "For The Roses" then hate everything till "Hejira" then nothing again till "Chalkmark.." and loved everything after that. "Court..", "Hissing..", "Don Juan's.." & "Mingus" are way too weird Jazz for my tastes. "Wild Things.." and "Dog Eat Dog" were just overproduced keyboardy 80's rubbish with very little of the real Joni in them IMHO but she hit it out of the park with "Chalkmark in a Rainstorm" and every subsequent album that followed.. sublime albums.
Hello fellow JoniPhiles! I'm new to this forum thing Lovely to meet you all. I am a huge HUGE Joni fan. To answer the question in the thread, I decided that every time it felt as though I was beginning a new chapter in my life, I would buy a new Joni album. I generally worked chronologically through her material. Some years (like 2005) I got through three or four of her albums, other years I just savoured the one... Anyway, that's just me. Any of you have preferred ways/methods of getting into artists/Joni's work?
Thats ' a novel and interesting way to approach an artist's catalogue. And welcome to the forum, btw.
I really enjoy Joni, but there are parts of her catalog that I am still trying to "get." I like her enough that I'm quite sure it'll happen eventually, even if just for me to say, "Ok, I get what she was going for. Not for me. Moving on..." No harm nor foul in responding to an artist - even one that is will loved by you (forget anybody else) - in that way. Now, Blue has never done a thing for me. I don't get it and maybe it's because I really didn't let it penetrate. It's not a record, in my experience, that gets INTO you. You have to kind of absorb it via osmosis and I'm apparently an impermeable membrane as far as it's concerned. That said, there are tons of gems in her catalog that are much more immediately gripping and I'd highly recommend focusing your attention there. A few others have mentioned Ladies of the Canyon. Yes, yes, YES! It's a wonderfully melodic album with songs ranging from the more casual character study up to serious, topical material. I love these songs and it makes me wish I could sing soprano every time I heard it. I can't recommend it enough for her "solo acoustic" sound. If that's less your thing, I'll also second Court & Spark, which is a better idea of her "band" sound. Again, great melodies and songs and very immediately accessible. And, if neither of these work for you, hey, plenty of good music out there yet to be discovered, but these two should at least give you a foothold if there's anything in her music that will appeal to you. Worry about working hard at the denser, jazz material or the '80s albums later. And, if you really end up wanting to dive in, you can get the box set of her early albums for just over $30 shipped, so there is that! http://www.amazon.com/Studio-Albums...6417876&sr=8-1&keywords=joni+mitchell+box+set
To me it would be to go backwards. I heard "Blue" first when I was a teen in the 80s and thought her voice was a bit hard to take. Then in the late 90s I heard some of her newer works and thought her voice was easier on the ear. Then I went back and listened to "Blue" again and appreciated it more.
OP, you need a wife or a girlfriend to properly introduce you to Joni's music. Her music changed the lives of way more women than men.
Court and Spark! I became a life long Joni devotee from the moment I heard this album being played in the Student Union lounge at Ohio State in the fall of '73 while still a wet behind the ears freshman from the boondocks. I was simply overwhelmed by how much it moved me. I remember missing a class because I couldn't stop listening. Her later output is hit or miss for me, but for my money, no one, including Dylan and Young---who I both consider among the greatest of all time---can top the range of emotions expressed so elegantly and beautifully with that VOICE. "Help Me" is perhaps my favorite pop song of all time.
I immersed myself in her work. I initially got the the 2 DCC Golds. Loved every track on those so ordered Hits & Misses from a record club. Loved everything off that so then I bought her catalog. I love all her stuff and every era.
No, I would definitely not buy the 4CD curated box. Just buy this...It's a lot cheaper ($32 shipped right now on Amazon) and gets you all her studio albums on Reprise and Asylum, which is to say, all her best stuff... Joni Mitchell - Studio Albums 1968 - 1979 - Amazon.com Music ยป
To address the original question, and the point of this thread I guess. How do you get into Joni Mitchell's music? Just start playing it. That's the only way anyone ever got into it. If you don't like it after a few play throughs, I guess it's just not your thing. No harm, no foul. Next man in!
Strange. I agree with this entire post except that I love C&S and lump it with the earlier stuff. I know it's the start of her jazz era, but it's not until The Hissing that she loses me. I love Night Ride Home. She's definitely among my all time favorites overall.
Blue is phenomenal record and should be where anyone starts. "The Last Time I Saw Richard" is such a perfect album closer, too. Doesn't everyone know somebody like Richard, a bitter cynic turned burned romantic? I also recently learned that Joni was recording Blue while Carole King was recording Tapestry a few doors down. If that era wasn't truly a golden age for music, I don't know what is.
