Just got to the 2:30 mark. You describe "Ladies Of The Canyon" as her second LP. It was her third. "Clouds" was preceded by her 1968 debut release, "Song To A Seagull". This past spring, she released a box set, "The Reprise Albums (1968-1971)", which includes a new mix of "Song To A Seagull" and remasters of "Clouds", "Ladies Of The Canyon" and "Blue". All of the new post-production was supervised by Joni.
_Blue_ is Joni's _"Ziggy Stardust"_ but 1975's sublime _Hissing Of Summer Lawns_ is her _"Low"._ A deep dive into her brilliantly self-produced _Lawns_ foretells Kate Bush by several years.
John Wesley Harding and/or Highway 61 Revisited. The first for derailing psychedelia, the second for bringing high art poetry to a sustained collection of songs. (Yeah, I know, the order's not chronological).
I'd been listening to Blue for weeks. Never tiring of it. I'm not musically smart. One morning my tin ear worked out that the opening bars of River were Jingle Bells, and it floored me, reduced me to tears.
For those who haven't seen it, look for Joni's "Shadows and Light" concert - it's usually here on TH-cam for free. You know you've got something special when your 'backup band' is Pat Metheny, Lyle Mays, Jaco Pastorius, Michael Brecker, and Don Alias . :-) Thanks Warren!
We are blessed to have lived in the lifetime of Joni and to have been changed and made better by her influence. Every time a young person hears Blue for the first time, his/her face changes to an awed expression. Sum it up with “holy shit!” Here’s to the next millions of first-time listeners. Enjoy 😉
Blue and Carole King's Tapestry were omnipresent in my circle in that time. It's so evocative of that time for me. And it's brilliant from beginning to end.
Sometimes I think I'm biased because I'm Canadian but then I hear other people in the music business who know music inside out rate her so highly and it always makes me smile.
As a Canadian homer I’d like to think we punched above our wait back then; Mitchell, Young, Lightfoot, Ian and Sylvia, Guess Who, David Clayton Thomas, Robbie Robertson, Steppenwolf and many others. As always thanks for your insights.
Blue scored one of the happiest periods of my life. Falling in love and having our first child. This album seemed to be on a lot as my partner also loved the album. I still love the album as much as ever if not more than ever.
When my Grandfather was born, there was only horse and carts and oil lamps and candles. By the time he was in his 70s, humans had, as stated here, walked on the moon. That rapid level of change will never be repeated. I think about that often.
My Mom was making curtains for my room and asked me what color I would like, so without hesitation I showed her the cover of my "Blue" album; those curtains stayed up in that room until long after I had moved out. Looking at that color is still so soothing and still creates hope in me, I think especially because of my association of it to Joni's unique spirit that comes across in her words and music. This album challenges me to look as deeply and honestly into myself as she has in this masterpiece.
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Thanks so much for this great bio Warren, I had the privilege of having her as a customer in my old coffee shop in Whiterock b.c. she was fond of my carrot cake lol
It took me a long time to really get into Joni Mitchell. My dad and mom used to force her in the thin cracks between my guitar driven music so I pushed back. As an adult I can really sit back and admire what she did.
One of the all time greatist. My favorite album of hers is Court and Spark. Love you Warren. You have truly enriched my life with all you share with us.
If there's one song I wish I wrote, it's Case of You. It's just so hugely creative and evocative in both lyrics and musical expression; it's an astonishing achievement.
I first heard this album as a teenager, and even though it was the 90s, it still sounded so fresh and relatable. It almost instantly began to shape my musical tastes and my own awkward attempts at songwriting. It wasn't the only album to make such a big impression on me at that time, but it's one of the few that has held onto it's power over the years, and perhaps revealed even more depth. As a kid I heard the youthful energy of it, the sense of joy and adventure as well as longing and sadness. Now as an older adult I hear more of the regrets and disappointments of life, but also hard-won peace and acceptance, an admirable maturity that Joni was somehow able to embody at such an early point in her life. I expect Blue will continue to be a companion to me. What a wonderful gift.
I've written a bit now and then alongside playing in bands and one thing strikes me so much about Joni, and especially about Blue, is the incredible completeness of her songs. When I write it's a guitar with vocals on top or an instrumental part, but her songs are never like that. Her songs are a complete thing of its own in some weird way. Her playing, singing and lyrics are all one thing together. Even though it's literally JUST her voice and a piano or a guitar, if you stop her songs at any point in a song, everything is going somewhere, it's not just happening in the vocals or lyrics but something is going on with the lyrics, melody and her instrument all at once, they're all going somewhere, and at rare and specific moments in her songs, like for one chord bar at the and of the chorus, they all find their place for a short while before they break up again and start searching for another place. Her capabilities of songwriting are just astonishing. It's even more incredible that it most likely is intentional because it's so subtle that you almost can't imagine someone deliberately wrote it that way, AND once you realize THAT you also can tell something about how she is perceiving herself and the kind of life she is living. It goes SO deep which makes her the best artist ever.
