What Makes This Song Great? "Amelia" Joni Mitchell
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ย. 2024
- In this episode of "What Makes This Song Great?™" we explore the music of Joni Mitchell.
#jonimitchell #amelia #hejira
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Rick, I was a touring rock musician in the 60's, then I got injured in multiple car accidents and stopped playing. Ever since I began watching your videos the Joy you display when discussing music and musicians has given me the motivation to play (Hammond Organ) again. It's been 50 years and I can hardly play, but I realized I was missing the joy you live in and I need it!.. Thank you
:D
He def displays joy!!💜💙⭐🎶🎼
Great post. Music is indeed one of life's greatest joys.
Best wishes to you....🙏
gabriel forzano I didn’t have anything that prevented me from playing. I just came off the road and started doing something else. That was 33 years ago. Rick has reminded me of the joy I felt back then, and I’m starting to play again.
I find Joni Mitchells talent to be so extraordinary that its emotionally overwhelming. Creativity is an easy word to say but when you see it in full reality through her music its just stunning and inspiring at a level that’s beyond words. Joni from Ft McLeod Alberta...simply a gift to the universe. Thanks Rick for sharing the emotional impact of her brilliance.
My fiance and I both owned Joni albums before we met, and we never talked about it, but Everytime we hear her, we know.
I haven't cried over Joni's work. But I HAVE been deeply moved and then stunned at how accurate she is in her insights. How completely like my experiences on the road. How gifted she is musically, and how effortless she makes her mastery feel.
I just listened to the "Blue" album for the first time. I think I'm in love.
Man, surprisingly enough, albums like 'Hejira', 'Court and Spark' and 'Hissing of Summer Lawns' are somehow even better than Blue.
Heijira, Court and Spark, and Blue are all among the greats. I liked her early stuff first, but there's just so much good Joni stuff to choose from
Blue made me fall in love with Joni, too. I'd heard all her singles, but had never heard any of her albums. I melted when I heard Blue. She opened her heart and poured it into that disc. I'm still in awe, 50 years later.
Blue is really good but hejira melts me every time, Amelia, coyote, ect so amazing
They're all great but "Blue" is almost a solo record. Just Joni on guitar, dulcimer, piano. The songs are so deep. It's an astonishing achievement.
So happy to re-watch this after seeing that Rick went for dinner with Joni. Vicarious ecstasy!
My son would have related so much to this. His last emails to me were regarding music theory but beyond, it was so over my head, but so impressive! He wanted me to look over/edit his essay at the end of his actually 'last' course for college. They must have been impressed too, as they awarded him a posthumous diploma(he wasn't yet close to graduating). In memory of you, our Garrett...i wonder what level of music you would be writing and still be turning all of our ears to now if you were still in your earthsuit, as you called it, my love. I am grateful for the beautiful music you put in our hearts, literally and figuratively. Thank God for music, as is said..and you reminded us son, 'music speaks where words can't'..... 💕🎶
My deepest sympathy, Kim. You make me feel we all had a loss when your son died.
✨🌻
@@williamsstephens Oh thank you Leigh...i do feel the world, not just me, lossed a precious soul! Blessings to you! ❤
@@msannthrope_2049 Wow..interesting...my son's favorite flower was a sunflower...thank you! 🌻
"Honor died in World War II. You know, it just kinda died. Not very many people know how to do it anymore. If they honor you wrong, it makes you arrogant, because it stung. If they honor you right, it's humbling because it's inspiring." - Joni Mitchell. Rick you honor her right, thank you.
I have followed Rick on and off for a couple of years now. I have thoroughly enjoyed his videos but I sometimes thought he might be missing the big picture by digging too deep into the technical side of music and songwriting. Boy was I wrong. Joni's songs have often brought me to tears too. But so did Rick's unabashed and deeply insightful presentation in this video. Thank you Rick. Ringing the bell now.
Heartstrings
I’ve discovered Joni’s music earlier this year and I came into it knowing she was some kind of a legend, so I wasn’t completely unbiased when hearing her material, I knew it was something big. But nonetheless I was actually stunned and moved as mover before. This music is something otherworldly, hearing a woman being so open in her creativity, flowing in harmonies and melodies just regularly makes me cry as I can’t be even remotely as free in my daily life and because her chord progressions actually hit me to the core, they are so unbearably moving. I’m so glad to be alive in the same era as her 🙏🏻
❤
Beautifully said! Bless your Heart and Soul!
Brutal that You have to explain the existence of Joni, to a generation that may have no idea.. surely, she and her music are immortal..
Well hopefully a few who were not aware will go check out Joni for themselves. Rick did a public service IMO.
