Joni Mitchell: "Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm" Song by Song Thread

We continue our exploration of Joni Mitchell's catalog today with the final album she released in the 1980s: 1988's Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm.

Previous threads in this series
Joni Mitchell: "Dog Eat Dog" Song by Song Thread
Joni Mitchell: "Wild Things Run Fast" Song by Song Thread
Joni Mitchell: "Mingus" Song By Song Thread
Joni Mitchell: "Don Juan's Reckless Daughter" Song By Song Thread
Joni Mitchell: "Hejira" Song by Song Thread
Joni Mitchell: "The Hissing of Summer Lawns" Song By Song Thread
Joni Mitchell: "Court and Spark" Song By Song Thread
Joni Mitchell: "For the Roses" Song By Song Thread
Joni Mitchell: "Blue" Song By Song Thread
Joni Mitchell: "Ladies of the Canyon" Song By Song Thread
Joni Mitchell: "Clouds" Song By Song Thread
Joni Mitchell: "Song to a Seagull" Song By Song Thread

Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm


Album Notes
Released March 23, 1988

PRODUCED BY JONI MITCHELL AND LARRY KLEIN

Mixed by MIKE SHIPLEY and DAN MARNIEN
Engineer DAN MARNIEN
Additional engineering DAVID BOTTRILL, HENRY LEWY, JULIE LAST, MIKE SHIPLEY, ALAN SMART

Engineering Assistants JULIE LAST, BILL JENKINS, MIKE ROSS, ROBIN LANE, DAVE STALLBAUMER, CHRIS FUHRMAN, ANGUS DAVIDSON, FRED HOWARD, RICHARD COTTRELL, RICK O’NEIL, JOHN PAYNE.

Recorded at
ASHCOMBE HOUSE Bath, England
THE WOOL HALL Beckington, England
ARTISAN RECORDING STUDIOS Los Angeles
THE VILLAGE Los Angeles
OCEAN WAY RECORDING STUDIOS Los Angeles
A&M RECORDING STUDIOS Los Angeles
GROUND CONTROL Santa Monica, CA
SOUND CASTLE Los Angeles
GALAXY STUDIOS Los Angeles

Mastered by BOB LUDWIG, MASTERDISK, New York City

Keyboard Programming LARRY KLEIN

Thomas Dolby appears courtesy of EMI-Manhatten Records, a Division of Capitol Records, Inc.
Billy Idol appears courtesy of Chrysalis Records
Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman appear courtesy of Columbia Records
Willie Nelson appears courtesy of Columbia Records
Benjamin Orr appears courtesy of Elektra Records
Tom Petty appears courtesy of MCA Records, Inc.
Wayne Shorter appears courtesy of Columbia Records
Steve Stevens appears courtesy of Warner Bros. Records Inc.

Special thanks to Bob Bradshawe, Andy Brauer Doug Buttleman and Yamaha International, Lon Cohen, Manny Elias, Peter Gabriel, William Greider, Amanda Harcourt, Federico Jimenez, Juan Jimenez, Julie Last, Thom Moore, Paul and the gang at Ground Control, Hilary Prusser, Walter Rice, Patsy Smith, Dave Stallbaumer, Dave Taraskevics, Fred Walecki.

GLEN CHRISTENSEN Art Direction
JONI MITCHELL Design
LARRY KLEIN Photography
ASHER/KROST MANAGEMENT Management
GLORIA BOYCE Production Assistant



Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm is the 13th studio album by Canadian singer and songwriter Joni Mitchell, released in 1988. It was her third for Geffen Records. The album features various duets with guest artists such as Peter Gabriel on "My Secret Place", Willie Nelson on "Cool Water", Don Henley on "Snakes and Ladders", Billy Idol and Tom Petty on the track "Dancin' Clown". Henley also performs backing vocals on "Lakota", and Wendy and Lisa perform backing vocals on "The Tea Leaf Prophecy (Lay Down Your Arms)".

