February 21, 2005

Posted February 21, 2005

Joni's at Starbucks:You can now get a slice of Joni at coffee conglomerate Starbucks when you stop in for your Venti Chocolate Brownie frappuccino; two compilation CD's, released last week, both offer interesting insights.

First up, we're invited to "Spend an hour with Joni Mitchell's record collection." The Joni Mitchell Artist's Choice™ CD ($14.95) is a collection of songs Joni cites as being those which have had the most impact on her. Long time fans will find many of the artists they expect to find on this CD, of course, but others who haven't heard Joni talk about her musical influences may be surprised at the contents. In any case, there's a wide variety of fine music to be heard here; Joni even includes one of her own songs, the wonderful "Harlem in Havana." Here's what you'll find on the CD:

1. "Clair de Lune from Suite Bergamasque," Philippe Entremont
2. "Subtle Lament," Duke Ellington and His Orchestra
3. "Solitude," Billie Holiday
4. "It Never Entered My Mind," Miles Davis
5. "Jeep's Blues," Duke Ellington and His Orchestra
6. "Harlem In Havana," Joni Mitchell
7. "Saturday Night Fish Fry," Louis Jordan
8. "Johnny B. Goode," Chuck Berry
9. "Third World Man," Steely Dan
10. "Night Bird," Deep Forest
11. "The First Twilight," Deep Forest
12. "Les Trois Cloches (The Three Bells)," Edith Piaf
13. "At Last," Etta James
14. "Lonely Avenue," Ray Charles
15. "Trouble Man," Marvin Gaye
16. "Sweetheart Like You," Bob Dylan
17. "Stories Of The Street," Leonard Cohen
18. "You Get What You Give," New Radicals

The second disk, Songs Chosen By Her Friends & Fellow Musicians, is a collection of Joni's music chosen by a variety of artists. I suppose many of us might have other artists we would have liked to have seen selections from in addition to the ones represented (Wayne Shorter? James Taylor?), but it's still an interesting cross-section of well-known artists, and a satisfying variety of Joni's music. This disk, priced at $12.95, contains the following songs, culled from mostly early to mid-points in her career:

1. "For Free," Selected by David Crosby
2. "A Case of You," Selected by Prince
3. "Free Man in Paris," Selected by Bob Dylan
4. "For the Roses," Selected by Elvis Costello
5. "Coyote," Selected by Robbie Robertson
6. "Raised on Robbery," Selected by Robbie Robertson
7. "Blue," Selected by Graham Nash
8. "Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire," Selected by Donald Fagen
9. "A Strange Boy," Selected by Seal
10. "Black Crow," Selected by k.d. lang
11. "God Must Be A Boogie Man," Selected by Walter Becker
12. "Two Grey Rooms," Selected by Chaka Khan
13. "Both Sides Now" (orchestral version), Selected by Herbie Hancock

Both CD's are hopefully available at your local Starbucks (I say hopefully because two of the Starbucks I checked didn't have them), or online at their website.