Girls and Guitars

Guitarist
October 1998

Joni was chosen as Number One in the magazine's "Girls and Guitars" feature

She's continually referred to as a "folk" singer, and only her early hit singles such as "Big Yellow Taxi", "Carey" and "Woodstock" ever receive radio airplay, but this supremely talented Canadian artist is musically uncategorisable. From her seminal acoustic albums of 1969 to 1971 ("Clouds", "Ladies of the Canyon" and "Blue"), where she played guitar, piano and zither, Joni soon began exploring the more rocky and jazzy side of her nature with "Court and Spark", "The Hissing of Summer Lawns" and the superb "Hejira".

Her reputation means that she can attract the cream of the world's musicians for work on a new album. Queueing up to work with Joni over the years have been guitarists Larry Carlton, Pat Metheny and Robben Ford; bassists Jaco Pastorius and Wilton Felder; drummers Vinnie Collaiuta and Pete Erskine; and horn players Tom Scott, the Brecker Brothers and Wayne Shorter. What's more, many artists and players cite their work with Joni as the height of their musical achievement.

Rarely without a cigarette or a paintbrush in her hand, Joni is a celebrity smoker and an exception to the celebrity painter rule - she's amazingly gifted, as many exhibitions (and album covers) have revealed. Joni is probably best known for her association with Martin acoustics, but for her more jazz-influenced music she has used Ibanez George Benson models. Her strange and mystical chords are derived from open tunings; as well as standard variations, such as open G and D, Joni also invents her own.

The 1980s saw Mitchell at odds with the tastes of even die-hard fans, and it wasn't until the release of the acclaimed "Turbulent Indigo" LP in 1994 that she finally recreated the passion of her earlier work. It's impossible to recommend a single album, so here are three choices that highlight the work of this most gifted, if introspective, writer and musician.

"Blue" (Reprise, 1971): The album concentrates on deep personal feelings, from the daughter she gave away for adoption (and who has recently come back into her life), to her relationship with CSNY's Graham Nash.

"Court and Spark" (Asylum, 1974): More of a band feel here, with Mitchell's songwriting stretching into the near reaches of jazz. Deeply personal, as usual, but any listener can relate Joni's feelings to their own dismal lives.

"Hejira" (Asylum, 1976): This is poetry set to music. Here are songs without choruses, songs about people we'll never know, and songs about Joni's perennial wonderlust touch the soul of anyone prepared to give this superb album a listen.