History
In early 1986, Mitchell and Larry Klein visited Peter Gabriel's Ashcombe House recording studio in Bath, England. Since Gabriel had mostly finished his album So by that time, he offered Mitchell and Klein the use of his studio if they wanted to record. They did, and the result was the track "My Secret Place" which was a duet between Mitchell and Gabriel. Mitchell told Musician magazine about this song: "It's a love beginning song. The song's about the threshold of intimacy. It's a shared thing so I wanted it to be like the Song of Solomon, where you can't tell what gender it is. It's the uniting spirit of two people at the beginning of a relationship".

In February 1987, Mitchell saw Billy Idol performing his song "To Be A Lover" on the Grammy Awards show. She felt he captured the original spirit of rock'n'roll along with a new spark of energy, and would be perfect for a cameo on her song "Dancin' Clown". Idol came over to Mitchell's studio one evening a few days after the Grammys and recorded his part, complete with yelps and howls. Mitchell told Macleans magazine about this pairing up: "It was for the contrast he provided. It's a great little cameo for him, and he brings real life to the part." Later, Tom Petty recorded his cameo on the same song.

About Chalk Mark, Mitchell told interviewer Kristine McKenna: "I've discovered that with your focus no longer on finding a mate, you get a heightened sense of community, and I've become a bit more political - not too political though".

Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm was released in March 1988, and the song "Snakes and Ladders" (featuring Don Henley) was issued as a pre-release single to radio stations in January 1988.

Themes
Contemporary commercialism is addressed in the songs "Number One", "Lakota" which deals with the destruction of Native American culture and the unusual "The Reoccurring Dream" was constructed from samples Mitchell collected by recording TV commercials on her VCR for 2 weeks. "Cool Water" (a Mitchell rewrite of the Bob Nolan original) also discusses water pollution.

War is explored in two very different stories: "The Tea Leaf Prophecy (Lay Down Your Arms)" tells the tale of Mitchell's parents meeting during World War II after a surprisingly prophetic tea-leaf reading, while "The Beat of Black Wings" is about an embittered Vietnam vet named Killer Kyle, who found it difficult to get the sound of helicopter blades out of his head. This song may be based on a scene from the film adaptation of The Looking Glass War.[1]

In the more straightforward lovesongs, Mitchell sings of intimacy in "My Secret Place", and young, rambunctious love in "Snakes and Ladders" and "Dancin' Clown".

Chalk Mark in a Rainstorm was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female at the 1989 Grammy Awards, but lost to Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car".

Contemporary Reviews
"Joni Mitchell could once be relied on to produce wildly adventurous albums (showing far greater musical skills in the process), but her latest LP is a disappointment, not because it's bad but because it's rather ordinary. That's a real surprise, after her remarkable 20-year recording career.

In that time she has developed from early folk-rock through to elaborate pieces that showed off her range and acrobatic vocals, or to jazz-influenced works like Mingus, just as her lyrics have moved from the thoughtful and confessional to the more political songs of Dog Eat Dog. Released three years ago, it showed she was ahead of the times with her warning about the growing power of TV evangelists.

There's no such trail-blazing spirit here, even though the album was recorded with help from a remarkable collection of musicians, from Peter Gabriel to Billy Idol, Willie Nelson to Wayne Shorter. None of them succeeds in helping her to break through a classy, languid mood typified by the opening tracks My Secret Place and Number One. There's a gentle wash of synthesizers and clever, inter-locking backing vocals which create a soporific mood that takes the edge her vocals. Many of the tracks are gentle and pleasant, like the forgettable cover versions of Cool Water and Corrina Corrina, while the issue songs are decidedly uneven."
The Guardian, March 1988

"Not as heady nor as musically challenging as her best work, Mitchell's new album is built largely on primitive percussive feels (African and American Indian) and is overlaid with great slabs of meandering synthesizer chords that only occasionaly suggest melody or conventional song structure.

