When you’ve released a generation-defining masterpiece, as JONI MITCHELL did with BLUE, what exactly do you do for an encore? In Mitchell’s case, embark upon an extraordinary run of albums – FOR THE ROSES, COURT AND SPARK and THE HISSING OF SUMMER LAWNS – which pulled her far away from her f...
When you’ve released a generation-defining masterpiece, as JONI MITCHELL did with BLUE, what exactly do you do for an encore? In Mitchell’s case, embark upon an extraordinary run of albums – FOR THE ROSES, COURT AND SPARK and THE HISSING OF SUMMER LAWNS – which pulled her far away from her folk roots and expanded her confessional writing into something tougher and more expansive. In the latest issue of Uncut magazine – in UK shops from Thursday, August 18 and available to buy from our online store, Graeme Thomson talks to friends and collaborators to discover fresh insights into these canonical records and the powerful and complex creative processes of their creator. “They’re all classics in my book,” says Neil Young.
It is June 2022, and Joni Mitchell is in a playback studio in Los Angeles, listening to her most successful album, Court And Spark, being radically reborn. “I love the sound of my voice,” she tells Ken Caillat, the engineer overseeing new Dolby Atmos mixes of four albums Mitchell released between 1972 and 1976, rendering them as an immersive sound experience. “I can’t believe how good my voice sounds!” Aged 78, and still recovering from the effects of the aneurysm she suffered in 2015, she is sufficiently moved to start dancing. “She was thrilled,” Caillat tells Uncut. “And we were thrilled that she was thrilled.”
A month later, on July 24, Mitchell stunned the music world by performing in public for the first time in 20 years at the Newport folk festival. Appearing alongside Brandi Carlile, Marcus Mumford, Wynonna Judd and sundry other friends, she played guitar and sang a slew of her classic compositions as well as covers of “Love Potion No 9” and “Summertime”.
These two wildly cheering events were closely connected, believes Patrick Milligan, director of A&R at Rhino Records, who has been working closely with Mitchell overseeing the ongoing reissue programme. “Joni has been going through therapy to get beyond her aneurysm, and in the three years I’ve known her, the improvement has been incredible,” he explains. “She told me, ‘Working on these projects has helped me.’ I think we’re going to be hearing more from her all the time. She is really getting back into the swing of things.”
The latest spate of legacy work on Mitchell’s back catalogue focuses on three studio albums – For The Roses, Court And Spark, The Hissing Of Summer Lawns – and the double live album, Miles Of Aisles. “They are all classics in my book,” says her old friend and compatriot, Neil Young. “I listened to every album as it came out. The musicians she played with were always above my abilities. She had grown from folk to jazz and in between, creating a unique kind of sound that I loved to listen to over and over.”
Presented with the problem of following the generation-defining Blue, Mitchell embarked on an extraordinary run of records which pulled her far away from her folk roots and expanded her confessional writing into something tougher and more expansive. Working with LA Express, a five-piece group of skilled and versatile fusion players, Mitchell infused her music with rich musical textures, complex string and horn arrangements, and an overt jazz influence.
“She still wrote by herself, but now opened up the recording process to a bunch of virtuosos,” says Ellis Sorkin, who engineered Court And Spark and The Hissing Of Summer Lawns. Harnessing the power of the collective, Mitchell expanded her ambitions, shaping and manipulating sound and texture, relishing the push and pull between control and release. “She valued spontaneity, until she got her hands on the music after the fact,” says LA Express guitarist Larry Carlton. “With her great musicality she got to shape the final product off of our spontaneity. That’s where her brilliance shines through. I always like to make sure that she gets all the credit! She was such a great musical editor, and if you gave her gems and pearls, she could put them together and make something wonderful out of what she received.”
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