I met Joni in a grocery store on the Sunshine Coast BC about 10 years ago where she owns a house. I told her I was a huge fan at the cashier and she thanked me. The cashier was a 20 something girl who looked very confused that I was in awe of this older looking woman who seemed very average. Lol
I met her in 1976 in a natural food store in Boulder Co. While I was reading the label of a natural foods product someone came up to me and stood very close to me. She said: "You look like someone I know." I remember thinking: "This woman looks exactly like Joni Mitchell." Like the self-portrait on the cover of the Clouds album, she was heartbreakingly beautiful. And she was super warm and flirtatiously trying to talk with me. But I was so star struck that I just froze up.
She tried to engage me in conversation that maybe I was someone she knew. I was just tongue-tied. She gave me several chances to affirm that maybe we knew each other but I was totally paralyzed with awe.
I ended up telling her that she was 'mistaken' that she knew me. She said: "Are you sure you don't know me." I said: "Yes." She replied to me: "Well, that's just too bad then" -- and she ended up walking away.
I actually followed her out of the store for a couple of blocks wondering if it was really her. Then I convinced myself I just imagined it was Joni. When I got home from that dream-like encounter the phone rang and a friend told me: "Joni Mitchell is in town visiting Robben Ford." I found out later she was driving coast to coast on her Hejira adventure and she stopped in Boulder to visit Robben who was studying at Naropa. Anyway, I feel lucky I got to stand in her personal space and feel how warmly flirtatious and friendly she was -- she's an Angel.
@@rexmonarch2 she was a good looking lady. she broke some hearts along the way. i think graham nash wanted to marry her. but she was just too much of a free spirit to settle down with anyone.
she'll grow up
On our first date, my late partner and I were sitting next to Joni and her attorney at the bar of an Italian place on Beverly Blvd. in L.A. The place was stupid crowded, and Joni and her guest were already at the bar when we showed up. Shockingly, we were seated at a two-top on the patio BEFORE she was. There was an available two-top next to us, and sure enough, the two of them were seated next to us (the tables were, like, six inches apart). We had a wonderful meal, the conversation jumped back and forth across the tables, and it was all most enjoyable. But having lived in L.A. for a while, I knew better than to get wacky around a "star," so I never mentioned anything about who she was or about her work...until Bert and I were ready to leave. We stood, and I looked at her and simply said, "I cannot leave here without saying thank you." She looked at me, kind of perplexed, and said -- in all earnestness, "For what?" I just looked at her and smiled. "For the music." She grinned and nodded. A helluva first date...he and I were together for the next 10 years until he passed away. And I continue to think the world of Joni Mitchell.
Young clueless. Redudent.
watching you trying to do the clinical break down of such powerful and emotionally resonant music to you on a personal level was kinda tough to watch! When you let that guard down and just told us how much songs like these make you feel was so cathartic and real! i know you gotta play songs you don't like along with ones you do for this series, but watching that smile ramp up along with the chord changes is so expressive and says more than any technical breakdown. Watching it affect you... like knowing how the whole thing is made, the backstory, yet the gestalt makes you feel all the same is the best testament to amazing songwriting. anyways keep sharing songs you love and why they're great. fantastic show!
Well said!
seconded!
Spot on! I third that emotion. Thanks, My love for music grows stronger and with new insight every time you put out a new episode. Great work Mr. Beato!
I'm called after her. I love her voice and lyrics. Thank you for your technical explanation. Her talent puts her in her own category.
One thing that may have contributed to Joni using so many alternate tunings is the fact she had polio as a child and it affected her left hand. So it would make sense she would find it easier to play open tunings than standard. The nice resonate sounds she got from her play was just a bonus.
She used those weird tunings to make it easier for her to play, because she was a polio survivor. What a genius. These is just a stunning work of art. Joni is pure genius! I’ve been a fan for 40 years! Thank you for this video!!! I really appreciate it!
And I thought I was the only man who cried listening to Joni Mitchell’s songs. I guess there is still hope for this world then!
naaah lots of guys love her. We're all humans and she has a way of getting to you
Not at all. We are many.
Literally wiping tears from my eyes as I type this. First time hearing Amelia, and I’m just overwhelmed.
No there is only hope for subscribers to this channel. :-)
Joni is one of the all time great artists of the 20th century. You are definitely not alone.