Well done, Warren. I first came across Joni via my first wife, while she was still my girlfriend in 1980. Court and Spark was one of the two albums she played me, but the one that still holds me to this day is For The Roses. Every song on that album is fraught with meaning and musical images - a true delight of genuine synaesthesia from beginning to end. I have listened to almost everything else she has produced, but cannot break my habit of holding back part of a creator's output so that I will always have something new to appreciate, so there are still one or two of her albums I have yet to listen to. I propose that she is the greatest artist of the 20th century. In any genre. No-one else, to my mind, has the reach, the depth, the originality, the scope and the sheer gorgeousness - and, God knows, my tastes are broad, my explorations eclectic and my research, well, pretty good. I read, watch, play, write, sing, record, absorb and assimilate. Nope. As much as I admire an immense cadre of artists across all muses, she is The One. Thank you for paying tribute in this fashion - and with great respect to your guests, I prefer it when you are the one holding the floor with your innate enthusiasm, articulate & passionate verbalising, and insight into how best to deliver to camera. Stick at it, Warren. You are marvellous.
The first Joni song that really stood out for me was the jazzy live version of Rainy Night House from the Miles Of Aisles album. That, Court & Spark and Hejira are the albums of hers I still love the most. I got into Blue later on after my girlfriend at the time bought me a copy. We saw her play too in Michigan in 1979 with the Shadows & Light band…amazing!
Lucky for me that i began appreciating Joni before 'BLUE' trying to learn finger picking.I love all her work.....but, too many of my friend's would say , upon hearing BLUE would just comment on the 'sadness' of it. I feel she is a genious. thanks for this Warren.
"Hejira" hit me in a way it didn't before just in the last year or so, something to do with the current times and how the spirit of that record contrasts so sharply with them.
I love these history lessons, Warren. This is a real service in times of over-saturation and a lack of understanding of what makes timeless and resonating work. I watch your channel a fair bit and despite being a songwriter in bands and acoustically for around 17 years, your videos often remind me of where my focus needs to be as I'm putting together new projects and helping others to record, etc. A few good tools that you understand and a focus on capturing unique and soulful performances, has been the main take-away. Beyond the gear you have a passion for for that mystical something that's so hard to define and it's constant reminder of what gripped me the first time I heard ZZ Top's "Eliminator" on tape or "I want to break free" by Queen (on the same cheap cassette deck.) Great work, as always!
this record is sooo beautiful it's heartbreaking. ''The last time I saw Richard'', one of the best lyrics ever, best song interpretations ever. The way she sings ''I'm gonna blow this candle out...'' and how that changes the mood completely. The story, the way it connects with our love experiences. This album and Hejira are between my most treasured from anyone. Even hearing you talk about the songs brings tears to my eyes. Big hug from Buenos Aires, Argentina
So glad listen to your channel. I had never heard of Joni's Blue album. Checked it out, beautiful, more so when you reflect on what was going on in her life. Thanks for excellent post.
What truly great album to cover. I discovered this album a couple years ago because a close friend introduced me to it, and I was hypnotized immediately. It was truly one of those albums that really made you sort of forget where you were at that moment and you end up being drawn into this world she was painting for you with her words and melodies on the instruments. Truly extraordinary. I'll never forget hearing this album for the first time and I can say with full confidence that it's one of the best of all time. Joni has so many fantastic albums and she's great to listen to when there are hard times and you feel like you want to escape for a while.
You are so correct! I perform a version of Carey and I loved all of that recording. Thank you for such a detailed and loving look at such a great work…
Love it, especially the generation 60's & 70's really found a creative way to express what it means to be human and left an impressive change on our planet! Thank you for this great episode, I'll turn on this LP again ✌
I came to that album really late, i.e. 2009. Don’t ask me why because I don’t know. It was for me a pivotal point in my life and remember that time and my first hearing of it. A true masterpiece.
A CASE OF YOU is a masterpiece. Brings tears to my eyes every time after all these years. And James Taylor’s guitar playing is gorgeous. I met a woman. She had a mouth like yours….
I started with Ladies of the Canyon at 10, then Court and Spark, Nightride Home, Blue, Song to a Seagull, Hissing of Summer Lawns. My favorites are Hissing and Court and Spark. I literally grew up listening to her
@@g.belanger8302 Me too. I know 'Blue' is meant to be the "classic" and all that, but I do find those three Joni albums in particular far more interesting.
Thanks for enlightening me on the immense talents of Joni or Rebecca Joan Anderson. I love her honesty & soul bearing style. I did not know about her many skills with other instruments. Great analysis of her travels & accomplished history … ta 🎶🎸👍
OK Warren-Epic Songwriters will help most these days. Sorry, that sounds heavy-but I do appreciate you educating peeps about song writing. Thank you so much. Thank you for sharing!
Great work as always -- in a class by herself (known, among other things, for her open-tunings of the guitar to be able to make her "chords of inquiry") -- she was mining all kinds of dimensions, an 'artist' in every meaningful sense of the word.
