Joni Mitchell - Blue ALBUM REVIEW
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ต.ค. 2024
- Listen: • Joni Mitchell - Blue (...
Rightfully one of the most iconic albums in the singer-songwriter canon.
More classic reviews: • Classics
===================================
Subscribe: bit.ly/1pBqGCN
Patreon: / theneedledrop
Official site: theneedledrop.com
Twitter: / theneedledrop
Instagram: / afantano
TikTok: / theneedletok
TND Twitch: / theneedledrop
Team: Jeremy - Lead Edits / Anthony - Final Cuts / Austen - Proofing, Posting
===================================
JONI MITCHELL - BLUE / 1971 / REPRISE / SINGER-SONGWRITER, FOLK
CLASSIC/10
Y'all know this is just my opinion, right?
![Joni Mitchell - Blue (Full Album) [Official Video]](/img/n.gif)
Anthony’s blue flannel is a subtle nod to the album’s title. Hope this helps.
It didn't, I'm still pretty lost. Appreciate the effort, though.
Roger that
Thanks for pointing it out, i feared i became colorblind for a sec...
This will cause confusion when he intevitably reviews weezer's debut.
? He’s wearing a white and gold flannel…
We got Maggot Brain, Abbey Road and now this in the first 10 days of 2024.
What a year for releases so far.
Helluva year this is.
Damn, goated year already 😂
I predict Marvin Gaye's latest will be a flop. "What's Going On?" indeed.
Don't forget Waka Flocka
fucked up for you to leave out wocka flocka and the johns
The lyrics “I’m blue, if I was green I would die” still haunt me to this day. Great record
This is funny
I agree with you but yeah it is kinda funny out of context.
daba dee daba die
waitwaitwait
what in the mandella effect is this ?
@@georgie7109
It's not easy being green
Never clicked faster. My favourite record of all time. Incredible personal, touching, warming but also a bit haunting music. The whole thing comes together amazingly, if there ever was an album that was just one archetypical mood, namely "blue", this is it.
Yeah right! Weezer is my favourite record too
me too 😭😭😭I LOVE JONI
Me too as soon as I listened to it it was like another dimension of sound I guess
perfect recap!
"A Case of You", maybe the best love song ever written, is barely mentioned in your review....this album is unbelievably beautiful
Perfect song!
I interpret as a more of the realization of a toxic relationship that she comes out standing, (I’d still be on my feet)regardless of his intoxicating power over her.
When she says “if you want me I’ll be at the bar” like, whatever.???
Thank you, I came here specifically to hear someone talk about that song and i'm outraged. It's a beautiful song, it made me cry yesterday.
My favorite album. God, the poetry in this, incredible, haunting, beautiful:
You said, "Love is touching souls"
Surely you touched mine
'Cause part of you pours out of me
In these lines from time to time
1971 was an insane year for music.
John Prine's debut, zeppelin IV, maggot brain, Carole King's tapestry... You are correct
@@sainthuckelberryMarvin Gaye’s What’s Going On
Hunky Dory, Master of Reality, and Meddle too!
Also Alice Coltrane's Journey in Satchidananda, Bowie's Hunky Dory, Roy Harper's Stormcock, Judee Sill's self-titled, Laura Nyro's Gonna Take a Miracle, Karen Dalton's In My Own Time and many many more. Truly the best year in pop music history, and Blue is the greatest of them all
Tago Mago - Can
Faust debut
There's a Riot Going On - Sly and the Family Stone
LA Woman - The Doors
Sticky Fingers - Rolling Stone
Fragile - Yes
First Utterance - Comus
Janis Joplin - Self Title
Imagine - John Lennon
Damn, what a crazy year 🔥
Her vocal performances on "All I Want" and "River" bring me to tears every time
Every time
Nearly every song on this one does that to me. Hits my soft spot like a train
Little Green is my fav on that record. It's a perfect song. The back and forth between the lyrics and guitar licks, the progression and phrasing, the entire package is just incredible.
My fav on the album as well
Easily brings me to tears, which not much music does
The Joni albums that came before this one are massively underrated
Which ones in particular in your opinion?
@@fortynights1513 Clouds is my personal favorite, every song is beautiful
Don Juan's Reckless Daughter is fantastic. Jaco Pastorious on bass.
@@fortynights1513 Lady of the Canyon is her best album imho. I even prefer it to Blue. You should definately check them both out rn, if you don´t already know them.