I had the extreme pleasure of being alive when Joni was touring with Tom Scott/LA Express and attended the smallest of venues in Rochester NY. Roger McQuinn opened for this 400 seat venue. I was following Joni Mitchell since 1965-66 when she was writing world class songs and performing in Toronto. I was thunderstruck watching her perform barefoot standing on a Persian rug. The 35 year old genius who surpassed every performance I had seen up to that point. I've seen my share of the greats in concert, but I reach back in saying that of all, Joni was the most prolific of all, knowing of her ability,and courage to overcome her childhood illness which affected her vocal presentation, she embraced the love of words( the greatest wordsmith in the industry) and expressed her music in emotional tunings from her heart. Which I believe was the one thing overlooked by everyone she connected with and cared about. She is the GOAT.
I love that you're giving love to one of the greatest albums of all time (as well as my screenname!). What I love about Joni is that she was a solo female playing 3-D chess with tunings, time signatures and keys while her male contemporaries were still hammering out 3-chord 4/4 rocks in their caves. And if that wasn't enough, she was such a compelling, vivid storyteller with a voice/phrasing that could jump around around the octaves. And she made it all look so effortless and natural. And, like you said, she knew what she was doing. That cutaway with Joni extolling the virtues of sus chords was incredibly fascinating.
And did the artwork for many of her album covers. Magnificent.
“Hejira” is my favorite album of all time. Joni is a genius. A complete artist.
Thanks Rick for breaking down one of my favorites by Joni! I’ve been a fan of hers for years, and yes, her haunting lyrics and beautiful chords have brought tears to my eyes. Shadows and Light is a masterpiece.
I'm a pedal steel player and I teach in a jazz program at a university here in Canada. I have loved Joni's music what seems like my
whole life. Rick: this is an amazingly musical and poetic demonstration of Joni's Amelia. Thank you so much. I encourage any music lover to watch this.
You teach pedal steel in a university setting? That's pretty cool
This is a brilliant deconstruction of Joni Mitchell's incredibly complex songwriting, and I really enjoy it. This is what music appreciation should be.
Thank you, Rick. Joni Mitchell is such a gifted poet musician. In my younger days I would turn the lights out and listen to Joni in the dark so there would be no distractions from her music. When I finally figured out she was using many different tunings from song to song it hit me that here was a true genius. She had to invent her own chord voicings and then remember them for each tuning. I have to really pay attention just going from guitar to madolin!
The first Joni Mitchell song I ever heard was “I Had A King” when I was 13 years old. It immediately captured my heart, and I’ve been a lifelong fan now for four decades. Thanks for the music, Joni Mitchell. You are the original queen of songwriting.
That song slays me.
I heard Harry Belafonte sing Both Sides Now in the late '60's and was stopped in my tracks. It took a while for me to find out about Joni after that but it wasn't long before "I had a King " was on my turntable. Absolutely beautiful
Tears at Larry's entrance. Just brings it up that last 10% to heaven... We don't deserve Joni. We just don't.
I had to watch it again after your story of having dinner with Joni. Her humility seems to be as extraordinary as her music. Thanks for bringing her to us again with such joy and light.
For many years, Jimi Hendrix was my favorite musician of all time, but about 3 years ago I got on a Joni bender, and I had an incredible musical epiphany where she is indubitably THE BEST!!!
Joni and Jimi actually met here in Ottawa back in '68. I saw her play that week at Le Hibou (The Owl) - I was a young teenager. Missed Jimi - a year later I had also become an avid Jimi Hendrix fan. I heard that he took the time to catch one of Joni's sets...and they hung out together after.
Anyone who doesn't have the biggest lump in their throat by the end of this needs a medical examination... Just too beautiful
Hugh McQueen The hairs on my arms were rising, my skin was tingling listening to this. Brilliant analysis of one of my favourite songs.
This song gave me chills before I even knew this much about it. What a magnificent musician she is, with a catalog that puts almost anyone else I can think of to shame.
Stop judging other people, let them have their own experience, yours isn't the only true one.
@@franek_izerski 😆 oh dear, you appear to have taken my comment rather too literally. Was judging absolutely no-one, merely using a well worn exaggeration to convey my love of the song.
I had the pleasure of spending time with Heart. On The Road Home concert series they started every show with River. Howard played my acoustic 12 string on Barracuda insisted by John Paul Jones who was the producer.
Another great CD:
Night Ride Home, a dazzling and brilliant set of songs, each one a musical gem.
and 'Wild things Run Fast'...absolute killer....
@@KeithHedger Her early 80s stuff is, shall we say, underrated. Dog Eat Dog is another great one.
Thanks Rick!
Joni is the most complete artist of the past 200 years, imho; so seeing your analysis of one of her pieces is indeed something of a small dream come true.
Your intro was pretty much perfect.