For all that, this is extremely unaggressive music, at times downright lugubrious; no single player - not even Billy Idol's usually abrasive guitarist, Steve Stevens - intrudes or wobbles the brittle fabric of these delicate, dream-like songs.

What holds them together is Mitchell's wispy voice and the intensity of the little dramas the songs contain. Insulated now from the gritty real-life scenes that made her earlier work so unusual, the Canadian-born songwriter is still able to startle with the vividness of her images and the depth of her passion."
Toronto Star, March 1988

"Because Mitchell has been making good records for (gulp!) nearly 20 years now, she has a leg up on some of the younger musicians experimenting with digital technology. She understands that the song is more important than the machines producing it, which means that for her, keyboard samplers and other sounds are used to add to the music rather than to create it.

She has assembled a solid band of herself on keyboards and guitar, Michael Landau on guitar, Larry Klein (Mitchell's husband) on bass and keyboards, and Manu Katche on drums and percussion. There are a number of famous guest stars: Peter Gabriel, Benjamin Orr of the Cars, Don Henley, Wendy and Lisa, Billy Idol, Tom Petty, Willie Nelson and Wayne Shorter. But this is clearly Mitchell's show; even on duets, she dominates.

"Chalk Mark in a Rainstorm" is the best collection of songs Mitchell has come up with in years. The last two albums had very good songs, but this one achieves a remarkable consistency...

Once again, Joni Mitchell has made intelligent, well-constructed pop music for adults seem more than just a theoretical possibility. This "Chalk Mark in a Rainstorm" will not wash away."
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 1988

"So basically what we've got here is a reputable, established artist with plenty of experience and talent to carry herself beefing up her already wonderful presentation and ideas with some occasionally helpful folks. But I'm still left curious as to what this album would sound like without the Grammy lineup. Joni Mitchell can stand on her own, and I bought this album to see how she is progressing. If she feels she needs all this help to create a better album, I think she's very wrong. If she brought in everybody for the hell of having a great jam session, then cool. Except for Billy and Steve it works. Gee...a nice institution that inflates itself for no particular reason and with no particular effect except general confusion of familiar parties. Sound familiar?

Final Word. Like I said, an appropriate album with which to bid adieu. I hope if you're a Joni Mitchell fan you get a chance to hear "Chalk Mark In A Rain Storm" all the way through a couple of times, because you won't regret it. If you're not familiar with Mitchell and her work, and you don't really know what to expect, you may want to try out one of her earlier albums before jumping in on this one."
Trinity University, April 1988

 

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Today please discuss the opening track and the album as a whole:

Track 1: "My Secret Place"


MY SECRET PLACE
WORDS AND MUSIC BY JONI MITCHELL
©1988 Crazy Crow Music BMI
MANU KATCHÉ Drums, talking drum
LARRY KLEIN Bass, Keyboards
PETER GABRIEL Vocals, background vocals
JONI MITCHELL Vocals, background vocals, guitars, keyboards

Lyrical Excerpt:
I'm going to take you to
My special place
It's a place that you
Like no one else I know
Might appreciate
I don't go there with anyone but
You're a special case
For my special place
For my secret place

Complete Lyrics at Joni Mitchell's Official Site

Joni on 'My Secret Place' from the Geffen Recordings box set"My Secret Place"
Albert Magnoli approached me to write a song for a scene in a movie he was making, "American Anthem." In the scene, a young couple in a red Jeep is racing up a mountain road against a backdrop of golden Aspen trees. The director requested the song be upbeat and nestled on a bed of Syndrums and he sang me a hideous Syndrum fill. I told him, "That's not the way I see the music in this scene and I couldn't possibly give you a drum fill like that. Should I do it anyway?" He laughed and said, "Yes, and while you're at it, take a stab at the title song. Write me an American Anthem." So I wrote a ballad, "My Secret Place," for the driving scene and "Number One" for the anthem.