Great job highlighting this wonderful album. It pleasantly surprises me how many people of this generation love Joni's music which is from my generation. You talked about her being perhaps the best lyricist and compared her to Bob Dylan or Lennon and McCartney. I agree, but I would have to add Jackson Browne to that list for sure! Read along with and listen to the song "Lives in the Balance." I think it's the greatest lyrical achievement of the 20th century. There is also "The Pretender to round out lyric genious. I will look forward to more of your insightful videos!
Blue is definitely a groundbreaking album, but the fact that she got even vbetter in subsequent albums of the 1970s -all of them masterpieces- is mind blowing. For me, Hejira is the pinnacle of her catalogue, my favorite album of all time by any artist.
Wow, great video, thanks Warren! I was 13 when Blue came out and I became obsessed with it . . . to this day I choke up every time I hear that voice. Tapestry and Mud Slide Slim came out around the same time and I loved those as well and really got into the Laurel Canyon scene . . . you live in a mythical place!
The albums between BLUE and HEJIRA are pretty great too, especially, Court and Spark.' Great overview and review of BLUE and Joni's contributions to that era.
You clearly underscore the absolute necessity of putting personal MEANING in music to reflect the nebulous nature of one's being, reality. Perfect, Sir Warren, well done I say. Cheers, again. On the mark exactly.🍓
Laura Nyro's Eli and the Thirteenth Confession (1968) is probably the most influential songwriting album in contemporary music - "it blew everybody's mind " Todd Rundgren. A confessional tour de force of innovation, complexity, and soul that has never been surpassed. A review of Blue by NME in 1971 noted the Nyro influence. River copies Nyro's Xmas song beginning to her Christmas in My Soul (1970). In 2007, Elton John stated that Nyro probably influenced more successful songwriters than anyone. Critics rate Nyro's 1969 LP New York Tendaberry as her peak, an album that will literally floor you. One of Joni's top ten tracks is Nyro's Captain for Dark Mornings (1969) which clearly influenced Kate Bush 's Wuthering Heights. Nyro is Rock Hall of Fame, Songwriters Hall of Fame, and features heavily in the doco Inventing David Geffen.
For the Roses is my favourite album of all time and The Judgement of the Moon and Stars my favourite song, I never tire of it and it has stayed fresh longer than Blue fior me. All mg love from Dublin.
While I agree that Joni Mitchell's "Blue" album had lyrical and musical compositions that was far greater than Dylan's ambiguous lyrics and traditional styles. Joni was head and shoulders above any artist in the genre of folk-rock music. The Beatles' "Revolver" remains the most wonderfully diverse record, both lyrically and musically as the greatest album of all-time. From ballads to experimental rock, these new sounds and creative processes had changed the world of music forever. Watching Joni perform the "Blue" album live with just a piano, an acoustic guitar or the unique mountain dulcimer, along with her amazing and personal lyrics and her very original range of voice can elicit tears of joy from her fans. When she tired of being a hippie folk goddess, she became a Jazz queen. LOL
An inspired and heartfelt commentary on Joni's classic album, peppered throughout with Warren's signature quotes and insider details. I was too young to understand the album when it came out, but the background and context that this video offers just adds to the experience of it for me today. Thanks Warren!
As much as i respect her singer songwriter era, it was the 75-80ish period that I connected with most. Summer Lawns to Mingus. Just brilliant. I think she probably lost a few Big Yellow Taxi fans at that point lol
Thank you for making this video, it was a joy to watch. I learned so much about this album that I didn't know and have often wondered about. I also wanted to say that I've never understood why her first album is so seldom mentioned. I love it just as much as Blue. One example; the song The Dawntreader is, to me, an astonishing feat of composition and lyricism with such a skillfully controlled range of colour and dynamics from just guitar and voice - like an orchestra.
Blue is a great choice here! Next, how about The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway - that might only take a few hours to cover :) Thanks for the channel and hi from Kent.
Tony Banks complained that the ending of Lamb Lies Down was unsatisfying/unresolved but it reminds me of many of my own dreams where a lot of crazy stuff is happening and nothing ever gets resolved and then you wake up and go Oh good I don't have to deal with that in reality.
Blue is my favourite album of all time. It's an absolute masterpiece, I've played it and lived with it more than any other album in my life apart from maybe #1 Record by Big Star. Ever thought of doing a video about that masterpiece Warren? Ardent studios has a fascinating history, maybe getting in touch with Big Star's last original surviving member, drummer Jody Stephens for an interview. Big Star have such a huge influence. Cheers.
Why do you ignore Song to a Seagull? It's a wonderful album that came before Ladies of the Canyon, maybe even before Clouds. It's a concept album like Sgt.Pepper, and it's Joni at her glorious (early) best. If you don't know it, be prepared to be amazed. And like most of her other albums, she did all the artwork.
