With each new project she embarks upon Joni Mitchell seems to be further solidifying her career. Since "Court and Spark," Ms. Mitchell has been approaching classic pop music. Each of her albums have supported this direction, and "Hejira" just about puts the icing on the cake.

The instrumental fabric doesn't seem as interesting as the music presented on "Miles of Aisles" or "For the Roses." But Joni has used a rather large back-up group of musicians to accompany her in turning out these slices of bluesy pop. To come together, if you recall, "Blue" contained an unmatched sense of self in which Ms. Mitchell seemed devoid of musical responsibilities. However, at this point in her career, the musicians featured in the vocalist we now know her to be.

The actual number of contributing musicians on "Hejira" is somewhat misleading. Throughout the song, the group never exceeds three or four. This uncluttered sound is refreshing.

Unlike "Blue," which perhaps suffered slightly from Ms. Mitchell's insistence on satisfying an album as you'd want to hear it, "Hejira" is filled with a freedom that feels dominated. "Blue" through the elaborate orchestrations of "Court and Spark" seemed to return to that past "Blue"-style. Yet this time Joni Mitchell has matured into the space her music has always asked her to inhabit. This is definitely her album; the accomplishment is unquestionable.

Self-discipline is a term which might well be used to describe the artistic stand taken on the challenge of really making a "solo" album. The instrumental work chosen for Sharon's features just the basic drums, bass and guitar. The musicians (Max Bennett and Joni). The impact is still strong; the payoff is that for the first time we all knew she was an exceptional acoustic guitar player but never heard her extend herself into playing the electric guitar so satisfyingly. Her lead guitar work on "Furry Sings the Blues" is a superlative example of how easily she can adapt to the electric piece.

Another of the words alongside "Song for Sharon" as the best piece here. "Coyote" has a haunting and a nicely alien feel. It is haunted, I should develop into what I had previously noted about Joni Mitchell's art—self-discipline.

It should be noticed Joni refers to herself as "Mitchell" in the album credits. Ah yes, the self-discipline again. The artist does not to be carried away by the thoughts, and the result is a devastating image of her in "Old Furry Sings the Blues." Neil Young's "Tonight's the Night" comes to mind, and it's an interesting contrast. While our Canadian friend rushes the blues, Joni writes, "Old Furry sings the blues." It's a telling rush that Young often makes; she expects her more notoriety; she hasn't forgotten the harsh love scene long before Furry left the thinking separately the artists from the stars.

The expansive jazz piece "Black Crow" and "The Silky Fighter" round out the first side. Neither is bad, but neither is there to be no weak cut on "Hejira." Musically, the second side of the album will do better but then again, Joni Mitchell can't write a bad song.

"Hejira," unlike "The Hissing of Summer Lawns," which seemed to wander aimlessly through it, has one central idea throughout it (the album's five cuts on the second side this time exceeds fifty minutes.) The word "hejira" (Ms. Mitchell's own spelling) is defined in Webster's Dictionary as "any departure made by Mohammed for Mecca: escape: flight." The term refers back to the singer's little song "Amelia," after Amelia Earhart.

Like the little song says, Joni is "a defector from the normal." It was during "For the Roses" Ms. Mitchell has taken refuge in the more traditional pop song. But since then she has written a group of songs where the structure is looser than it has ever been. She's definitely grown up into the space she has always asked for. You can see signs of it in the heavily romanticized "Song for Sharon." Sharon's childhood day conflicts, she promises to return when her "curly hair is shining."