Totally agree. Her albums after Hejira are also criminally underrated. I absolutely love Mingus, Wild Things Run Fast, Night Ride Home and Turbulent Indigo
One of the Greatest Songwriters of all time…right up there with Dylan, Lennon and McCartney imo..
Undoubtedly yes!
I definitely don't think McCartney or Lennon is all the way up there with Dylan and Joni Mitchell or even Niel young
@@mr.dirtydan3338 McCartney definitely is..
@@vb2388and so is Lennon, his first two solo albums, especially the first one, were phenomenal. and they both wrote just as many classics for the Beatles
and also his songs on double fantasy were 💅💅
Prince was a huge Joni Mitchell fanboy and I believe he said somewhere that “A Case Of You” was one of, if not his favorite song ever
Yesss!! He made his own version of the song in his piano solo album One Nite Alone!
Not a single miss or uninteresting album in this classic week cycle. The GOAT
have you even listened to any of these
@@Melkac of course, especially the Falling In Reverse album
@@MelkacDon't encourage him to listen to good music. He'll only complain about it while pushing buttons on a soundboard to be as irritating as possible
except flockaveli though
@@vinceeager8553 It’s just that whenever I see him on my suggestions I see shit like “first time llstening to the beatles” NIGGA WHAT DO YOU MEAN FIRST TIME???
Love Blue so much but Hejira and The Hissing of Summer Lawns are my favorite. She talks about writing Hejira on her way across the country and it's so wonderful
those are two of the best musical achievements of the 20th century, she created her own genre
Her 1979 live performance with Pat Methany and Jaco Pastorius is one of the greatest live performances of all time! That performance is what got me into her music
we need a Joni Mitchell album ranking video
River is one of those songs that forces my eyes to get teary. Very touching and moving song. It's just way too sad. How is it possible to even convey such emotion and to have such a voice?
I hope more people can discover and experience her music.
I agree Anthony. Her song “Blue (Da Ba Dee)” is a genuine feat of songwriting!
Definitely the best folk song of all time!
Fantastic joke, I'm sure no one else has made that joke in this very comment section
Bro you’re not funny
Straight up one of the best albums ever made. If you haven’t heard it, you should. Literally perfection
"The Last Time I Saw Richard" peels me like a fruit every time.
Me too. I remember like in 2014 or 2015 I was getting my mother into Joni Mitchell. She was working out in the spare room. It was one of the times she was getting sober and on a come-up, I was going to ask her something but I heard she was listening to "The Last Time I Saw Richard" and if I recall correctly, I left her alone. My Dad was (is) named Richard and since they divorced in the early nineties, I wondered if she made associations while hearing that song. I am unable to ask her about it now.
River will always encapsulate Christmas time loneliness better than any other song. The Last Time I Saw Richard is also excellent poetry!
I got into Joni Mitchell about two years. The first album I listened to was Clouds and it blew me away. It wasn't the only album of hers to do so. She is such an incredible artist.
Both Sides Now is one of the best songs of the 60s if not of all time.
Reviewing Blue without mentioning “A Case of You” is like reviewing Sgt.Pepper’s without mentioning “A Day in the Life.”
“A Case of You” is one of the supreme achievements in 20th century songwriting.
I was thinking the same.
He did. Listen again.
Listen @8:00
In the running for my favorite song. He lumped a Case of You in with the "My Old Man'' discussion but we needed like a minute on "a Case of You'' alone.
@@basilwiering6073 OK sure, but you're being a bit pedantic. He just mentioned it in passing - it was about the only track that he didn't analyse at all.
Joni’s vocal performance on this album never fails to amaze me
I don’t hear it said often but All I Want is a top tier Joni song. One of my personal favorites. Love the melodies and guitar playing on this one.
i love how nuanced this review is in terms of like joni's complex history and influences. i genuinely learned a lot (to borrow fantano's words), for better or for worse, about joni's music. thanks melon boi!!!
Excellent choice. The opening track alone makes me feel like tearing up when I hear her voice. Fantastic record
“Oh I could drink a case of you Darling,
I’d still be on my feet
Oh I would still be on my feet.”
Throwing shade in the 70’s.
I still have this album and others of Joni.
how are these lyrics "throwing shade"..?
