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Blue - Joni Mitchell
by Jake Speed
Blue is a 1971 album by the Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. This is (for some reason) the only Joni Mitchell record I own or have ever listened to and generally acclaimed to be her magnum opus masterpiece and one of the great records of the seventies or any other decade. Blue is the Gone with the Wind or Duck Soup of hippy ... warbling and a short lovely record that is as ephemeral as a wispy cloud on a warm day. There are ten songs of (mostly) tremulous beauty and gentle enchanting simplicity. Joni Mitchell is mostly accompanied throughout by just a guitar or a piano and wrote the album in Europe at a time when she was disenchanted with performing and her personal life. The paramount appeal of the album though is of course the singer's honeycombed voice rather than her soul searching lyrics (which are sometimes heartfelt, inventive and touching and sometimes a trifle pretentious). One salient danger with albums of this type is that the songs can all morph into one another like a huge lullaby and seem rather samey - for example, I quite like Nick Drake but most of his songs sound the same to me - but happily I don't find this to be the case with Blue. It begins with All I Want ("I am on a lonely road and I am traveling...") which serves as a charming opening song for the album and is very pretty with an introductory piece of music that is both immediate and interesting. The song gently unravels with Joni Mitchell proving herself to be marvelously adept at holding a note for what seems like the perfect amount of time. What I like most about Blue is that it has that early seventies hippy trippy atmosphere that reminds me of some of favourite films from this era like Silent Running and Harold and Maude. At its best, Blue is like falling into a trampoline made of marshmallows and then being wrapped in the world's most expensive and softest toilet paper and thrown into a swimming pool cushioned with jelly.
The second song, My Old Man, is a fairly simple love song with the piano and pleasant enough although not my favourite one here by far. It goes a trifle Carly Simon in the middle and the lyrics are not always brilliant ("My old man, He's a singer in the park, He's a walker in the rain, He's a dancer in the dark..."). It's still likeable enough and there are no out and out duds here. A strength of the record is that it's very stripped down and concise. There are only ten songs and none of them go beyond five minutes. Little Green is next and a wonderful song of deft and unobtrusive dexterous beauty. It's just Joni Mitchell and an acoustic guitar ("Born with the moon in Cancer, Choose her a name she will answer to, Call her green and the winters cannot fade her...") and remarkably pretty. This song is so dreamy hippy seventies that you feel like you are wandering in a green forest speared with sunlight knitting muesli and idly picking flowers without a care in the world. Amazing display of warbling in this one too. Carey is next and probably my favourite song on Blue I think. It's more upbeat and faster than the other songs and has some backing vocals and more musicians involved. It's very catchy and immediate with a hook that draws you right in from the start and catches your attention. Mitchell deploys a good vocal range here (nice falsetto!) and the song is consistently enjoyable and charming with a lovely fade out/ending. This is actually the one song here that is likely to make you happier (rather than drag you through stately introspective gloom). The lyrics are simultaneously fun and a trifle iffy ("The wind is in from Africa..."). I always find it unintentionally amusing here when she sings about going to Amsterdam or Rome and renting a grand piano. I can't help picturing Joni Mitchell backpacking through Europe with a giant piano that she has to struggle to get on and off trains!
The title song Blue - which has a very spare piano tune - is very melancholic and elegiac and sung beautifully. It does feel like a very dark, downbeat song though for all its grace and understated splendour. "Blue!, songs are like tattoos, You know I've been to sea before." A very beautiful song but not one to put you in a sparkling mood. It is great in its own way though. The next song, California, is jauntier than most of the songs here and disperses the sadness of title tune Blue in enjoyable fashion. Very flower power lyrics ("Reading the news and it sure looks bad, They won't give peace a chance, That was just a dream some of us had..." and a nice melody. This song is essentially about feeling homesick in far flung climes and pining for home. It's a good song and another worthy addition to the album. This Flight Tonight is next and feels moderate at first compared to the rest of the album but then picks up for the chorus. It's about going to meet someone but then getting second thoughts and nerves on the plane. Joni Mitchell goes a bit mumbly here at the start (intentionally of course I'm sure). "Oh starbright starbright, You've got the lovin' that I like all right, Turn this crazy bird around, I shouldn't have got on this flight tonight!" There are better songs here than This Flight Tonight but it's prettty good all the same.