Her status as an artist cannot be overestimated. Her 1979 tour featuring Jaco, Metheny, Brecker, Lyle Mays, and the redoubtable Don Alias is without question the greatest backup band ever assembled. Charlie Mingus sought her out for a reason. She is a genius, unparalleled in out time creatively.
Again, thanks!
i had to stop the vid as you began your analysis, because i was somewhat emotional that you took the time to highlight Joni's music for your great base of followers.
As a writer and musician, i subscribed to your channel long ago. Your music theory vids are how i start most days, with green tea and musical wisdom from Beato.
Joni.
Let the the bell rings out.
Let the banners fly.
Peace and blessings to you and yours.
Greetings from Japan.
(edited for spelling)
I’d put her with Picasso and Frank Lloyd Wright.
Don't know about anyone else but when I saw Joni Mitchell in this series show up in my feed, I squealed.
Squeals Of DELIGHT we Can Assume ????🙏
"Squeeeeeeeee!!!!!"
I was too tired to squeal, but I woke up and kind of cried, she is a great one.
Found you while in lockdown here in Alice Springs Au, and am awfully grateful to hear a fellow American 🇺🇸 appreciate the brilliance that is Toni Mitchell. Thank you 🙏🏻🌿
I've never listened to Joni before really, so when I started getting goosebumps and tearing up at 5:45, I had to pause the video and order the album. Thanks for again, introducing me to music that is going to become a favorite, Rick.
Good for you - you have just taken the first step on a magical musical and lyrical journey. Get ready for lots of goose-bump and tears moments :-)
Start with "Hejira"... It'll blow your mind in many ways.
I couldn’t even guess which song this would be. She has so many great, even phenomenal songs.
Just a little factoid: in an interview when Maynard (from Tool) was asked who his major influence was as a singer and a songwriter, he said it was Joni Mitchell.
Now listen to the intro to "The Pot" again. Right there he is channeling her vocal style distinctly and directly. There's also a few rare photos from when he got to meet her. He was actually a little starstruck there and you can see it. Funny, you never who you're favorite artists were into. (some people might not know that Robert Plant was a HUGE Elvis fanatic) It's not always obvious, but that's how influence works and thank God it's not so obvious. Cheers, Rick. Great choice today!
Haha, Plant was also a HUGE Joni fanatic!
@@FF-bs6hy yup. Going to California.
Hangnail, makes sense. Consider the Honeydrippers.
A Perfect Circle covered Fiddle and the Drum by Joni
On the version of Going To California from the album How The West Was Won he exclaims the name “Joni” after the line “they say she plays guitar and cries and sings”. That was 1972.
I have a whole new appreciation for Joni's music ability, it blows you away, & thanks to Rick B. to dissect and explain all the music to failed musicians like me, at 67 I need to seriously apply myself if not for anything else but to entertain myself and perhaps others🎸👍😎
The first time I smoked up long ago, a classmate put on a Join Mitchell record. I closed my eyes & was totally mesmerized. I thought an angel on high was singing to me & then she came down & kissed me on the forehead. I'll never forget that, BTW, I think the album was Ladies Of The Canyon.
Sounds like a good session.
My favourite song on that album is "Conversation". Thank God you don't need weed to appreciate great art.
@@goodun2974 All great choices!!
@@brandonburrell8517 You may not need it, but it sure amplifies the appreciation sometimes. Haven't done weed in years!
I have Hissing of Summer Lawns, Hejira, & Miles of Aisles, Live with Tom Scott and the LA Express on vinyl. After listening to a side of any of them I have to peel myself off the ceiling and come back to Earth to turn the album over. I share your special love for Amelia.
Thunder Rabbit? What a fantastic avatar name. I want it!!!
@Simon Mitchell Two Grey Rooms.. Heartbreaking.
I’m not a musician, but I knew this song was beyond special....thank you ❤️....loving hearing this again.....infact I’m moved to tears...simply wonderful
You have given a voice to my AWE of Joni's music. Transcendental musical purity and unmatched innovation.
I have a history with Joni Mitchells music. I was 10 years old in late August 1969 & Woodstock had happened two weeks before. My parent had season tickets at the Greek theatre in L.A. I went with my parents and older brothers to the Crosby Stills Nash and introducing Neil Young concert with Joni Mitchell doing a warm up set. We had seats in the orchestra pit. She was amazing. Great start to the show. It was until 5 years later I bought the court and Spark album and was hooked. Loved trouble child breaking like the waves in Malibu just great imagery lyrics story and beautiful vocals and music. Keep up the good work Rick Beato I share your awe for Joni Mitchell
Rick's not the only on who cries when he listens to Joni. I can get teary-eyed as well. There's so much depth, so much personal introspection and insight in her lyrics.... I recognize so much of me in her music, and have come to discover a lot of who I am through her music.