We were in England at the time. Klein had just finished playing on Peter Gabriel's "So" album. The album was completed and his studio was standing empty. Peter offered it to me, as a courtesy, to make my demos. He agreed to sing on "My Secret Place."

I didn't approach the duet in the usual way. I wanted it to be like the Song of Solomon where gender seems to switch arbitrarily. I had learned from singing with Don Henley that seemingly different voices give little to no contrast in certain registers and I used this observation here.

Both songs were rejected. Of "Number One," the director said, "I asked for an anthem. I don't want the truth!"

 

Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm
I have a major, major soft spot for this record. In some ways, it could be said that this is the record on which Joni went "adult contemporary" but I actually really enjoy the sound of this record. While Dog Eat Dog was 100% 1985 in sound, Chalk Mark could definitely be seen to carry many of the characteristics of the late '80s--especially for boomer artists like Joni. As some of the reviews hint at, it has a gauzy, dreamy sort of sound with each song given a sonic soundscape woven together from warm synths, deep drums and lush vocal harmonies. It's probably just as dated sounding as the last record but the difference for me is that I *really like* these sounds and the rich, intimate mood it creates. I'm a big fan of late '80s/early '90s recordings. I like the production style of the era.

This is a mature record made by a middle-aged woman and I think the adult contemporary sound suits it. Joni's voice is in great shape, I like the songs a lot and I feel like Joni here found a way to weave topical songwriting into more intimate, storytelling-style lyrics. She's lost that aggressive, harsh bitterness and sloganeering that was so prevalent on Dog Eat Dog and I feel like her humanity and likability (and warmth!) is back on this record. It just feels so much more like Joni to me. Is it one of her best records ever? Probably not, but I love listening to it and the many guest stars actually add to my enjoyment of the record. I like some different voices every now and then to spice things up. I'm so happy to be back to music I can heap praise upon!

My Secret Place
Here's a fact about me: Peter Gabriel is my all-time favorite singer. I love his voice more than anyone else's voice ever. Putting him on a track is pretty much guaranteed to be a win for me. Putting him on a beautiful, romantic song like "My Secret Place" with Joni Mitchell is pure bliss for me. I love "My Secret Place." I love the way Joni and Peter's voices blend and how Joni wrote the track so that they switch off right in the middle of lines, making it feel as if they are finishing one another's thoughts (or expressing the same thoughts together). I love the intimacy of the lyrics and the lush, rich arrangement of the track. I just think it's a beautiful song and something of a precursor, thematically, for Peter's own "Secret World" a few years later. The black and white music video is splendid as well.

I'm back in a very good mood for my Joni threads.

 

Wow, talk about two mega-stars. I had no idea they had recorded together.
First time I have heard this.The first thing that stands out to me is how good the tone in Joni's voice is. You can tell the years of singing (and life) have stripped some of her range, but she is left with this beautiful warm tone to her voice.
The song sounds very much like a late eighties tune and has this smooth, crisp sound to it that works really nicely.

Thanks for the heads up mate. I am enjoying discovering these new (to me) Joni albums. I kind of over faced myself with albums threads and left myself short on time.

 

"My Secret Place" is a great song, and I've become a big fan of this album. I know people slobber all over the next two, but Chalk Mark is my favorite of what's left. Actually, the only Joni album I like after this is Taming The Tiger. Oh, and Both Sides Now has a few gems.

FYI, here's a thread I started on Chalk Mark five years ago on the 25th anniversary of its release:

Joni Mitchell's "Chalk Mark In A Rainstorm" Turns 25

 

Thanks for the link! I just read through. It seems there are other fans of this record sprinkled throughout the forums. I'm glad you like the album too.

