Joni Mitchell: "Court and Spark" Song by Song Thread

Wow, missed that. Studio or live?

 

OK, listening casually this evening as I'm going thru boxes of LP's and it's sounding better already. I'm not sure if Quad discs are supposed to sound better on a regular 2 speaker system than a regular issue LP but this one seems to. It still has some crackle and probably needs a deep clean on a good RCM. I'm not sure which song we're on but side 1 was good.

 

"Help Me" was the first Joni Mitchell 45 I bought - and I think it was also the last. I bought C&S not long after, and became a fan in a big way. Even though Mitchell had hit singles, I was a fan of her albums. Each has its merits and are works of art - not just collections of songs. If she is anything, Mitchell is a musical artist, not an artist that makes music (if that makes sense). C&S remains one of my favorite Joni albums, sometimes I like it more than Blue, sometimes Blue wins out - depends on my mood.

The song Court & Spark kicks off this elegant and mature album from a woman who is finally seeing her talents come into full bloom. She's no longer this smoke filled coffee house folk singer, she's taking chances, challenging her listeners, her band and even herself with this jazzy hybrid music style. Mitchell is so - unique - I guess is the right word - that it's almost impossible to categorize her music. C&S stretches the limits of what folk music could be and never looks back. As far as the title track goes, it really sets up the mood perfectly for what's to come. The arrangement is sparse and her phrasing is definitely rooted in jazz, making it an unusual choice for a lead-off track, but in the case of this album, it's perfect.

 

From the Shadows & Light album:

 

Just like For the Roses, this album is imprinted in my DNA. How many times have I listened to it over the years? Not enough actually; I'm off to spin it right now.

A couple of years ago, on a whim, I bought a copy of the Quad version. Oh, what a nice surprise to hear all the mix variations. All of you fans of this album owe it to yourselves to get a copy of the Quad.

 

I can't remember exactly when I first heard this album but I do remember how the first few chords of Court and Spark hooked me. This album is an absolute masterpiece.

 

Max Bennett is an unsung hero on Joni's triumphant jazz transition
Much like John Guerin
Both understated - lovely use of space - just hang those notes out there

He plays throughout C&S, Hissing and Hejira

Yes Hejira
Max plays very tasteful understated jacoesque (ha ha) bass on Song for Sharon and Furry Sings the Blues
Jaco plays on Coyote, Heijira, Black Cow and Refuge of the Roads
Chuck Domanico - double bass on Blue Hotel Room

Joni used the bass line as a driving pulse and in counterpoint
I recall an interview with Max who is a first call LA studio musician - that Joni gave him a lot of license, encouragement and was focused on really capturing the true essence of a song

Kudos to the unsung hero Max

 

Here is the 2011 interview - very interesting insider view

Joni Mitchell Library - A Conversation with Max Bennett: JoniMitchell.com, September 12, 2011


Some excerpts

MB: There wasn't anything to read! She played, we made sketches of what we needed - she pretty much had it set what she wanted to do on a lot of her things. Tom wrote some background stuff too for her; you know he was very good at that. I didn't have much to do with that. I just made up my own bass parts, and everyone else made up theirs and we just worked it out. That's the way it happened.

MB: I thought so. Of course she'd done many things acoustically before that and I think that probably gave her the experience in the studio, down the road, do exactly what she wanted to do. She was very sharp about all that. Even though she couldn't read a note, in every other respect there was nothing amateurish about her approach at all. She really didn't understand harmonic structures as far as talking about this or about that; she just played and we sketched out what we needed and made up our own parts as we went.

MB: Yes, we did. We usually spent two weeks before the tour rehearsing. It was interesting because the music was so elusive harmonically that if we were away from it for more than two weeks we usually had to run it again in rehearsal because it was so unique that we really needed to bone up on it again, just to make sure we had all our ducks in a row, you know. A friend of mine who builds basses wanted to do an interview with me recently and he wanted me to sit down and play with the album along to Help Me, and I had to get the album out and run through it; if you held a gun to my head I couldn't play it just from memory!

 

Court and Spark

Those haunting piano chords

She is taken by a drifter
His insight, lack of pretenses and world of possibilities entice her

The physical attraction over powering at times
And his deeper self all the more alluring.

"His eyes were the color of the sand and sea
You know the more he talked to me the more he reached me"


But she restrains herself from the siren like lure

"But I couldn't let go of LA
City of the fallen angels"


What a contrast here
Rather than the temptation with him being the sin
His character is potrayed uncorrupted and pure
And she remains in the jaded world by the sea.

The last chords close
Like a chapter in a book

Distraction no more

Then
Help me I think I'm falling....