She also sings PERFECTLY
Rick, Joni's music and lyrics also make me cry. Together they are just so beautiful and potent, they overwhelm me - Amelia is a great example of this. I hope Joni is aware she has had this impact on so many people and I/we will always consider her one of lifes true treasures.
And now you know why Canada considers her a national treasure.
I don't play but I loved watching your deep appreciation, enthusiasm and adoration for Joni. I am a life long fan as well.
Goddammit why can she make grown men cry?! No other artist I've listened to in my near 60 years can do that. Even talking about her gets me. We should start a support group for Men Who Cry Listening to Joni.
I’m in. Can’t speak after listening to this song in particular.
I'm in...just go speechless
But maybe it's the ones who don't cry who need support...
Hejira. Court & Spark. Hissing of Summer Lawns. All masterpieces.
Rick, I can't thank you enough for this beautiful example of what you so regularly do for us. No one can appreciate an artist as thoroughly as another artist because you are aware of the myriad nuances layered into a work. While the art is still powerful enough to capture an audience, most of these details would be lost on some of us. We love the work - then you show us some of the reasons why. Because of your inside perspective, you recognize these subtleties and bring them to the fore for the rest of us. What you do is an art in itself. It has greatly enriched my experience of artists I already love. Thank you!
My older brother gave me a copy of Joni's first album "Song to a Seagull" when I was eighteen years old, so her music has been a font of inspiration and joy throughout my life. I was very fortunate to have seen her perform live in 1973 at Nassau Coliseum. After doing a set of songs from "Court and Spark" with Tom Scott and the L.A. Express, she came out all by herself and performed songs from "Blue", and completely filled the hall with just her voice and her dulcimer - there was nothing lacking, and Nassau Coliseum is a huge hall. I really enjoyed this video; it's great to be able to share in an understanding and appreciation of Joni Mitchell's music.
I don’t often have favorites, but when I do, I do.
This is my favorite Joni Mitchell song.
From my favorite Joni album.
So many false alarms, I won’t say more.
Thank you, Joni, and thank you. Rick, for sharing your enthusiasm about it...and its beauty. And Joni’s beauty.
It’s the start to my day, today.
Friday 5/14/21
Such a force and the more songs of her songs I discover, the more I am an awe. Her music draws me in and out of such emotion. What an icon indeed!
Hi Rick, I recently discovered your channel and I love your passion and your stories... I am originally from Amsterdam, Holland and in the mid-seventies I would get high with my friend Xander and listen to albums like Man Child (Herbie Hancock) and Light as a Feather (Return to Forever, Chick Corea)... my first trip to the US was in the summer 1978 with my brother Paul, now a well known documentary filmmaker in the Netherlands. We took our ten-speed bikes on the plane (you know Dutchies and their bikes) and first we biked around in NYC and then took a plane to Los Angeles and biked from LA to San Francisco over Highway 1. But this story is about New York. One late afternoon we were a bit tired after a lot of cruising and felt ready for a drink. The sun was about to set. We passed some joint called Seventh Avenue South and locked our bikes to a pole and went inside wearing our tight bicycle shorts. Ordered a couple of beers, having no idea where we landed. And wow, live music, how cool. But wait a sec... those guys on the podium are Randy and Michael Brecker!!! Two of our heroes, back in Amsterdam we had all their albums and now they were playing live for perhaps twenty people or so! The music was amazing and we just couldn't believe our luck. BTW, we hated Los Angeles, we thought it was the ugliest city in the world, unlike San Francisco where we cruised down Dolores Avenue with a big smile on our faces. A very memorable summer. And who would guess I'd spend most of my adult life in Los Angeles, working as a photographer? Your channel brought back the memories. Best regards and thanks from a music lover!
This made my day. I love Joni!
So many different guitar tunings. I think she must have had dozens of guitars on later tours. One of her best songs for sure.
Canaan Perry haha - look for my comment on that very subject above
I remember reading in a musicians' mag in the late 90's (I think?!) that she was using a guitar which can change tuning at the touch of a button! Virtual stuff, though; The actual tuning of the strings would remain unchanged.
The Mighty 'V' Antares has a guitar tuning system, and Line 6 Variax supports alternate tunings, tho some folks struggle with the unprocessed strings’ audibility. self-tuning is the grail, without a doubt
@@btRU_funQsta - I'm also surprised that (in hindsight) technology in the 90's was already that advanced! Unfortunately I'm unable to find any details on her actual equipment back then, but it appears she's using a 'Parker' brand guitar without magnetic PU's these days that's hooked up to some type of guitar-tuning system :-)
Thank you for this Rick. She is an absolute treasure. Please reach out to Joni for an interview - you two would be so great together. I cannot think of anyone who could do justice to her like you could.