I really enjoyed the Stylus review you posted in the OP there. It seemed to capture just what I enjoy about the record. This bit especially:

"I want the overproduced Joni, the genius who seemingly stumbled through the 1980s making one ill-received album after another, from Wild Things Run Fast to Dog Eat Dog to, especially and most of all, Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm. Its numerous guest stars and expensive production only serve to, perversely, spotlight what a great collection of songs this is. Thanks to the way these songs are buried beneath layers of reverb and gloss, you’ve got to listen harder to get to their heart—and the heart of Chalk Mark beats perhaps more strongly than that of any other Mitchell album."

I don't know that this record has a stronger heartbeat than her '70s classics, but I appreciate the sentiment and I like when reviewers give under-appreciated and under-heard albums like this one a chance.

 

Feel free to bring over anything you find useful from that thread. There's a lengthy piece from Musician magazine of which I posted a big chunk. It wasn't for copyright reasons or whatever that I didn't paste the whole thing--I seem to remember a time on the forum when people would get their undies in a twist if you posted articles that were too long. Anyway...

 

Wheeee! Early '88, I'm 23, a civilian again and finding my place in the job and romance markets. My then-girlfriend was more of a hair metal maven, so bonding over a new Joni album was out. (She got me into Winger, though!)

I was kinda jealous of the older folks who'd been blessed with a superb offering from our high priestess every year - here I was having to wait 3 years at a pop, and last time all I got was dog biscuits.

I hit play on Chalk Mark with trepidation, and ... gradually breathed a sigh of relief. I wasn't (and am still not) rhapsodic over it, but it was a vast improvement over the hot mess from '85.

The cover photo is striking, not even the godawful title font detracts from it. Just seeing her in a serape and fedora tells you her love affair with shiny studio toys and haute couture is fading.

"My Secret Place" is a good beginning. First thing you notice is that the drum program is no longer set to "bludgeon". And then that she's singing lyrics that show some evidence of her craft.

That she was singing about being a NYC girl come to Colorado was a tad confusing until I found out it was meant for a movie (which was a dud BTW, but hey, Michelle Phillips was in it!)

And it always good to hear Peter Gabriel.

PW, I guess I don't have to ask if you love "Don't Give Up"!

 

Every time I thought Joni was headed off to music oblivion she came back strong.

Dog Eat Dog was... well, a dog. But Chalk Mark goes in the stack next to her good ones. While it does have a certain slightly dated adult contemporary feel to it, it’s got enough of what I consider genuine “Joniness” to it, thematically and musically, to make it one of her better efforts.

“My Secret Place” is a good opener and Gabriel does a great job on it. The vid is kind of a snoozer though.

 

I vaguely at best remember this record; I gave it a listen or two but thought very little of it at the time. My tastes at the time were much more aggressive, but now that I am now much more advanced in years, I am curious if I'll dig it.

 

I adore 'Don't Give Up.' I love the original with Kate and the live version from Secret World Live with Paula Cole just as much.

 

I think Chalk Mark is underrated and wrongfully gets lumped into the Dog Eat Dog era. It's more organic than DED. Joni does try to emulate the Peter Gabriel So success blueprint but without the success that So had. There was cross pollination with musicians as Larry Klien and Manu Katche both performed on So and Chalk Mark.

 

for me, 'dog eat dog' and 'chalk mark' are inseparable.

and my 2 favorite joni mitchell albums.

love the guests, love the lyrics, love the production.

 

Here's a fact about me... I am both a huge Joni and Peter Gabriel fan myself.

Like you, it was pretty much a forgone conclusion that I would like this song based on that alone. Similar to when Kate Bush (another favorite) sang on Gabriel's "Don't Give Up"...

I also agree with you regarding this album being a strong return after the previous album.

And once again, a sincere thanks to you, Parachute Woman, for all of your work (although I'm guessing that "labour of love" might be more accurate) on these outstanding Joni threads... you are much appreciated!..

 

Thank you very much! It is an absolute pleasure to run them and to talk about Joni Mitchell music with you guys.