@@Producelikeapro I get that, but you mentioned Clouds and Ladies of the Canyon several times, even calling LoC her second album twice. It was her third. But I really enjoyed your presentation, and I'll come back and watch it again. Thanks!
I recall in the late 1980s, those who had their teenage years with UK New Wave (OK) and New Romantic (diabolical) focussed on Blue but in my opinion Court and Spark was the one that changed music. Joni became cool and sophisticated and relevant. I think she revived a career that might have remained niche.
Great video, Warren. I loved hearing the insights into her experiences that inspired her writing. I've always concentrated way more on the quality, uniqueness and groove of the music in a song than the lyrics and there's songs that people have revered, but I have no desire to listen to because I think the music is boring (one of the reasons I don't own any Bob Dylan music). Joni Mitchell's songs are the best of both worlds, poignant, insightful lyrics and beautiful, unique and exquisitely written music.
A pivitol album in this canadians collection. I never really got joni as she matured musically and became the artsy jazz cat she is. But i loved this early album . I love a great pop song and an acoustic feel. I agree california is such a great song
Thank you, Warren, for a great dissection of a perfect album - BLUE! So wonderful to hear the sonic details on this masterpiece. I would love to hear you take on THE CARS classic eponymous debut album. That’d be incredible.
![[LIVE] : ONE ลุมพินี 88 | คู่เอก "ป้อมเพชร vs อัสลามจอน"](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/1ZqTVVbMgbo/mqdefault.jpg)
What other albums do YOU think changed music? Let me know by commenting below!
Just got to the 2:30 mark. You describe "Ladies Of The Canyon" as her second LP. It was her third. "Clouds" was preceded by her 1968 debut release, "Song To A Seagull". This past spring, she released a box set, "The Reprise Albums (1968-1971)", which includes a new mix of "Song To A Seagull" and remasters of "Clouds", "Ladies Of The Canyon" and "Blue". All of the new post-production was supervised by Joni.
She's in the canyon too.
Love Joni!
Scritti Politti … either Cupid & Psyche or the pure pop perfection of Provision
_Blue_ is Joni's _"Ziggy Stardust"_ but 1975's sublime _Hissing Of Summer Lawns_ is her _"Low"._ A deep dive into her brilliantly self-produced _Lawns_ foretells Kate Bush by several years.
John Wesley Harding and/or Highway 61 Revisited. The first for derailing psychedelia, the second for bringing high art poetry to a sustained collection of songs. (Yeah, I know, the order's not chronological).
She's in a category by herself, incomparable to no one else at no other time.
Agreed 100%!!
Joni Mitchell is unique stand alone artist. She is her own category. Never heard phrasing so unique and creative.
Indeed, so beautiful
I'd been listening to Blue for weeks. Never tiring of it. I'm not musically smart. One morning my tin ear worked out that the opening bars of River were Jingle Bells, and it floored me, reduced me to tears.
Thanks for sharing that Ben!
For those who haven't seen it, look for Joni's "Shadows and Light" concert - it's usually here on TH-cam for free. You know you've got something special when your 'backup band' is Pat Metheny, Lyle Mays, Jaco Pastorius, Michael Brecker, and Don Alias . :-) Thanks Warren!
Absolute masterpiece!
@@Producelikeapro "Every picture tells a story..."
Joni and Jaco... perfection. Hejira is her magnum opus. The songwriting is next next level
Yes, masterpiece
We are blessed to have lived in the lifetime of Joni and to have been changed and made better by her influence. Every time a young person hears Blue for the first time, his/her face changes to an awed expression. Sum it up with “holy shit!” Here’s to the next millions of first-time listeners. Enjoy 😉
Very well said Diane!
Blue and Carole King's Tapestry were omnipresent in my circle in that time. It's so evocative of that time for me. And it's brilliant from beginning to end.
Both Masterpieces!
Dsom as well
One of my top 5 favorite albums.
As many have said the greatest singer songwriter album of all time!
That includes Joni’s peers!
I adore Joni. I can’t wait for next year when For The Roses turns 50. That album is spectacular and deserves more shine and praise.
Yes, beautiful!
Sometimes I think I'm biased because I'm Canadian but then I hear other people in the music business who know music inside out rate her so highly and it always makes me smile.
You cannot overstate how important Joni Mitchell is!
The quintessential story teller of our lifetime.
Well said!!
Joni Mitchell’s honesty and openness still resonate to this very day. My 24 yr old loves JM.
Your 24 year old has amazing taste!
As a Canadian homer I’d like to think we punched above our wait back then; Mitchell, Young, Lightfoot, Ian and Sylvia, Guess Who, David Clayton Thomas, Robbie Robertson, Steppenwolf and many others. As always thanks for your insights.
Absolutely! All great artists!! Add comedians in there too and you’ve got it sealed!
Kate and Annie McGarrigle
What makes Joni tops is that her lyrics, melodies, and rhythms are all sewn together--- of a piece, not merely adjacent.
Agreed 100%!!
Didn't discover her until Hejira, back tracked after that, My love of Jaco made me but that as always thanks Warren!