Rick, When I first heard you start this, I thought it wasn't going to be something I was going to enjoy. But I stuck with it and I'm so glad I did. What a fantastic song. This is not something I've heard living in Australia, American Folk/Jazz isn't something that is/was played on the Radio.. Thank you for letting me in on this hidden gem..
Andrew Morison please please go on to discover her classic albums. This is a representative sample and far from being the best track she ever did. Court & Spark, Blue, Hissing of Summer Lawns and on and on. You'll never regret it. Just buy Blue for a start.
@@pauldavies1710 Guys I telly what I don't know if you'll ever fund anything like her very 1st album Song to A Seagull- Michael from Mountains, Cactus Tree, Night in the City-man I still wanna cover that tune. She was already underground huge because everybody was singing her songs then when this came out it was all over-she left everybody in the dust.Miles of Aisles-live album with a jazz band the whole thing. she did her thing and grew me up.
Thank you for this. I have owned this album in various formats since I was a teenager in the 1970s and it's one I still listen to. I'm a long haul truck driver and I sometimes put this album on to use as a soundtrack when I drive across the landscape in the American west. This song is just so beautiful and evocative. It also has that hint of sadness that so many of her songs do, floating just below the surface. But that saddness along with the sheer beauty of the music and descriptive lyrics come to paint a whole picture of existence by bringing in the total emotional range of life.
Joni Mitchell's a Canadian treasure. Gorgeous voice, great guitar player and pianist. She's a poet who sings her soul. She's a genius. Her painting is fabulous and she believes it's her real calling. She talks to her fellow musicians in colours...I get it...joni play me some more orange.
I absolutely love your smile which is the smile of a fan of music, just inspiring and makes me happy that have chosen music as my hobby.
This week is the 50th anniversary of the release of Joni's album "Blue" and here in the UK, some radio shows have dedicated part of their broadcast to playing songs from the album and other artists cover versions of them. For me Joni established herself as the benchmark by which all serious lyrically driven female artists are to be measured. She is a legend and thank you for this analysis of her song "Amelia".
" I cry when I listen..." "I encourage you to listen...." "She's one of the greatest singer songwriter poet and musician of all times" Yes to all of the above Rick... I'll bring the tissues you supply the albums... I am right there in 100% agreement with you. Thanks for the great review.
Does anyone else here feel like:
Rick, I never know what in the hell you're talking
about, but I truly love to hear you explain it.
It's the Rocky Mountain Way of the world.
YES!!!!
Yes, my eyes glazed over a couple of times on that one. Haha...
I follow every word with satisfaction. Nobody else ever laid it out like this.
Not quite true. Seth Rudetsky does these breakdowns with great Broadway performances. Breathtaking in the same way if you've got craft skills enough to follow. But you can't stop or pause to figure anything out. You just have to run with what they're saying.
Rick, as you begin to talk about the chorus, the music brought every emotion of beauty and love in me to the back of my throat, the back of my eyes. Moments of near or full breakdown to music are a magic for which I am continuously grateful. Joni Mitchell has always been a favorite since I heard her album Blue playing while loading gear onto a fraternity house roof to play a party when I was in junior high. A true revelation! She brings the beauty and emotion like no one else! Thanks for all your videos!
Exquisitely beautiful. A 20th century treasure the likes of which may never be reincarnated again. How many nights in the mid-70’s would I come home from a late night gig, put the headphones on and play Hissing of Summer Lawns or Blue or Court and Spark? Her music was sanctuary, it was release, it was a songbird singing in the night. Thank you, Rick!
Rick, great analysis: me too, chills, tears, even after nearly 50 years listening. No one talks much about her strumming hand...you get a sense of it in the Shadows and Light clip. Fantastic. It's easy enough to "play" these songs with the left hand, but the strumming is the magic: so musical, so rich. Who else is playing like that? Will you ask her please when you do your interview? A deep-dive into that right hand? Can't wait!
One of the best ever....light, etherial, meaningful...
Forever my favourite Joni album. I used to think Strange Boy was about me
I wish I understood music as you do, but I love that you "feel" her as I do. She's my all-time favorite. I was weened on Joni.
I'm watching this video again immediately after seeing your recent post on having dinner with Joni in LA. It is such a thrill to see this again! I am quite sure there has never been a better songwriter in North America in my lifetime. There are MANY great ones, of course, and I love them, but Joni towers above them all. Peace and love to you all.
