Archives Vol. 4: The Asylum Years 1976 1980 Joni Mitchel

Enjoy nearly 100 unreleased recordings tracing Joni's groundbreaking work from the birth of Hejira to her legendary collaborations with jazz luminaries on this 6-CD box set. Featuring newly unearthed demos and studio outtakes from the era, live tour recordings from '76 & '79, and studio session contributions from the likes of Charles Mingus and Herbie Hancock, plus a 36-page booklet of unpublished photos and liner notes in conversation with Cameron Crowe.

Joni Mitchell's ongoing Archives series has been an overwhelming success and the third volume somehow manages to outdo its predecessors. Where Volume 1 gave a raw, warts-and-all look at a developing talent wrestling with her creative identity and Volume 2 showed that talent operating at an astonishingly high level, Volume 3 documents Mitchell's transition from a truly gifted artist pushing the boundaries of the rock-culture zeitgeist into a mad genius staking her own sonic territories. This set, probably more than any other that has been or will be part of this series, is dynamic and revelatory, like pulling back the curtain on the Wizard of Oz and finding an actual wizard doing real wizardry. While Vol. 3 falls short of giving blow-by-blow documentation of the incredible studio-as-an-instrument work Mitchell did to transform For the Roses, Court and Spark, and—most triumphantly—The Hissing of Summer Lawns from jazz-inflected pop-folk records into towering artistic statements (most of the songs here are presented in either spare embryonic versions or funky, recalibrated live takes, with little middle ground).

For the third album collection of the Joni Mitchell Archives project, The Asylum Albums (1976-1980) covers what is arguably the knottiest and most challenging period in a career known for being knotty and challenging. While there are certainly fans who have a preference for Mitchell's diaristic/post-folk sounds of the late '60s/early '70s Reprise era or the exploratory fusions of pop and jazz of her first three Asylum albums, most of those fans can find space to love all (or at least most) of the work she released between 1968 and 1975. Utterly unbound by genre formality or commercial considerations—and also very explicitly chafing at the expectations put upon her by the music business—these three studio albums (and one equally unapologetic live album) proved to be much more divisive.

For the third album collection of the Joni Mitchell Archives project, The Asylum Albums (1976-1980) covers what is arguably the knottiest and most challenging period in a career known for being knotty and challenging. While there are certainly fans who have a preference for Mitchell's diaristic/post-folk sounds of the late '60s/early '70s Reprise era or the exploratory fusions of pop and jazz of her first three Asylum albums, most of those fans can find space to love all (or at least most) of the work she released between 1968 and 1975. Utterly unbound by genre formality or commercial considerations—and also very explicitly chafing at the expectations put upon her by the music business—these three studio albums (and one equally unapologetic live album) proved to be much more divisive.

For the third album collection of the Joni Mitchell Archives project, The Asylum Albums (1976-1980) covers what is arguably the knottiest and most challenging period in a career known for being knotty and challenging. While there are certainly fans who have a preference for Mitchell's diaristic/post-folk sounds of the late '60s/early '70s Reprise era or the exploratory fusions of pop and jazz of her first three Asylum albums, most of those fans can find space to love all (or at least most) of the work she released between 1968 and 1975. Utterly unbound by genre formality or commercial considerations—and also very explicitly chafing at the expectations put upon her by the music business—these three studio albums (and one equally unapologetic live album) proved to be much more divisive.

The 5-CD collection includes a 40-page booklet that features many unseen photos from Mitchell's personal collection as well as new liner notes featuring conversations between writer/filmmaker Cameron Crowe and Mitchell, who recently spent a couple of Sunday afternoons together discussing her archives. Crowe will continue to provide liners for future releases in the series.

Volume 2 in the Joni Archive series - this one explores the period leading up to Blue through nearly six hours of unreleased home, studio, and live recordings. The tracks on Archives Vol. 2 have been sequenced chronologically to follow Mitchell in real time through one of the most creative periods of her career. The collection uncovers several unreleased Mitchell originals, including “Jesus” recorded in 1969 at her friend Jane Lurie’s New York apartment in Chelsea, which also served as the setting for the song “Chelsea Morning.” Other highlights include Mitchell’s performance at Le Hibou Coffee House in Ottawa on 19 th March 1968 that was recorded by Jimi Hendrix and a concert at the Paris Theatre in London on 29 th October 1970 that was broadcast on the BBC. The latter includes several songs destined to appear on Blue the following year: “Carey,” “River” and “My Old Man.”

5 CDs of the Finest, most Intimate, Surprising, and Captivating Content From Joni’s Unmined 1968-1971 Archives-The tracks on Archives Vol II have been sequenced chronologically to follow Mitchell in real time through one of the most creative periods of her career. The collection uncovers several unreleased Mitchell originals, including “Jesus” recorded in 1969 at her friend Jane Lurie’s New York apartment in Chelsea, which also served as the setting for the song “Chelsea Morning.” Other highlights include Mitchell’s performance at Le Hibou Coffee House in Ottawa on March 19, 1968 that was recorded by Jimi Hendrix and a concert at the Paris Theatre in London on October 29, 1970 that was broadcast on the BBC. The latter includes several songs destined to appear on Blue the following year: “Carey,” “River” and “My Old Man.” In addition, singer-songwriter James Taylor joined Mitchell to perform with her during the second half of the show.

Disco's most soulful vocal group began in the '60s as the Volcanos, and were also called the Moods. Gene Faith was the original lead vocalist, with Earl Young, Jimmy Ellis, guitarist Dennis Harris, keyboardist Ron Kersey, organist John Hart, bassist Stanley Wade, and drummer Michael Thomas. But by the time they'd gone through various identities and emerged as the Trammps in the mid-'70s, the lineup featured lead vocalist Ellis,