I believe many did that!
I was hoping you would do this album! An absolute work of art.
Thanks ever so much! Agreed! Masterpiece
@@Producelikeapro Oh, I have a suggestion for another album - Every Picture Tells A Story by Rod Stewart.
@@TR4Ajim beautiful album!
She is peerless. This is yet another wonderful video, thank you.
Thanks ever so much!
Joni is indeed the greatest on so many levels, thank you for doing this. Her first album Song To A Seagull is often overlooked, a masterpiece.
Blue scored one of the happiest periods of my life. Falling in love and having our first child. This album seemed to be on a lot as my partner also loved the album. I still love the album as much as ever if not more than ever.
So cool to hear the rare reference to Alvin Toffler. So glad you brought others into this video.
Thanks ever so much! Glad you enjoyed it!
When my Grandfather was born, there was only horse and carts and oil lamps and candles. By the time he was in his 70s, humans had, as stated here, walked on the moon. That rapid level of change will never be repeated. I think about that often.
Yes, my Grandfather told me so much of his life and it resonates just what he saw during his lifetime!!
The "River" cover by opera singer Renée Fleming with Fred Hersh and Bill Frisell is my favorite song. Thanks for the video, Warren !
Good call - I love the Robert Downey Jr take in Ally McBeal. Very moving.
I never believed music could ve so detailed, intricate and introspective until I heard blue for the first time
My Mom was making curtains for my room and asked me what color I would like, so without hesitation I showed her the cover of my "Blue" album; those curtains stayed up in that room until long after I had moved out. Looking at that color is still so soothing and still creates hope in me, I think especially because of my association of it to Joni's unique spirit that comes across in her words and music. This album challenges me to look as deeply and honestly into myself as she has in this masterpiece.
Thanks so much for this great bio Warren, I had the privilege of having her as a customer in my old coffee shop in Whiterock b.c. she was fond of my carrot cake lol
Sounds like you make great carrot cake!
I'm very envious. I fantasise about going for a coffee with her, just to be able to tell her how much I love her and her work.
Mitchell is great ! Awesome artist!
Thanks ever so much! And, yes, agreed!
It took me a long time to really get into Joni Mitchell. My dad and mom used to force her in the thin cracks between my guitar driven music so I pushed back. As an adult I can really sit back and admire what she did.
One of the all time greatist. My favorite album of hers is Court and Spark. Love you Warren. You have truly enriched my life with all you share with us.
Wow! Thanks ever so much! I really appreciate your kind words
If there's one song I wish I wrote, it's Case of You. It's just so hugely creative and evocative in both lyrics and musical expression; it's an astonishing achievement.
Yes, a masterpiece!
I first heard this album as a teenager, and even though it was the 90s, it still sounded so fresh and relatable. It almost instantly began to shape my musical tastes and my own awkward attempts at songwriting. It wasn't the only album to make such a big impression on me at that time, but it's one of the few that has held onto it's power over the years, and perhaps revealed even more depth. As a kid I heard the youthful energy of it, the sense of joy and adventure as well as longing and sadness. Now as an older adult I hear more of the regrets and disappointments of life, but also hard-won peace and acceptance, an admirable maturity that Joni was somehow able to embody at such an early point in her life. I expect Blue will continue to be a companion to me. What a wonderful gift.
So well said! Thanks ever so much for sharing!
I've written a bit now and then alongside playing in bands and one thing strikes me so much about Joni, and especially about Blue, is the incredible completeness of her songs. When I write it's a guitar with vocals on top or an instrumental part, but her songs are never like that. Her songs are a complete thing of its own in some weird way. Her playing, singing and lyrics are all one thing together. Even though it's literally JUST her voice and a piano or a guitar, if you stop her songs at any point in a song, everything is going somewhere, it's not just happening in the vocals or lyrics but something is going on with the lyrics, melody and her instrument all at once, they're all going somewhere, and at rare and specific moments in her songs, like for one chord bar at the and of the chorus, they all find their place for a short while before they break up again and start searching for another place. Her capabilities of songwriting are just astonishing. It's even more incredible that it most likely is intentional because it's so subtle that you almost can't imagine someone deliberately wrote it that way, AND once you realize THAT you also can tell something about how she is perceiving herself and the kind of life she is living. It goes SO deep which makes her the best artist ever.
thanks for this emotional story. Joni is my favorite singer of all my life
Thanks ever so much for sharing
Fabulous choice! Such a tremendously influential album.... I have come to Joni's music pretty late, but I'm glad I finally did.
Thanks for sharing!
It really is a beautiful, brilliant record, and it cuts deeper and more viscerally when returning to it at different periods in my life.
The Hissing of Summer Lawns is an ever present album in our house. Such a beautiful sonic experience.
Beautiful
I do love Blue, but I have to be careful with it. There are times it is very inconvenient to break down in tears!
Well said!
Well done, Warren.