Her life moves on

 

What can be said? Such a brilliant album and such an amazing lead in... Where does that husky voice come from??? In fact she lays out the theme of the album explicitly: 'I cleared myself, I sacrificed my blues'. What else do you need to know? And if you've ever lived in LA, to hear it referred to as 'City of the fallen angels' will resonate so deeply and tie in to the unresolved ending... Amen!

 

The 3 studio albums starting with this one are as essential to me as oxygen, so comes my usual conundrum ... how to do them justice with mere words on a screen.

I actually came to Court after Hissing. I'd known and loved the two hits since '75 or so, but didn't buy the album (on cassette) until 1984, at age 19.

It was on an overnight bus trip from Augusta, Georgia to New Orleans that year that I really fell madly in love with it. Rolling through the night with those songs repeatedly pouring forth from my Walkman was a transcendent experience.

While I love the music that came before, I've never been able to connect with it on as deep a level as Court / Hissing / Hejira. It's as if her turning 30 somehow brought forth an alchemy in her work that just works on me.

Man, just thinking about the title track gives me goosebumps. The instant those opening piano chords sound, I'm immediately in a different place and can't wait to spend the next 37 minutes there.

 

There are a few on later albums. As well as the portion of Unchained Melody, the album contains "(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care", which was sung by Elvis Presley - not sure who wrote it. On Turbulent Indigo she does "How Do You Stop", written by Dan Hartman and Charlie Midnight and originally done by James Brown. On Chalk Mark, or it might be Night Ride Home, she does that old country standard "Cool Water".

 

Picked this album at a swap meet with Blue for a quarter each! Best half a buck I've ever spent on meeting a new artist! I've been in love with Joni and have followed her on all of her musical travels ever since!

 

The opener is my favourite track. Just beautiful. And Dylan got the Nobel prize!

 

Quite a few.

This one has the most on

Both Sides Now (Joni Mitchell album) - Wikipedia

 

Are you saying she got nobbled?

 

With me, it's often the little things that mean a lot and a couple on the title track:

The way she repeats "I worry sometimes", in this sort of exasperated but resigned tone.

Those patented guitar moans from the legendary Larry Carlton.

The mention of People's Park. These days it's probably not a place to go if you want to fall in love with a dashing busker, but in my experience it's not the danger zone it's been made out to be. If the homeless freak you out, it's certainly a no-go.

 

I'm so glad to see this level of engagement and interest for Court and Spark! Thank you for all the wonderful posts so far. I wanted to pose a question to the group: so far, I have been posting one song a day. Do you like this speed or would you prefer more time to discuss each song before we move on (say, 2 days)? At the rate I am going, making it through all of Joni's albums will take until at least next February but I am happy to slow things down if people prefer. Or, if you want to keep going at this clip that would be fine as well. Just let me know if you have a preference!

But this morning I post the second track on the album:

Track 2: "Help Me"


Help me
I think I'm falling
In love again
When I get that crazy feeling
I know I'm in trouble again
I'm in trouble
'Cause you're a rambler and a gambler
And a sweet talking ladies man
And you love your lovin'
But not like you love your freedom

Help me
I think I'm falling
In love too fast
It's got me hoping for the future
And worrying about the past
'Cause I've seen some hot hot blazes
Come down to smoke and ash
We love our lovin'
But not like we love our freedom

Didn't it feel good
We were sitting there talking
Or lying there not talking
Didn't it feel good
You dance with the lady
With the hole in her stocking
Didn't it feel good
Didn't it feel good

Help me
I think I'm falling
In love with you
Are you going to let me go there by myself
That's such a lonely thing to do
Both of us flirting around
Flirting and flirting
Hurting too
We love our lovin'
But not like we love our freedom

* 'Help Me' was Joni's most successfully charting single, reaching #7 on the Billboard Hot 100.

 

Help Me
'Help Me' is a perfect single for Joni and a wonderful confection of pop/jazz bliss. Every element of the song comes together so well and it just has a feeling to it...I can understand why it was so appealing to listeners of all stripes--including people who'd never listened to or cared for Joni in the past. The melody is sweet and silky, the arrangement is immaculate (the way those horns come in so subtly and bring in the tension!), Joni's voice is positively sumptuous and the lyrics reflect on a lot of classic "Joni themes" in a way that is both clear and interesting.