 

Not to mention the fact that Gabriel's studio was demonstrably the retreat of choice for perfectionist female songwriters with something significant to communicate in music requiring more than just a miced acoustic guitar.

 

Didn't like it at the time. Thought it sounded like they threw pretty much everything at it. Now, however, it's not bad, fake Indian an' all. Prefer Wild Things, but I now prefer this to Dog... just. On this, I really like Beat of Black Wings, Lay Down Your Arms

 

The "fake Indian" was, in fact, very real. Can't remember where I read it (might've been one of the Joni books that I don't have handy at the moment), but the gist of the story is that Joni crossed paths with a Native American and brought him into the studio for "Lakota."

 

I love a lot of this album. And there are a few songs I have only subjected myself to once. Tea Leaf Prophecy and A Bird That Whistles are two of her best ever for me.

 

I thought it was Iron Eyes Cody, who was Italian-American

 

Interesting. I Wiki'd him and it looks like you're right, though at the time of this album he was still "Native American" and Joni's comments about him were accurate as far as she knew.

Apparently, in 1996 his half-sister claimed he was Italian, which he actually was.

 

Yes, the chanting on 'Lakota' was done by Iron Eyes Cody aka "the Crying Indian." Real name Espera Oscar de Corti, he was an Italian-American. He claimed he was Native America for his entire career and his real heritage was not confirmed (though rumored) until after his death in 1999.

 

Going to watch with interest the comments on this one. This was the first of hers to be generally available on cd on release. Prior to this one it was only vinyl. I bought it in London on release day and was devastated. It was the first time I felt she had gone from being a leader to a follower. Don Henley, someone who I think is vastly overrated, appearing on two tracks did it for me. Needless to say like decent wine I enjoy it now but I wanted Joni solo not her guests. My special place with Gabriel is nice enough. The first Robbie Robertson album which came out the year before has similar sound textures to Chalk Mark. But its more enjoyable. Both musically echo Peter Gabriel's So. Never mind the three nineties albums more than compensate for her eighties dip.

 

Continuing with the second track:

Track 2: "Number One"


NUMBER ONE
WORDS AND MUSIC BY JONI MITCHELL
©1988 Crazy Crow Music BMI
JONI MITCHELL Drum programming
MANU KATCHÉ Snare drum
LARRY KLEIN Bass
STEVEN LINDSEY Organ
BENJAMIN ORR Background vocals
JONI MITCHELL Vocals, background vocals, guitars, keyboards

Lyrical Excerpt:
Number one
Number one
Honey tell me
When your working day is done
Were you reaching for the high rung
Reaching to be number one?

You get a car
You want a boat
You want an eenie-meenie-miney
Miney-moe
Oh there must be more to living
Than a mortgage and a lawn to mow

Complete Lyrics at Joni Mitchell's Official Site

Joni mentioned the circumstances of writing 'Number One' in the thoughts I posted from her yesterday re: 'My Secret Place.'

 

Number One
While I have never seen (or indeed even heard of) American Anthem, I can understand this song being rejected if the filmmaker was looking for an anthem. I quite enjoy 'Number One,' but it is not an anthem. If an anthem is supposed to be rousing and uplifting, this is anything but. The idea of the competitiveness of the average life is a good idea for a song and there is a lot of truth in that--I see constant competition (of both the healthy and the non-healthy varieties) in my every day worklife. People like to be the best. This can yield both positive and negative things.

I quite like the song itself. The "got to be a winner trophy" chanting is quite catchy and propulsive. It does a nice job of pulling me into the the track and keeping it moving throughout. I don't hear Benjamin Orr's voice on here (though I can't say I'm the hugest Cars fan or think he has the world's most distinctive voice anyway). Joni's voice has a smooth, deep quality to it on 'Number One'--and throughout the album--that I really dig. She's lost range, but she still knows how to use her voice to suit the song as she always did. This one is a solid album track for me. Not a highlight, but enjoyable.