Never forget that Joni Mitchell never lies
I've been longing for the day you do a Joni classic or retrospective. She's truly one of the greatest, and her catalog is overlooked often.
Your classic reviews have gotten so much better each year. Almost makes me wish you could revisit some past ones with as much detail and nuance as you approach these with now 😅
Easily a top 5 album ever to me. Peak songwriting.
I think the writing on Hejira is much better.
Love coming to a fantano comment section and seeing everyone make the same joke instead of seeing any discussion regarding the video topic its my favourite part
I bet you're fun at parties
@@vinceeager8553it's been the same joke for YEARS, your parties must suck
Melon would you consider reviewing some of Joni’s aforementioned later, jazzier albums? The Hissing Of Summer Lawns, Mingus, and Don Juan are some of my favourite Joni records and I feel like critics often view them negatively because they’re not stereotypically Joni albums, solely guitar ballads. Great to hear your takes on Blue 💙
The hissing of summer lawns and blue are definitely some of my favorite albums of all time now and I’ve only recently discovered Joni’s music
“call her green, and the winters cannot phase her” CUTS LIKE A KNIFE. such about beautiful song about giving her daughter up.
I got a Filet-O-Fish ad in the middle of this video, which is a clever nod to track 8 on the album: River. Thanks Anthony.
Oh melon finally covered this iconic album! I adore this record so much
I heard this album when I was 13 and... I didn't like it. My grunge-phase teenage mind couldn't find a single hook on it and I thought it was boring and overrated. I tried again when I was in my early 20s and I still didn't get it.
Then, at the age of 30, I decided to listen to Joni's other masterpiece Hejira and was bowled over by how good it was. It was then that I gave Blue another listen.
And when I did, I couldn't find a single flaw on it. Her lyricism and emphasis on emotions over radio-ready hooks (although she has a few songs with those) set her apart from any of her contemporaries or the generations of songwriters she would go on to inspire. This is also a rare example of a popular album that requires life experience to truly enjoy, as I learned in the almost-20 years it took me to love this album.
Thank you for having the wisdom and the depth of interest to return to great art even if it doesn’t catch you at first. I got into Joni simply because I was a huge Prince fan, and Prince repped her so hard he actually has her name on the cover for his 1981 album “Controversy”. I think to this date still the only artist that he bigged up to that extent. Anyway, when I immersed myself in her catalogue it was clear to me that she is the songwriter’s songwriter - the musician’s musician, the poet’s poet (and a painter, but I don’t have the capacity to judge that and why should I). I love her. Through her songs, I feel she has brought me into her personal history in a disconnected but very real emotional sense.
If you haven’t heard her re-recording of Clouds with an orchestra, it’s really something. I’m sure you have. Anyway. Thanks. I think we are in solidarity here over Joni at least ;) I hope you have a great 2024.
i feel like Hejira isn't nearly as talked about as blue (even Anthony didn't mention it at all), and that's a shame
that album was what got me into Joni's music as well (although I was in my early twenties, not thirties)
Thank you for the time and effort in attending to the details of voice and instrumentation song by song across this album. I hadn’t heard your work as a commentator before, and now I’ll keep listening. And i especially hope you’ll consider HEJIRA in your upcoming reviews, where i think the existential range of her lyricism extends more broadly than her earlier work. I’d be interested in your opinion in this regard.
one of my all time favorites. beautifully written and deeply personal. joni is a genius!
with each new classic week drop i am continually blown away by how absolutely stacked this classic week is, and i know that's kinda the point but this one feels especially potent
I agree, Weezer's blue album is an absolute classic
I climax every time the buddy holly lick hits.
this but unironically
Make Believe and Raditude are the true masterpieces
Love this album. When Joni sang “I’m blue, my review will get a 9, my review will get a 9,” I felt that.
I was just thinking to myself yesterday "kind of wish there was a Canadian Fantano as he doesn't review much Canadian stuff" then he drops this classic review.
One of the best albums of all time. The one album I would take with me on a desert island. Laura Nyro, dude. A forgotten artist…sadly. Eli and the 13th Confession another stellar album. She spoke of “musical architecture.” Love that idea.
Joni’s Hejira, Hissing of Summer Lawns, For the Roses, Court and Spark all stellar.