"'Cause I've seen some hot hot blazes
Come down to smoke and ash"

The reflection of someone who has been through this before. I am particularly smitten with what I suppose is the "bridge" (the 'Didn't it feel good' verse). Beautiful countermelody, I love the "Or lying there not talking" line and what it implies () and the choruses of "Didn't it feel good" with Joni dragging out that beautiful "Goooood" over the top sounds simply perfect. It makes your insides feel warm and lovely. It's a song with obvious commercial potential, but it is still so perfectly 'Joni' and not a concession by her at all. Success because it was worthy of it, not because she went chasing it.

 

I am happy with the current pace. But really, it's up to you. If it becomes a chore to deal with one song per day, just slow down.

 

One of the greatest, most perfect albums ever, one of the best in my collection. If you, like me, were a JM fan in the late 60’s and early 70's and enjoyed her previous albums, chances are you loved this one. I sure did, from the first listening, without hesitation, with no qualifications. I’ve listened to it at least one or two hundred times, and I think I know every word and note on it. I love each song on it—a lot.

Forgive me if I don’t write lots of long, introspective posts here like I’ve done on the last two albums, but I think we’ll be seeing lots of great commentary from others. And maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t there will be much controversy or strong disagreement among posters. This isn’t a polarizing group of songs, though some might feel it was a little commercial after Blue and For The Roses. (I don’t, but I’m curious to see what others might say about that.)

I enjoyed many songs on Joni’s earlier albums but the arrangements were a little bare at times. For The Roses was a partial move towards more complex instrumentation, but then this album was a huge leap forward—and it all just came together beautifully.

I hadn’t heard the title track in a while but listening to it on headphones tonight (I’m traveling now) it sounds as wonderful as ever, maybe better. The band is fabulous, and they complement her so well on this song. Listening to it on PW’s Youtube link, my only disappointment was that the end didn’t segue into Help Me the way my ears expected it to.

(I never felt that "People's Park" specifically referred to the famous place in Berkeley. I thought it was just an apocryphal term she used that fit the story.)

As for the pace of the thread, I'd vote to slow things down for a while if the volume of posts remains high, so we have more time to absorb other comments and respond to them. But either way is fine, this is already a big commitment for our generous hostess!

 

"Help Me" is not my all time favourite Joni song, but it has some of her best lyrics.

I love that snippet.

With some of Joni's faster numbers, such as this one, you have to really concentrate to catch all the messages therein (or, of course, read the lyrics).

 

PW, go at whatever pace works for you. I know I'd get burned out doing a song a day, even with Joni. I started a couple album-by-album threads way back when and THAT was enough work. Besides, I'd like to see you hang in there long enough for me to defend "Dancin' Clown."

Anyhoo, until I bought Court and Spark about 15 years or so ago (after hearing for years and years what a great album it was), "Help Me" was the only Joni Mitchell song I really knew. Sure, I was aware through CSNY that she wrote "Woodstock", and Amy Grant's cover of "Big Yellow Taxi" was unavoidable in the mid-'90s, but to my knowledge "Help Me" was the only song I'd actually heard her sing.

Maybe I was listening to the wrong stations in Chicago, but I had a similar experience with Rickie Lee Jones' "Chuck E.'s in Love." Shortly after discovering in my 30s that Joni had a lot more than one song, I did the same with RLJ. People complain about radio now, but in many ways it was always crap. Anyway, sorry for the detour...

 

I don't think I heard this album in real time. In 1974 I was 17/18 and just finishing up high school. I was a typical teen aged boy overdosing on Zeppelin, Sabbath, and the like. I was becoming more immature by the hour as well lol, the highlight of my days was mostly hanging out behind the grammar school drinking with the guys. But some time in late 75 or early 76 probably, I heard Raised on Robbery on the radio and was really taken by it. Imagine, a woman coming up to you in a bar and wanting to sit down and drink with you. A woman who had her own feelings and ideas about things, totally independent from what I felt. How different from the awkward relationships I'd had with all the young women from my neighborhood. So, I went out and got Court and Spark. It was a catchy album for sure, but it was one that the more I listened to the deeper I got into it. It became an album I listened to mostly alone and in the dark. An album that sort of dragged me into maturity as life went on (although that took a looooong time). She's just so damn grown up on this album, her voice, the songs, everything. I think next to the Beatles WA its the record I have purchased the most copies of. I'm always looking for a copy with one less crackle in it, and I just can't seem to let it sit there if I see it in a garage sale or thrift store. Over the years I may have listened to it hundreds of times, totally moved by the title track, People's Parties, and Car on the Hill the most. I really don't think there's a track that I find weak although I think Help Me was way overplayed on the radio back in the day, its the You Turn Me On of this lp. Anyway, this is a top 5, desert album release for me.

 

^^ It always amused me how desert islands always seem to come equipped with high fidelity super-duper sound systems, as well as electric power to enable you to use them!