"Right now, I'd rather be painting," says JONI MITCHELL, on the eve of the release of "Wild Things Run Fast", her first studio album since 1979's jazz outing, "Mingus", and her most pop-oriented effort since "Court and Spark" eight years ago. But Mitchell won't have much time for painting in the coming months, she's preparing to hit the concert trail to support the new record. And just what are its commercial prospects? "I'm not expecting anything," says Mitchell. "I listen to the radio a lot, and I hear a lot of stations where it would fit into their programming, but I'm not a programmer. Easy listening stations could handle it, some things are raw and driving enough for a hard-rock station, and a couple of songs would work on jazz stations. But that's just what would happen if everything were going perfectly for me."

Mitchell's tour will get under way nearly next year, and she'll be accompanied by many of the musicians used on the record. She'll hit the United States, Japan and Europe, much of which she hasn't played in 10 years. "The last time I played Amsterdam," she laughs, "I was on the bill with Jackson Browne, and we were both traveling with only a guitar."