Court and Spark is the gateway if it will ever happen. If not, you just aren't a fan. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
It's very rare that I would suggest a live album for somebody starting out with an artist, but Miles of Aisles is actually a really good place to start. It covers most of her best early songs and gives you a good introduction to the jazzier Court and Spark/Hissing of Summer Lawns period. The performances and recording quality are excellent, with several tracks being better than the original studio cuts, and you can feel the warmth of her connection to the audience.
I don't really follow her, but this lovely song evokes childhood memories, and some puppy love, from the mid-70s:
For the Roses is a VERY powerful and moving album, but the three that followed (Court and Spark, Hissing of Summer Lawns, and Hejira) are also indisputable masterpieces, although I would have to put Court and Spark just a bit below the other two because of a few cuts like Raised on Robbery, Twisted, and maybe Trouble Child. I liked the ones from the Asylum years that followed, but they were not as flawless as the afore mentioned releases, IMHO. I love Ladies of the Canyon overall, but I have to say that Big Yellow Taxi was one of the cheesiest songs she ever did, and when she laughs at the end of the song I always cringe in embarrassment. Bound to get some haters on that one, just my two cents worth.
I pretty much stopped listening to Joni after Court & Spark, but I recently picked up Shadows and Light on vinyl. It's a great summary of her "post-folk" career, with stunning sound to boot.
An excellent choice. Just 'nice' is not just 'ice' for easily the best compilation of 2005. It has remixed versions of songs that really needed justice to be done to them.
Sonically Blue is more reminiscent of BOTT, however lyrically Hejira is closer to the fin de siècle soul searching of BOTT. I totally agree with OldTurkey. As a fan of acoustic music, Hejira sat on my shelf for quite a while. It's now one of my desert island discs.
I find this is an unusual question. When you first hear someone, you either "get it" or you don't. And musical taste is just that -- taste, and different people have different tastes. However, sometimes an artist will grow on you. Seriously. That is the way I got into P. J. Harvey. At first, I liked only "Stories from the City . . .", kind of known as her most accessible album for the outsider. I didn't like her early stuff. But I kept listening here and there (sampling). And several years later, I started to buy them, starting with "To Bring You My Love". (a WOW album). And then "Dry". And now I own almost everything she has done (though her most recent outing I didn't buy). So start with Court and Spark and For the Roses, and give them time. If it don't click, that's okay, there are a legion of talented female singer/songwriters out there. But for us who grew up in the 1970s, Joni's in a league of her own. And always will be.
As much as I love Hissing, I would have loved a version of Shadows and Light as she played at the Last Waltz with the Band in'76
If you like "Blue" and "Court and Spark"(stream them) pick up the boxed set which I, largely, the remasters HDCD although the best sounding of Blue and Court is mastered by Steve or the first mastering for Court.
I fell into Joni when I heard a song on the radio way back in the day and said who the heck is that? A solo voice at a piano with a haunting melody, lyric, and sound. My gateway to Joni was "Rainy Night House." That's all it took - everything else fell into place.
If someone is trying to get into Joni and having difficulty, I would make sure you are trying her different eras as she has like changed directions like 5 times as well as her vocal range. You have the folky/high voice Joni which may turn some people off thru Blue. Then you have more straight forward singer/songwriter California rock of Court thru Heijra Then it's Jazz Joni for Don Juan's thru Shadows & Light live album Then more Adult Contemporary Joni for Wild Things thru Shine with a sidestep to Classical Joni for Both Sides Now and Travelogue. Lots of different voices throughout her career so you may want to check out each era and see what sticks. I fell in love with all eras but I have to admit I probably like the Joan Baez-ish sound of the first 3 albums the least.
Blue is the only one I personally like. It has most of her best tunes guitar and arrangements. Either it's not interesting to you or you haven't given it time. As said (the semi-ironically titled) 'Hits' will tell you everything you need to know very quickly.
Norman Seef photo on the cover from my favourite album of hers is a promising start. It still won't tempt me enough though. I'm really tired of music journalism: reading fellow forum members' posts is far more fun though I'd be intrigued to find out if the 'Hissing' to 'Mingus' run is given its due as was the case in the Mojo spread last year, that I also didn't read.
I wish I could wave a wand and magically make all these early Mitchell - Joan Baez comparisons disappear, if that's what you hear then that's what you hear, I don't. I hear quite a lot of Judy Collins influence on the first two albums, but hardly any of Baez' constant fast vibrato. Joni's lower register is far more expressive than Joan's right from the start of her career, and there's far greater range of pitch. Joan's soprano is more classical and emotionally moving when it really needs to be on ' Mary Hamilton' that's because she was primarily an interpreter of folk tradition. Joni only had that string to her bow for a short time but by 1967 she's a pure and unique personality in her words and voice. Again all this is just my opinion. I'm not knocking Baez, by the way.
It was very simple for me. I heard In France They Kiss On Main Street on the radio when I was about 17 and loved it. Bought The Hissing of Summer lawns and was not convinced at the time (I have since grown to love it). Then I heard Coyote from The Last Waltz movie and loved that too so I picked up Hejira, which I enjoyed. From there on I started exploring the early albums and subsequently more or less everything. I don't like all of it but I really love much of it. Blue is a masterpiece but not necessarily a great starting place. I'd recommend Hejira, Court & Spark & Ladies of the Canyon for a beginner.
I'm prepared to take some flak for this pretentiousness but if you are not prepared to put in the effort of really thinking intelligently about what her detailed visual imagery is conveying on 'A case of you' or 'Amelia', you haven't got a hope of getting into her. Likewise, her guitar playing with the polio-weakened left hand forcing her to create her own workaround of tunings, needs some real thinking about. Visit her website it really helps to see the lyrics as poetry and to understand some musical theory. Finally she's just made for YouTube searches, her amazing beauty and charisma will help you visualise as you listen later.
Blue is boring, Hejira and Hissing are both masterpieces, Court and Spark is essential and apart from that you can save your money.
Three amazing slower songs, two cracking up tempo songs and hippy dippy describes the rest very well.
I hadn't played Blue in a long time, and when I did recently I just couldn't stand it. She is very talented, and her other albums are probably toned down, and a little more sophisticated. Maybe I just was not in the right mood to listen to her.