Joni Mitchell wrote the sound track of my life. I was a budding young singer 17 years her junior and I strove to sing like her from my grade school days. Later I strove to write poetry like her and as I followed along I grew from folk music roots into a soul understanding of jazz which was the ultimate in understanding my father who was a jazz musician. I cannot exaggerate her influence on my life, not just in musical development but in embracing life in all its complexity. I don't have the music theory background to explain it all as succinctly as you do, but I do have the soul understanding and that is more than I will ever need. Thank you
When I came home from Vietnam in 1971, there was the album "Blue" just released. I had gone into solitude and was suffering from PTSD. Joni's music saved my life and being an artist, it got me painting again and living again. I still listen to her as I paint. Inspiration.
Thank you, Rick. This is one of my all time favorite songs. I think I saw this video a few years ago, but so refreshing to see it again.
Rick loves music and doesn't hesitate to show it. Humanity.
A complicated dissection of something that just comes so natural to Joni Mitchell. Therein lies the genius she is
Blue is also a masterpiece, I have my vinyl copy that I bought in the mid '70s, I keep it in an appropiate plastic bag, it's like a precious jewel I have to keep clean and safe...
Amazing to find someone who loves Joni as much as I do. This song is just superb in every way
I cry to Joni’s music too… I can’t help it! Bless you Rick 🙂
There's a seaside resort on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, a few hours by ferry and road from Vancouver. Joni has owned a house on 80 acres of land nearby since 1970. When I was staying with a friend at this resort, which is made up of a bunch of permanent canvas tent structures on a hillside facing the sea, the manager casually pointed out a cabin at water's edge. "That's where Joni Mitchell stayed while her house was being built. She worked on the songs on Blue in that cabin." I hope that cabin is never torn down.
Joni Mitchell is a story teller with the most amazing imagery and musical harmony. Her songs are full of emotion that illustrate the breadth of her experiences. She conjures pictures with poetic lyrics and melodic perfection.
Joni Mitchell and Oscar Peterson. The two greatest musical exports in Canada's history. Thanks for the reminder...
And Gordon Lightfoot. (And Rush, of course!)
@@SteveSilverActor ... and Paul Anka … and Guy Lombardo … and Anne Murray ….
Neil Young
and Maynard Ferguson.....!!!
Leonard Cohen
Joni educated us to art. She didn’t insult our intelligence with “ I’m just Jennie from the block used to have a little now I have a lot”. Thank you Joni for stretching our hearts and minds…
I'm so jealous of you and happy for ya'. I saw Joni in the early '60s at the Cellar Door in Dc in her first appearance. She came out by herself in a white dress and a big guitar. When she finished her opening number, the crowd was silent! She glanced around and looked worried when the crowd suddenly exploded! She got a big grin on her face and relaxed. We were all stunned into silence by her but only for a moment. She's wonderful! It was a great night!
Sometime in 1968, my sister bought Song to a seagull , and it changed me
I was eight years old. That album is pure GOLD to me. Thank you , Joni ! And Bless you , Rick. !
Wonderful analysis. If push comes to shove, this may well be my favourite song of all time. Stunningly gorgeous and It still moves me as much now as it did when I first heard it 40-odd years ago.
I cry when you talk about this! ❤
I was 14 when Court and Spark came out, the first album of Joni's I bought. Her music basically strung the core of the backbone of my young life. We were so inundated with the greatest music - in a thrilling, transformational zeitgeist, all of it etched in bone. Yet as a girl, a young woman, a more mature voice- not to mention wise, brilliant, magnificently creative - resonated more particularly close to home. That voice for me was Joni's.
Thanks Rick. It's so nice to see/hear someone treat/examine her music with the depth of respect and joy it deserves. I'll search out more of your examinations.
There is no problem that listening to Joni Mitchell can't solve.
David Lahm talking to you, Rick. I was moved very deeply by your response to AMELIA. I have spent my adult life (I'm 79) devoted to jazz and not very interested in rock or pop. But fate smiled in '69 when as pianist in Buddy Rich's band, I played Vancouver BC where I met a young woman who introduced me to Joni Mitchell---the CLOUDS vinyl had recently come out.
Since then her artistry and the persona it reveals have challenged, comforted and inspired me.
First song I played in public, at the Village Gate in NYC, was THAT SONG ABOUT THE MIDWAY.
Skip, for now, to the 90s when I was sufficiently convinced that her pieces could be rendered
in various genres within traditional modern jazz that I self-produced a CD, JAZZ TAKES ON JONI MITCHELL, released in 1999 by Arkadia Records. It took several years to get together
but the results, for my own ears and several reviewers, seemed to justify the time and expense. I was fortunate to know some great musicians who were willing to accept my very detailed direction on what I wanted from them. The best known is Randy Brecker, Michael's older brother. It was also very gratifying to be welcomed by the Joni Mitchell Discussion List, with whom I exchange posts regularly to this day.