I’m with you on Laura Nyro and “Eli.” The originality, the voice, the poetry - on par with Joni. So sad she is forgotten
@@alanscopp1114 maybe if more people acknowledge her wide scope of (acknowledged by them) influence on other musicians: JONI MITCHELL for instance 😂
I was looking for Ys, but this will definitely do. Thanks Anthony.
This album is so good I'm getting emotional just hearing Anthony (perfectly and accurately) describe it. Excellent review.
He can't pronounce folk
Speaking of, we need a Simon & Garfunkel classic review 🗣🗣
great review, been itching to hear you talk about joni. Would love a Hejira review at some point.
Thanks for introducing me to one of the greatest albums of all time.
We need some classic reviews of Hejira, Hissing of Summer Lawns, Night Ride Home etc
Absolutely beautiful review! I’ve been subscribed to you for a couple years and last night I noticed you posted this. Joni Mitchell is my favorite artist, I started to listen to her when I was 14 and even then I could understand the depth in her voice. I am 26 now and understanding the lyrics as I age is a wild experience because I understand all the hardships she talking about in her songs. I really would love for you to review the album “Ladies of the Canyon.”
For anyone who enjoys listening to Joni Mitchell, listen to her albums on Vinyl. Truly a different experience.
It's always nice to see a young person, that being you, Anthony, get into something as old and classic as Blue by Joni Mitchell. I was aware of Mrs. Mitchell growing up, but really didn't get into her music all that much, until I heard Blue, sometime in 1972. I was amazed by not only the clever, heartfelt, meaningful lyrics, but the music as well. She was going in a different direction here, and it made an impact on me. Since then, I guess I've listened to Blue 903,000 times, give or take 1000. I'm pretty burned out on it some 50 years later, but at the time....
finally. i feel like he’s been reviewing all my favourite albums recently.
I rather think that the homonymous theme shows a dilemma about depression or melancholy, because it indicates that Joni has rejected that kind of mood, and at the same time she cannot leave it aside because it has brought her certain teachings, from growing up as an adult to composing the theme itself, which in the emphasis of "making a song", I see it as breaking the fourth wall. When she sings "Blue" at the end, I was stunned by the masterpiece she composed
Oh yes! I've been jamming out to the record for the past month, awesome to see you review it!
I agree Blue is her biggest album, but wouldve been cooler if you focused on Hejira or one of her other classics.
i’ve been listening to Joni this past week so this is perfect timing!💙
Back to back to back to back classic reviews. MORE PLEASE
Great review. Especially when you talk about the last song of the album - not predictably at all, so mysterious, but irreplaceable.
But Carey is still my charm song - whenever I’m feeling down it brings me back to life.
Always fun to see a flannel mix-up but white and gold doesn’t really match the album. Kinda disrespectful, really.
**TRACKLIST**
My Name Is Carey
No One Else Tonight
The World Has Turned The Last Time I Saw Richard
Little Green Buddy Holly
Undone - The Blue Sweater Song
A Case Of Surf Wax America
Say It Ain't River
My Old Man In the Garage
Holiday Flight Tonight
Only in California
oh this is so fucking good
There's times where I wished Sigur Ros had an album titled 'Pinkerton'.
I really need to explore the rest of her discography, Blue is god tier.
Listen to The Hissing of Summer Lawns or Hejira - she doesn’t have a single bad album
This album was the first crack in my egg towards realizing I was trans. I related to the femininity Joni Mitchell oozed across this record in a way I couldn't explain
I guess I'll have to wait another year for Third Eye Blind classic review
This album is practically perfect
Closest thing I'll get to a Steely Dan Review.
Dang, melon keeping it old school, 3/ 5 classics all from 69-71. I like it, I like it a lot.
Been waiting for this review for years. 😁
(Although I also thought you'd review Court and Spark or For The Roses)
The Same Situation from Court And Spark has brilliant lyrics that nails the insecurity of women.
Video Synopsis: Anthony Fantano reviews Joni Mitchell’s “Blue”
Little Green is such a beautiful song
I don’t think it’s true that her jazzier projects were as underappreciated as you suggest: court and spark was her best selling album upon release and that featured fusion outfit LA express on the whole record. Hissing on summer lawns and Hejira have also been lauded over time as among her best.
