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

Hey, PC, great thread. I also love this album...my favorite of the next four LPs that were released in the 80's after "Don Juan's Reckless Daughter".
Glad to see you are continuing with Joni...her last series of LPs are getting into some that I really like a lot. For me, Joni was back to stay.

 

Joni clearly had no idea what an '80s sports movie anthem was supposed to sound like, which of course is a good thing. I can't imagine her and Larry chilling on the sofa watching Gymkata on Cinemax.

("Fiction" from the last album had a fairly close musical vibe).

"Number One" is a decent enough track. The recurring "got to hold your head up high" hook is super catchy. The anti rat race message is a bit trite, but hey, it was the spirit of the times.

I can kind of hear Ben Orr in the harmonies, but honestly it could be mistaken for Joni using her lower register in one of the multi-tracks.

 

“Number One” doesn’t do anything for me. It just kind of drones on and never really goes anywhere. Meh ... next.

 

This is close to the bottom on my Joni song ranking. Just above Smokin', Shiny Toys, Dancin' Clown, Wild things run fast and Twisted. Yes thankfully it's a blip downward on this album's generally upward trend from the previous two albums.

 

The syncopation of this song confuses me rhythmically -- I'm not quite sure where the "1" is supposed to be (not Number One, the 1 of 1-2-3-4). For years I heard it one way, then it suddenly occurred to me that maybe it was supposed to be another way, and now I can flip back and forth between them depending on what part of the song I'm in.

 

Glad to hear it!!

 

I did justice to the mark this insipid song's left on me, by mixing it up mentally with the truly dreadful 'Reoccuring Dream'. It's not as bad as I claimed; just very boring.

 

I was surprised that such an ordinary song inspired sure ire from you! It makes more sense that 'Reoccurring Dream' is the one you meant.

 

Not saying it's up there with "Car On A Hill" or anything, but I kinda like "The Reoccurring Dream."

If you use this shampoo
True love will come to you

 

Hilarious joke! But now seriously...

 

I am somewhat annoyed at the number of collaborations on this album. It's almost as though she said "Who's doing well on the charts right now? OK. we'll get him - check - and that guy - check..."

As far as I know the best song on this album is just Joni, though it does kind of "sample" another song - no prizes for guessing.

It's ages since I heard this album in full. I need to give it a proper listen before commenting in deetail on the tracks, and I'm not sure when I'll get the time to do that right now.

 

I enjoyed -- and still enjoy -- "My Secret Place" a whole heckuva lot! One of my favorite Joni songs, ever. (That and "Two Grey Rooms".) To me, it was the first really great marriage of "Joni's heritage sound" with "Joni's modern 80's sound" and she found an extremely simpatico partner in Peter Gabriel.

When I originally heard the song, without the benefit of the video, I couldn't always tell who was singing what line!!

Wish Peter and Joni had taken a run at "Don't Give Up".

 

I'm here, I'm here!

After feeling like I couldn't "find" Joni on Dog Eat Dog I was very excited for Chalk Mark.

I think, if I remember right, the first song I heard from it was Number One. It was one of the songs she performed at a live concert that happened....I'm thinking maybe a year before the album was released? An Amnesty concert, perhaps?

I liked it a lot. It amuses me that I've heard it a fair amount over the years in shops....and once on a daytime soap opera, to underscore a doctor and her career challenges (!)

But okay.....My Secret Place. It has a very dear place in my heart.

The first time I heard it was when I saw the video for it. It was unexpected and I was at home, on spring break from college, watching videos and it came on...I didn't know who it was for the first few seconds, and then I saw the name. (This was of course before iTunes/YouTube, and she kinda wasn't getting radio airplay at the time.)

You ever have a really physical reaction to a song? Shivers up the spine? Goosebumps? I had all of those. And tears. It just hit me. Resonated on every level.

Has and will always be one of my favorites of all time of Joni's. I love it so, so much.
(Sorry if that was TMI or over the top, but I'm tearing up even as I type this.)

 

This was the first album of Joni's I bought, and it got on my radar because she did a song with Peter Gabriel, who I was a huge fan of. Before that I would have assumed she was not for me, but that song led me to all the rest of it. The celebrity guesting does have an upside for the new listener as well as for her sales.

As a Peter fan it's fun to listen to "My Secret Place" and know she is probably playing his piano. The sound is very familiar to anyone who knows his records of the time. But then, apart from the prominence of the acoustic guitar the whole track sounds like one of his records, what with the Manu Katche drums and Klein's Tony Levin-esque bass playing. I think it made the whole record feel like it belonged to his high tech art-rock genre, rather than just being a stab at sounding trendy, even though much of the rest of the album is not that dissimilar to Dog Eat Dog stylistically. The sounds are generally better though.

 

This is one of the Joni records I still listen to. I was hooked from the first cut-beautiful imagery and engaging, rhythmically. Number one keeps feel going.

 

Never apologize for sharing honest emotion! A beautiful story.

 

At least she didn't offer him "The Beat of Black Wings".

Has Joni ever written a song that sounds remotely like an anthem? I can't think of one. It's just not her style.

 

Wonder if “Urge for Going” and “Number One” are on a loop at some urologist’s office

 

*rimshot*

 

Unlike some who have been living with this music for years and years, I have spent 2 days with it. I did hear the record back in the day maybe twice, but that's it. I recall none of the track, so it is essentially new to me (as will be the rest of the JM catalog here on in).

"My Secret Place" is enjoyable. Manu Katche's drumming really gives the track a distinct Peter Gabriel feel. Just as Dog Eat Dog has a vibe of time & place, so does Chalk Mark...; it's just that we like So much better than we like mid-80s Euro-dance, apparently.

 

"Number One" is enjoyable as well. This morning I was caught by the lyric "Oh there must be more to living / Than a mortgage and a lawn to mow".
When I was a 20 year old in 1988, I'd have agreed. I still do agree, I suppose, but I also was taken with the idea that I am so glad the mortgage is paid off & that the lawn looks really nice. That doesn't make me shallow now, does it?

 

Another thing about “My Secret Place”: this is, in my opinion, one of Joni’s best and most accessible later period songs, with a video and a high profile guest star — yet she never included it on any of her collections, not even her four CD love-themed anthology. And the same was true of “Good Friends,” except maybe for “best.” Did she feel having other singers compromised them in some way? Did she only write them looking for a hit?

 

This thing about having all the stars on your album. When did that start ? Mid eighties ? Was it a post Live Aid luvvie thing ? Joni wasn't at that I know but I don't really think the extras on this album contribute much at all. Was she still happily married to Klein ?

 

Does anyone know why this album is missing on Tidal (all other Joni's albums are there)?