Hello Joni Fans, I'm a new subscriber to the list, although not new to Joni. I was introduced to Joni in the early 70s by my cousin. She had a copy of Blue and after one listen I was hooked. I first saw her perform in 1976. It was 1998 before I saw her again. At that concert she performed Both Sides Now and it was probably the most moving performance of my life. In 2000 I was lucky enough to see her again.
In the past 30 years I've never stopped listening to her music. Sometimes it takes me a few years to "catch up" with Joni and "catch on" to what she is doing. A good example is Don Juan's Reckless Daughter, which was originally one of my least favorite recordings, and is now one of my favorites. I love her piano playing. She has received recognition for her unique style of playing guitar, but I think her piano playing is equally amazing. My favorite album or song? That's kind of like asking a kid in a candy store what his favorite candy is. This one and that one and oh yeah, that one and uh, this one. I guess the albums from Blue to Hejira are what I think of as her best work. There isn't a single bad song or bad note on any of those recordings. A better question is what Joni am I listening to lately. The opening chords of Edith and the Kingpin, the piano intro to Two Grey Rooms, the moments in Paprika Plains right before she sings, "...the rain retreats...", Sire of Sorrows, Come in from the Cold.... I guess even I am amazed that after 30 years I can still get so much enjoyment from one artist's music. I can listen to her music over and over and never grow tired of it. I hear and feel and see things in a song on the 100th listen that I didn't on the 81st. I wonder exactly how many times I have heard some of these songs. Her songs have become a way of mapping time for me. I can remember the first time I heard Chinese Cafe/Unchained Melody. I was taking a nap in the middle of the day with the radio on and woke up to the sounds of Joni singing the Unchained Melody part of the song. I knew the song very well and I knew that voice, but I didn't know the two together and it seemed like a dream. I can remember who I was living with when Hejira came out. I can remember giving Miles of Aisle to someone for Christmas. I can remember hearing Song for Sharon on the radio with a friend of mine who has long since died. One thing I've always wanted to hear more of from Joni is her vocalizations without words the way she does on Dida with Joan Baez, or on Love Poem with Tom Scott, or the way her voices intertwines with the instruments on Rainy Night House from Miles of Aisles. I'd love to hear an entire CD's worth of Joni's voice as an instrument with her playing guitar and piano and a lot of woodwinds and reeds. I'm looking foward to reading what other people have to say about Joni Mitchell's music. Lately I've been on a quest to obtain every song I can that Joni appears on or has performed on other people's albums, like Dida/Joan Baez, If I Could/Seal, and Magdalene Laundries/The Chieftans. I'd like to have a compilation CD of all of these songs. Has anyone done anything like? If so, and you'd like to trade, I'd enjoy hearing from you. Frank
