Joni Mitchell

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).

The Joni Mitchell Record That Forever Changed the Music and Cultural Landscapes: Blue Is Widely Considered One of the 10 Greatest Albums of All Time. 1971 Landmark Plays with Reference-Grade Detail, Intimacy, and Directness on Mobile Fidelity's Numbered-Edition Hybrid SACD.

The Joni Mitchell Record That Forever Changed the Music and Cultural Landscapes: Blue Is Widely Considered One of the 10 Greatest Albums of All Time. 1971 Landmark Plays with Reference-Grade Detail, Intimacy, and Directness on Mobile Fidelity's Numbered-Edition Hybrid SACD.

Seeing Joni Mitchell perform live was unlike any other concert experience - it was intimate, introspective, and emotionally profound. Whether in a small folk club, a theater, or later, on larger stages, the atmosphere she created was always deeply personal and hauntingly beautiful. She didn't "perform" in the showbiz sense. She shared - poems, stories, diary entries set to music. It wasn't about spectacle. It was about truth. To see Joni Mitchell live was to sit in the presence of an artist painting with sound. It was raw but refined, tender but defiant. She offered no easy answers - only beauty, complexity, and brutal honesty. You didn't leave humming a hook; you left thinking about your entire life. Live Icons presents a selection of live radio broadcasts highlighting Joni's presence and ability as a defining artist.

The Joni Mitchell Record That Forever Changed the Music and Cultural Landscapes: Blue Is Widely Considered One of the 10 Greatest Albums of All Time. 1971 Landmark Plays with Reference-Grade Detail, Intimacy, and Directness on Mobile Fidelity's Numbered-Edition Hybrid SACD.

In the '60s and '70s, Joni Mitchell was widely seen as the archetypal female singer/songwriter, the original Lady from the Canyon who sang passionate but laid-back songs full of organic wisdom about love and life. Of course, that image was never an accurate portrait of the sort of artist Mitchell was – emotionally she was never hesitant to cut deep, even on languid acoustic numbers, and her skills as a lyricist, vocalist, and guitarist were estimable.

Joni Mitchell's metamorphosis from acoustic chanteuse of folk music to sophisticated performer of jazz (accompanied by geniuses like Pastorius, Shorter, Metheny, and Brecker) made an indelible impression on Debra Mann. "Joni's lyrics, combined with her gorgeous melodies, carried on the wind of her unique voice, struck deep chords of feeling within me."