I first came across Joni via my first wife, while she was still my girlfriend in 1980. Court and Spark was one of the two albums she played me, but the one that still holds me to this day is For The Roses. Every song on that album is fraught with meaning and musical images - a true delight of genuine synaesthesia from beginning to end. I have listened to almost everything else she has produced, but cannot break my habit of holding back part of a creator's output so that I will always have something new to appreciate, so there are still one or two of her albums I have yet to listen to.
I propose that she is the greatest artist of the 20th century. In any genre. No-one else, to my mind, has the reach, the depth, the originality, the scope and the sheer gorgeousness - and, God knows, my tastes are broad, my explorations eclectic and my research, well, pretty good. I read, watch, play, write, sing, record, absorb and assimilate. Nope. As much as I admire an immense cadre of artists across all muses, she is The One.
Thank you for paying tribute in this fashion - and with great respect to your guests, I prefer it when you are the one holding the floor with your innate enthusiasm, articulate & passionate verbalising, and insight into how best to deliver to camera.
Stick at it, Warren. You are marvellous.
The first Joni song that really stood out for me was the jazzy live version of Rainy Night House from the Miles Of Aisles album. That, Court & Spark and Hejira are the albums of hers I still love the most. I got into Blue later on after my girlfriend at the time bought me a copy. We saw her play too in Michigan in 1979 with the Shadows & Light band…amazing!
Yes, masterpiece after masterpiece! What an artist!!
yes that version ofRainy Night House is a presage of her turn toward jazz.
*_Binging on Joni now (Amazon Music) . . . thanks._*
Fantastic! That’s amazing to hear
Lucky for me that i began appreciating Joni before 'BLUE' trying to learn finger picking.I love all her work.....but, too many of my friend's would say , upon hearing BLUE would just comment on the 'sadness' of it. I feel she is a genious. thanks for this Warren.
"Hejira" hit me in a way it didn't before just in the last year or so, something to do with the current times and how the spirit of that record contrasts so sharply with them.
One of our greatest exports! Thanks for this, Warren!
Indeed!
I can’t even listen to Blue without tears. If Shakespeare were a musician, Blue would be his magnum opus. An ode to broken hearts for the ages.
Yes, masterpiece! I see you’ve worked on some of Jaco’s beautiful music! I’m currently doing a video on him, can I interview you?
@@Producelikeapro Absolutely, Warren. I’d be happy to do that. I’ll look for a way to send you my contact info privately.
@@artysanmobile did you email me? I will look for it again
I love these history lessons, Warren. This is a real service in times of over-saturation and a lack of understanding of what makes timeless and resonating work. I watch your channel a fair bit and despite being a songwriter in bands and acoustically for around 17 years, your videos often remind me of where my focus needs to be as I'm putting together new projects and helping others to record, etc. A few good tools that you understand and a focus on capturing unique and soulful performances, has been the main take-away. Beyond the gear you have a passion for for that mystical something that's so hard to define and it's constant reminder of what gripped me the first time I heard ZZ Top's "Eliminator" on tape or "I want to break free" by Queen (on the same cheap cassette deck.) Great work, as always!
Another good one Warren. Thanks.
Thanks ever so much!
@@Producelikeapro you’re always welcome Warren.
this record is sooo beautiful it's heartbreaking. ''The last time I saw Richard'', one of the best lyrics ever, best song interpretations ever. The way she sings ''I'm gonna blow this candle out...'' and how that changes the mood completely. The story, the way it connects with our love experiences.
This album and Hejira are between my most treasured from anyone. Even hearing you talk about the songs brings tears to my eyes. Big hug from Buenos Aires, Argentina
Excellent.
Thanks ever so much
So glad listen to your channel. I had never heard of Joni's Blue album. Checked it out, beautiful, more so when you reflect on what was going on in her life. Thanks for excellent post.
Wow! That means a lot! Really glad to be able to introduce people to music that is new to them!
What truly great album to cover. I discovered this album a couple years ago because a close friend introduced me to it, and I was hypnotized immediately. It was truly one of those albums that really made you sort of forget where you were at that moment and you end up being drawn into this world she was painting for you with her words and melodies on the instruments. Truly extraordinary.
I'll never forget hearing this album for the first time and I can say with full confidence that it's one of the best of all time. Joni has so many fantastic albums and she's great to listen to when there are hard times and you feel like you want to escape for a while.
Joni knows no equal as a lyricist. Only a handful come close!
Agreed 100%!
Thank you Warren. An interesting account of the album songs. I always liked the bare-boned engineering sound and mixing of this 1971 release.
Me too! Beautiful sounding album!!
You are so correct! I perform a version of Carey and I loved all of that recording. Thank you for such a detailed and loving look at such a great work…
Thanks ever so much! Yes, I’m a huge fan
my favorite ablum of all time!
Wow! One of my favourite albums and artists! Great. Thanks Warren 👍😁
Thanks ever so much for sharing!
Thanks for covering Joni. Most brilliant songwriter ever! This album, and Hissing of Summer Lawns are her two best, IMO.
