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CD Review: Joni Mitchell Print-ready version

by Allison Warren
Arizona Daily Wildcat
October 11, 2007

Joni Mitchell is back and she's pissed. Her new album Shine is a mixture of jazzy sounds and politically charged lyrics that would make anyone sit up and listen - at least for a moment.

Mitchell, a major name in the music industry since the late '60s, expresses very passionately in her lyrics that the world is becoming a place for war and destruction.

The second track on the record, entitled "This Place" is a perfect example. The song starts with descriptions of the beautiful scenery around her at her home. She describes the sounds of the birds and the ocean. Then she proceeds to tell the listener that these things won't last because someone will come in and buy the land, tear it all down and sell it. The last line of the verse is "Don't say I didn't warn ya."

Much of the album is centered on this same theme, with songs like "If I Had a Heart," "Bad Dreams" and "Strong and Wrong," all focusing on the idea that war and development is destroying the world. She expresses her disgust with people on their cell phones, America's obsession with money and the idea that if war is started for religious purposes then it must be "OK."

The album does end positively with the song "If," which expresses the idea that faith in oneself is all anyone ever needs. She's going to need that faith. The album is preachy and comes across a little whiny.

Rating: 2.5 stars

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Added to Library on October 11, 2007. (6565)

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