Arkadia put me back in the studio for MORE JAZZ TAKES ON JONI MITCHELL two years later.
Restricted as to time and money, this project was not as fulfilling, although I am pretty happy with the LADIES OF THE CANYON and DON JUAN'S RECKLESS DAUGHTER tracks. So I had
taken JM's music (through the 70s) and shown how it overlaps with jazz. Now, it's 2020
and in a way I have completed the circle by writing a little piece that sounds to me like
SHE could have written it. I was lying awake one night and thought "What if I took the
I-IV cadence and then, in another key, went the other way?" So the first four chords, all major triads, are G C D A. From then on it was like working a crossword puzzle 'til eventually the chord star of the show found my fingers: (from bottom to top, closed voicing) C# D F# A.
I had written some complicated jazz pieces 30, 40 years ago but for a long time
I could not find the brain that created them. Now, for perhaps a brief parole from the present, I have.
@@davidlahm9066 Thanks for sharing this wonderful story - and may I say, beautiful piece of musical poetry
Truth!!!
Wonderful Tribute,,,,,tears also,,,, and thanks for adding "River"
I have always been a Joni fan. Thank you for this. She is the soundtrack of my adult life.
I can't much to the exceptional comments already posted, but I can't help needing to share my adoration of Joni, and my appreciation of your splendid analysis of this song. I wonder if you've considered doing an analysis of "Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire" or "Down to You". Please say you're working on another Joni song!
Layers of beauty and poetry. Layers.
Knowledge is a sincere form of appreciation
This song affects me like few others. David Crosby played this when I saw him with my dad a few years ago. I think I had only seen my dad cry once before in my life. He didn't even cry when we found out his cancer was terminal or as he went through the dying process. But he cried when he heard David sing this song.
Thats beautiful, mate. All the best...
In "A woman of heart and mind" Malka Marom says that the best time she saw Joni singing (I had a King) she sobbed. I think her. music taps directly into our unconscious emotions, better than anyone else.
It's on his album "Sky Trails". Fits perfectly on a great album.
Well I’m not crying now reading this....much. 😔
So much respect for you and your father
Thanks for giving Joni her due. Lots of people get labeled as “genius.” Joni deserves it with a capital G.
You got that right! Even Prince thought she was a genius.
Yes❤️
Especially this album! So much glorious music!
YES!!!
Truth (with a capital T)!
Rick, I don't know but, it is possible you may have saved someone's life or at least changed it fundamentally forever with this emotional yet compassionate appraisal of your love of a great song. The world needs more of this, thank you.
I was named after this song!! Joni Mitchell holds such a special place in my heart. Thank you so much for doing this!!
Very nice to be named after a gem by a great artist. I am sure you will make Joni proud.
Wonderful!
That is awesome
Your parents were very cool to do that.
Rick named his children Dylan and Lennon (I forget the third one). No Joni though...
Who's back to watch it again after Rick's Video bashing WMG ? We're more than happy to see the video back up, Thanks for all your knowledge, enthusiasm and hard work Rick.
Came here to check right away 👊🏼
@@c1audius ne too
Must have been another TH-cam "mistake".
Yep!
Maybe this is why the disable them. Rick makes another video and then people watch this again :)
When a guy tells me he cries when he is moved by a piece of music (especially a piece of music by the true genius of Joni Mitchell), I know immediately he’s a good guy.
I find it hard to imagine music being able to move a guy who's capable of wiping his family out with an axe.
G.E. W. - I AM “ THAT” GUY ☮️❤️🎼🇺🇸
God I wish that were correct. Never collect red flags.
Jerry Jazzbo - ????
I am such a guy also 💖
Better late than never to preach the Gospel according to Joni, Rick. Thank you for this wonderful analysis! This is my favorite record of hers, but it is a difficult choice. You are right to tell people to explore her entire catalog. She is a true artist, ever evolving and never satisfied by her genius work. In my humble opinion, she is one of the greatest artists of the 20th Century - period.
i'll join that Amen choir, any day, Peter!
I'll rank her on a short list of the greatest all around artists of the 20th century with Frank Lloyd Wright and Pablo Picasso
I've been wondering how familiar you are with Joni's work and if you were ever going to discuss one of her songs in this series... And there you are covering one of my absolute favourites and it turns out you are as passionate about her music as I am. Wonderful to see someone share that enthusiasm. It was a delight watching this video. Here's to crying to Joni's music!