Love it, especially the generation 60's & 70's really found a creative way to express what it means to be human and left an impressive change on our planet! Thank you for this great episode, I'll turn on this LP again ✌
I came to that album really late, i.e. 2009. Don’t ask me why because I don’t know. It was for me a pivotal point in my life and remember that time and my first hearing of it. A true masterpiece.
A CASE OF YOU is a masterpiece. Brings tears to my eyes every time after all these years. And James Taylor’s guitar playing is gorgeous.
I met a woman. She had a mouth like yours….
I started with Ladies of the Canyon at 10, then Court and Spark, Nightride Home, Blue, Song to a Seagull, Hissing of Summer Lawns. My favorites are Hissing and Court and Spark. I literally grew up listening to her
Me too! I remember hearing Blue and Hejira and going back and discovering a huge wealth of incredible music!
Court and Spark, Hissing of Summer Lawns, and Hejira are Joni’s peak period for me. What a powerful trio of releases!
@@g.belanger8302 Me too. I know 'Blue' is meant to be the "classic" and all that, but I do find those three Joni albums in particular far more interesting.
Thanks for enlightening me on the immense talents of Joni or Rebecca Joan Anderson.
I love her honesty & soul bearing style.
I did not know about her many skills with other instruments.
Great analysis of her travels & accomplished history … ta 🎶🎸👍
The first album I ever bought!
Great video! Thanks so much for covering one of my favorite records. Also love the contributions from Louise and Caitlin!
Thanks Eddie! Yes, Louise and Caitlin are wonderful!
Small world!
Was just playing this yesterday.
Fantastic!
OK Warren-Epic Songwriters will help most these days. Sorry, that sounds heavy-but I do appreciate you educating peeps about song writing. Thank you so much. Thank you for sharing!
You’re very welcome! I’m glad to be able to help!!
The Way It is, Help Me, I Had A King, Just Like Me, Cactus Tree, My Old Man, Night Ride Home.
Thanks Audrey!
Great work as always -- in a class by herself (known, among other things, for her open-tunings of the guitar to be able to make her "chords of inquiry") -- she was mining all kinds of dimensions, an 'artist' in every meaningful sense of the word.
Great job highlighting this wonderful album. It pleasantly surprises me how many people of this generation love Joni's music which is from my generation. You talked about her being perhaps the best lyricist and compared her to Bob Dylan or Lennon and McCartney. I agree, but I would have to add Jackson Browne to that list for sure! Read along with and listen to the song "Lives in the Balance." I think it's the greatest lyrical achievement of the 20th century. There is also "The Pretender to round out lyric genious. I will look forward to more of your insightful videos!
Blue is definitely a groundbreaking album, but the fact that she got even vbetter in subsequent albums of the 1970s -all of them masterpieces- is mind blowing. For me, Hejira is the pinnacle of her catalogue, my favorite album of all time by any artist.
Wow, great video, thanks Warren! I was 13 when Blue came out and I became obsessed with it . . . to this day I choke up every time I hear that voice. Tapestry and Mud Slide Slim came out around the same time and I loved those as well and really got into the Laurel Canyon scene . . . you live in a mythical place!
The albums between BLUE and HEJIRA are pretty great too, especially, Court and Spark.' Great overview and review of BLUE and Joni's contributions to that era.
Ladies of the canyon was Joni's 3rd album - not her 2nd.
Indeed! Mistakes happen!
Oops, I just posted a comment about that before seeing yours.
Thanks for your report.
Thanks ever so much
You clearly underscore the absolute necessity of putting personal MEANING in music to reflect the nebulous nature of one's being, reality. Perfect, Sir Warren, well done I say. Cheers, again. On the mark exactly.🍓
Thanks ever so much Brian!
Yours, always, friend.
Wow, very inspiring episode and contributions. Thank you!
Thanks ever so much!
More Joni Mitchell albums please.
Absolutely!!
Thank you .
Well, the world is once again really crazy so I expect some great songs soon.
Haha indeed
Laura Nyro's Eli and the Thirteenth Confession (1968) is probably the most influential songwriting album in contemporary music - "it blew everybody's mind " Todd Rundgren. A confessional tour de force of innovation, complexity, and soul that has never been surpassed. A review of Blue by NME in 1971 noted the Nyro influence. River copies Nyro's Xmas song beginning to her Christmas in My Soul (1970). In 2007, Elton John stated that Nyro probably influenced more successful songwriters than anyone. Critics rate Nyro's 1969 LP New York Tendaberry as her peak, an album that will literally floor you. One of Joni's top ten tracks is Nyro's Captain for Dark Mornings (1969) which clearly influenced Kate Bush 's Wuthering Heights. Nyro is Rock Hall of Fame, Songwriters Hall of Fame, and features heavily in the doco Inventing David Geffen.
It's a truly magical and honest record. And the production was so raw.
Dire Straights "Brothers in Arms" would be a nice episode.
Thanks for sharing!
