Jealous lovin’lI make you crazy
If you can’t find your goodness
‘Cause you’ve lost your heart
The saying less is more is what I am going to use today to describe Joni Mitchell and her sixth studio release, “Court and Spark.” Let me be clear from the get, Joni deserves as much more as one could possibly give. An innovative guitarist and accomplished musician plus one hell of songwriter, Ms. Mitchell is a true musical legend. There is no one like Joni. While the masses don’t quite know how talented she is, thankfully her colleagues do. I just got sidetracked. Here’s an example of how sometimes people just don’t get it. I have often referred to the various Rolling Stone Magazine’s Greatest lists throughout my yearlong project. For the most part, I think these lists are a somewhat fair barometer of such things as best albums, singers, songs, etc. But as we all know, they are capable of getting it wrong sometimes. A glaring example of what I would have to call pure ignorance is having Joni Mitchell only ranked 75th on the RS 100 greatest guitarists list. Oh and by all means Rolling Stone collaborators, do not list any other woman on your list except Bonnie Raitt at number 89. Well that’s another whole talk show right there and I started this paragraph with less is more. Let me move off my soap box and onto an amazing album. Wait, one more thing….even the pretty decent rock guitar players would have a difficult time following her alternate tunings. I spit on your list Rolling Stone.
From the first time I heard “Court and Spark” it touched a nerve. Although others would argue that “Blue” is the best Mitchell record, and let’s face it there is plenty of great Joni material to choose from starting with her 1968 debut, “Song to a Seagull,” and others throughout her career like: 1970’s “Ladies of the Canyon,” 1975”s “The Hissing of Summer Lawns,” 1976’s “Heijra,” 1979’s “Mingus,” 1994’s “Turbulent Indigo,” just to name a few. But what can I say? I’m a “Court and Spark” gal. It’s one of those perfect albums beginning to end: Court and Spark, Help Me, Free Man in Paris, People’s Parties, Same Situation, Car on the Hill, Down to You, Just Like This Train, Raised on Robbery, Trouble Child and Twisted. There will be no signaling out any stars among the stars because they are all equally luminescent. I suppose one shout out could go to Wilton Felder, Joe Sample, José Feliciano, Larry Carlton, Robbie Robertson, John Guerin, David Crosby, Graham Nash and even Cheech and Chong lending their voices to Twisted; the guest musicians who all played on the record.
I’m a fan of Joni because of the terrific “Court and Spark” and for the rest of her incredible body of work. She is a genius. I am also assured that her tremendous impact on women artists in a variety of musical genres will continue for many moons to come. In fact, just yesterday Joni dropped a four disc box set called “Love Has Many Faces: A Quartet, A Ballet, Waiting to Be Danced.” You go Joni.
365, Album of the Day 2014 