Actually “Woodstock“ was written for the concert and performed there by CSNY, it wasn’t a retrospective look. She just couldn’t make it there for reasons
No, look it up. "Woodstock" was never performed at Woodstock. Joni Mitchell performed "Woodstock" at the 1969 Big Sur Folk Festival, one month after Woodstock (she had been unable to attend Woodstock due to a scheduling conflict). Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's cover version first appeared on their March 1970 album Déjà Vu. It then appeared in April 1970 on Joni's album Ladies of the Canyon and as the B-side to her single "Big Yellow Taxi".
You can look up a list of all the performances at Woodstock. CSNY played: Suite: Judy Blue Eyes, "Blackbird" (The Beatles cover), Helplessly Hoping, Guinnevere, Marrakesh Express, 4 + 20, Mr. Soul Wonderin, You Don't Have to Cry, Pre-Road Downs, Long Time Gone, Bluebird Revisited, Sea of Madness, Wooden Ships, Find the Cost of Freedom, and 49 Bye-Byes.
Masterpiece. I have loved this album for far too long, it seems to cut deeper as I get older.
Love Joni, my top 5. Got most of her on vinyl. "For The Roses" is my favorite one I think...
Im kind of embarrassed to say that i hadnt gotten around to listening to this album sooner because it was unavailable on spotify. I listened to it early last year and its always so weird and cool to hear a record thats older than me and hear within it, contemporary artists that im currently connected to, like i listened to it and thought "wow this reminds me of laura marling". Idk i just think thats neat.
We need this album on spotify
Her entire discography is now back on Spotify!
Great review. I'd love to hear your thoughts on "Hejira".
Joni Mitchell has a song called "Down To You". The progressive rock band "Colosseum II" did a remake of that in 1976 with players such as Gary Moore and Don Airey. I think the singer is somewhat of an aquired taste (like many progressive rock singers) but the playing is phenomenal. Comes recommended!
Can't believe he hardly went into "A Case of You". Maybe it's been discussed to death over the years but I still wanted to hear his thoughts on the song more extensively. Lovely review otherwise though.
Love to see Anthony doing some classic album reviews
Anthony’s on a roll with these classic reviews. Keep them coming!
You're really hitting some of my mom's faves between this and Abbey Road. Tapestry next?
I think this might be the review I’ve enjoyed the most from you good Sir. Fantastic work.
Blue dabadeedabadie is such a classic. Thanks for reviewing it.
been waiting for this one! 💙 probably my favorite album of all time. i appreciate that you didn’t fail to mention joni’s incredibly weird and offensive character in full black face and an afro (she still defends this to this day). she’s made some questionable choices, done some questionable things, but my god is she writes music like no other. this album changed my life as an artist and a musician
One of my favs of all time. Also watch this finally get into the top 100 RYM
It isn't. It's 133
@@sarah53062He’s saying it will now.
insane how its not there already. rym hates women lol
@@sarah53062yes but fantanos make fanbase see him like an album then they take women seriously
A review like this reminds me why I watch the channel. Many thanks.
obviously not at the level of her godlike earlier run (what is?) but those 80s records are well worth a listen
Love Blue. River is one of my all time favorites. I often wish I had a river I could skate away on. I don’t know if you’ve covered Laura Nyro.
my favorite album ever. about time it got a classic review!!
Been wanting this for YEARS thank you melon
Review starts at about 7:02
20 years ago I flew from Sweden to New York on vacation and being a crate digger I was curious what American and New Yorkan good wills might have to offer. I walked into a Salvation Army off Fifth Avenue and picked up Neil Young’s After the Gold Rush, Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks and Joni’s Blue all for a dollar each. I felt that everything certainly was “bigger” in the states. Neil I already knew and loved, Van Morrison I just couldn’t take to and listening to Joni for the first time was such an experience. I felt overwhelmed, uncomfortable, enchanted and I’ve listened to all her output regularly ever since. Amazing artist (slightly perturbed by the black face thing though, never heard about that before).
I mean our Prime Minister also wore blackface so she's in good company 😂
I'd love to see a classic review on one of Scott Walker's solo albums, such as Scott 3 or The Drift.
Love your videos please, please review her Hissing of the Summer Lawn album!
I didn’t expect to be googling “Joni Mitchell blackface” today but here we are.
Its like the other week when Dr Who made everyone google 'smowmanned'
Just popping in to say I fucking love this album.
this is one of my favorite albums of all time
Just played this the other day during a rare chill day at work (in a 300pt/day ER). It was a welcomed vibe.
Posting this review on Blue Ivy Carter's birthday is so sweet