For the Roses is my favourite album of all time and The Judgement of the Moon and Stars my favourite song, I never tire of it and it has stayed fresh longer than Blue fior me. All mg love from Dublin.
Down to you is amazing song , amelia live version is a killer
While I agree that Joni Mitchell's "Blue" album had lyrical and musical compositions that was far greater than Dylan's ambiguous lyrics and traditional styles. Joni was head and shoulders above any artist in the genre of folk-rock music. The Beatles' "Revolver" remains the most wonderfully diverse record, both lyrically and musically as the greatest album of all-time. From ballads to experimental rock, these new sounds and creative processes had changed the world of music forever. Watching Joni perform the "Blue" album live with just a piano, an acoustic guitar or the unique mountain dulcimer, along with her amazing and personal lyrics and her very original range of voice can elicit tears of joy from her fans. When she tired of being a hippie folk goddess, she became a Jazz queen. LOL
An inspired and heartfelt commentary on Joni's classic album, peppered throughout with Warren's signature quotes and insider details. I was too young to understand the album when it came out, but the background and context that this video offers just adds to the experience of it for me today. Thanks Warren!
As much as i respect her singer songwriter era, it was the 75-80ish period that I connected with most. Summer Lawns to Mingus. Just brilliant. I think she probably lost a few Big Yellow Taxi fans at that point lol
Thank you for making this video, it was a joy to watch. I learned so much about this album that I didn't know and have often wondered about. I also wanted to say that I've never understood why her first album is so seldom mentioned. I love it just as much as Blue. One example; the song The Dawntreader is, to me, an astonishing feat of composition and lyricism with such a skillfully controlled range of colour and dynamics from just guitar and voice - like an orchestra.
"Song to a Seagull" is one of my favorite albums. Almost every song is a gem.
Blue is a great choice here! Next, how about The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway - that might only take a few hours to cover :) Thanks for the channel and hi from Kent.
Masterpiece of an album!
Alive at both ends but a little dead in the middle.
Squonk
Tony Banks complained that the ending of Lamb Lies Down was unsatisfying/unresolved but it reminds me of many of my own dreams where a lot of crazy stuff is happening and nothing ever gets resolved and then you wake up and go Oh good I don't have to deal with that in reality.
@@lucydreamsart it's on the list!
Blue is my favourite album of all time. It's an absolute masterpiece, I've played it and lived with it more than any other album in my life apart from maybe #1 Record by Big Star. Ever thought of doing a video about that masterpiece Warren? Ardent studios has a fascinating history, maybe getting in touch with Big Star's last original surviving member, drummer Jody Stephens for an interview. Big Star have such a huge influence. Cheers.
What a great video about a timeless classic of an album. Your videos are way beyond most of the "docs" I see on streaming services. Fantastic!
Thanks ever so much! I really appreciate it
Another great video! I appreciate your breadth of interest.
I never knew about tapestry and blue being recorded at the same time and place. That has to be something more than coincidence. What can you say?
Why do you ignore Song to a Seagull? It's a wonderful album that came before Ladies of the Canyon, maybe even before Clouds. It's a concept album like Sgt.Pepper, and it's Joni at her glorious (early) best. If you don't know it, be prepared to be amazed. And like most of her other albums, she did all the artwork.
This is a video on 'Blue', we don't talk much about any other albums, just enough for context as it's a video on 'Blue'
@@Producelikeapro I get that, but you mentioned Clouds and Ladies of the Canyon several times, even calling LoC her second album twice. It was her third. But I really enjoyed your presentation, and I'll come back and watch it again. Thanks!
I recall in the late 1980s, those who had their teenage years with UK New Wave (OK) and New Romantic (diabolical) focussed on Blue but in my opinion Court and Spark was the one that changed music. Joni became cool and sophisticated and relevant. I think she revived a career that might have remained niche.
Absolutely excellent loved it as per normal superb stuff thank you so much Warren.
God! Incredible artist!Only recently i really listen to her albuns. What a surprise
Thanks ever so much Renato!
Great video, Warren. I loved hearing the insights into her experiences that inspired her writing. I've always concentrated way more on the quality, uniqueness and groove of the music in a song than the lyrics and there's songs that people have revered, but I have no desire to listen to because I think the music is boring (one of the reasons I don't own any Bob Dylan music). Joni Mitchell's songs are the best of both worlds, poignant, insightful lyrics and beautiful, unique and exquisitely written music.
Worth the wait. Thank you, Warren. So good 👏🏼👏🏼
A pivitol album in this canadians collection.
I never really got joni as she matured musically and became the artsy jazz cat she is.
But i loved this early album . I love a great pop song and an acoustic feel.
I agree california is such a great song
Best review of Blue ever! Thanks Warren!
Wow! Thanks ever so much
Thank you, Warren, for a great dissection of a perfect album - BLUE! So wonderful to hear the sonic details on this masterpiece.
I would love to hear you take on THE CARS classic eponymous debut album. That’d be incredible.
If I could only have one album it would be Blue.