River is more in the vein of Blue and possibly does go on a bit. It starts with the familiar chimes of "Jingle Bells" and then Joni Mitchell (with piano) spins a sad lyric about not being in the mood for Christmas ("It's coming on Christmas, They're cutting down trees, They're putting up reindeer, And singing songs of joy and peace, Oh I wish I had a river I could skate away on!") because she's lost her love or something. There'll be no Quality Street, pulling crackers or festivities in the Joni Mitchell residence this year it appears. It's an impressive song but perhaps a trifle too meandering for its own good. It's certainly not bad at all but not my own personal favourite song on Blue. A Case of You is a very pretty song again with acoustic guitars. The lyrics are quite pleasantly obtuse with lines about being as constant as a northern star. It's in the vein of several other songs on the album and just allows Joni Mitchell to sing without too many unnecessary distractions or elaborate production. A Case of You is excellent.
The final song, The Last Time I Saw Richard, is not my favourite song here but Joni Mitchell does sing her heart out on this one. It's something of a downbeat epic and weepie and seems to be about being left behind by someone who was once close to you. "Richard got married to a figure skater, And he bought her a dishwasher and a coffee percolator, And he drinks at home now most nights with the TV on, And all the house lights left up bright." The author paints of a picture of herself brooding in a lonely bar but she's ready to spread her "gorgeous wings" again by the end and move on - ending both the song and the album as a whole on a positive note. Blue is a great album overall, full of beauty and poignant gentle music. It remains highly influential and revered and while it's not something I would dig out too often it is a charming record to immerse yourself now and again if you are in the right mood. At the time of writing you can buy Blue for about £4.
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Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen
by JamesW1234
I am a huge Springsteen fan and was therefore bound to love this album - and I did! However, I do believe that it is his second best album, after Darkness On The Edge Of Town.
This is arguably Bruce's most well-know album and most popular album, and for good reason. The album cover is iconic with Bruce Springsteen resting on ... Clarence Clemmons and the songs are well put together and in a good order.
Born to run features eight songs and lasts less than 40 minutes. But the quality of the songs more than makes up for the length of the album. The album tells a story throughout the album, starting from "Thunder Road" and finishing on the 9 minute epic "Junglelnad" (my favourite song of all time). The album also features Bruce Springsteen's most well-known song, Born To Run.
Lyrically, the album is superb, especially in Jungleland.
This album is amazing start to finish.
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In Between Dreams - Jack Johnson
by saintsman2010
This is the album that made be really enjoy Jack Johnson as an artist. I couldn't believe what I was listening to. I was so at ease and peaceful. In fact, I usually put this album on in order to relax after a tough day. Jack Johnson is really one of the great acoustic artists of our times. He has a way with his instrument that is ... unparalleled in today's industry. This album speaks volumes as to the artist that Jack Johnson really is. He brought the Hawaiian spirit with him to the Mainland and the world with this album.
In Between Dreams is a really great album because it has everything that a listener could want: from the sappy love songs to the strong, from the upbeat to the reminiscent. Johnson really showcases his talents on this album not only as a guitarist, but as a performer and a songwriter. What I love is that he is able to express himself so freely and really show that he is a true artist. Johnson may not be remembered as one of the rock and roll greats, but in my book In Between Dreams is the album that really showed me what he is made of.
If you love serene guitar music accompanied by great melodies and harmonies, you'll definitely love this album. There are a number of great songs on this album, including "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing" (likely the most famous song off this album), "Good People", and "Do You Remember". I really believe that this a great album, and I believe that you can enjoy it no matter who you are.
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