Court And Spark

One of the most enduring moments of this project for me will be listening to this while going over the Williamsburg Bridge on the M train as a beautiful pink sunrise took over the sky

Really great. Joni Mitchell and Carole King are the two greatest female singer songwriters of our generation. This album is kind of poetry set to music. You can’t listen to it without diving into the lyrics and understanding. The best album we’ve had so far.

Några av mina favoriter med Joni finns här! Uppe och nosar på en femma

Ytterst svag för när Joni Mitchell tar på sig jazzbrallorna och glad att höra min gamla favorit Steely Dan-slick-gitarrhjälte Larry carlton kötta på. Vackert och meckigare än det låter. 5an tangeras!

Amazing storytelling, it’s Joni Mitchell. Amazing guitar on help me, the piano is soul-touching on down to you, just amazing instrumentals. 83/100

Joni Mitchell, geboren im kanadischen Fort Macleod, nahm Court And Spark im Herbst 1973 in den A&M Studios in Hollywood auf. Henry Lewy produzierte mit ihr, im Januar 1974 kam das Album bei Asylum Records heraus. Nach der Beichtstuhl-Intimität von Blue klingt das fast wie ein Seitenwechsel: Bass und Schlagzeug tragen mit, Tom Scott & The L.A. Express geben dem Folk einen Jazzdrall, und Mitchell singt über Strukturen, die sie früher gemieden hätte. Das Misstrauen ist geblieben, nur der Ton hat sich geändert. „Help Me“, ihr einziger Top-10-Hit, handelt von einer Frau, die sich verliebt und dabei genau weiß, dass sie es besser lassen sollte. „Free Man in Paris“ schaut mit müdem Spott aufs Musikgeschäft. In „The Same Situation“ und „People’s Parties“ steht jemand im Raum voller Leute und fühlt sich trotzdem außen vor. Der Titelsong und „Car on a Hill“ kommen leiser daher, sind aber nicht weniger bitter. Man kann dem Album vorwerfen, dass es an manchen Stellen fast zu gut klingt. Die Produktion ist makellos, die Chöre sind exakt gesetzt, nichts wackelt. Aber die Zeilen darunter sind nicht glatt, und diese Reibung macht das Album aus. Dass es ihr erfolgreichstes wurde, wirkt im Rückblick wie ein kleiner Treppenwitz. Mitchell hat hier den Sound gefunden, in dem ihre Zweifel hörbar bleiben.

Jazzy

Joyful to listen to whilst cooking :) will one day go back to and listen more intently bc I have heard about Joni's pen and her lyrical genius

Oh Joni Mitchell you siren you.

A great reminder of Joni Mitchell's talent as a songwriter and innovator, this album blends the smooth sounds of 70's folk music with the complexities of jazz elements. Mitchell's vocals are perfection and complement the tones of guitar and saxophone that drive the tempo and emotion of each track.

די סתם

I didn’t listen to this before, but I knew I don’t like Joni Mitchell. “Court And Spark” is just another proof for me. I can’t see any melodic coherence. I will never get into it. (Listened to it on Apple Music)

Nice little Joni jam album.

love joni

Love Joni, truly one of the GOATs. This is a nice more accessible entry into her jazzy period, with some absolutely gorgeous harmonies and lovely lyrics

I love Joni Mitchell but this was one of my less loved albums by her

I’m a big Joni Mitchell fan, but Court and Spark isn’t my favorite of her albums. I enjoyed listening to it, but it didn’t pull me in the way some of her other work does. An album I can appreciate without it being the one I’d reach for first.

Pleasant listen

Perfection. Joni can spit rhymes.

(I have listened to this album before). She has a good storytelling ability in her songs, it kind of reminds me of Lilly Allen (obviously Joni Mitchell was first though). But because it’s so storytelling-focused it feels like you need to listen actively to the lyrics to achieve the full experience, and I don’t love that most of the time. Favourite song(s): Help Me and Twisted

I have a best of that I really like, but find all her albums a bit dull once you'd add in all the non-hits. Plus, while she's undoubtedly very influential, that's mostly ended up in lots of women earnestly copying her, rather than leading to something new and interesting

Garbage

3.9 love Joni- but it’s no blue

Ugh I love it already and I've only just started it. Just classic Joni. Genuinely brilliant.

If I could go 3.5 I would!

Delightful folk adjacent album with that ragtimey and jazzy patois that Joni was so fucking good at. Its not Blue so I can't say 5 stars but a full 4 stars and then some. Worthy of praise, citical success, and an entry on the list. Joni 4 ever.

This was a game of 2 halves for me - first few songs beautiful and heart felt and the rest a mismatch of styles - Twist was the worse of the culprits

It's the female version of James Taylor. If you like that kind of thing, this is a five for you. If you hate James Taylor, you will also hate Joni Mitchell.

older, slightly more cynical Joni but still full of so much beauty

Last 4 songs were my favorite

Dps vou ouvir melhor

Joni Mitchell is a good singer, writer and performer, somewhat timeless in appeal I suppose, but she just doesn’t do it for me.

Es una idola, pero este álbum no es su mejor trabajo. Me gustó pero no creo que lo vuelva a escuchar.

Muy lindo de escuchar, no sé si es mi tipo de música o si fue el mejor día para escucharlo. Pero voy a tener en cuenta a Joni Mitchell

Listened

This is kinda just medium Joni music for me. Probably could get very into it but not sure about for the 1001. 3.3/5

Did not expect a proper rock band with Joni Mitchell. Thought it would be a more dialed back, acoustic folk album but there's some really nice songs. Album kind of tapered off as a progressed but Joni Mitchell has a great voice.

Given how much I love albums like Déjà Vu and Tapestry, Joni Mitchell seems like an artist that should be in my wheelhouse, but I've never been able to connect with her music. I went into Court and Spark hoping this would be the album to change that, but unfortunately it only reinforced my feelings. There's some excellent musicianship here, but the polished, almost adult contemporary sound, Joni's vocal delivery, and her overly poetic lyrics just aren't for me. As the album progressed, I found myself increasingly losing interest, and by the end I was struggling to get through it. The whole thing insists upon itself. I can appreciate the talent involved, but this was a frustrating listen, especially because I genuinely wanted to like it.

Damn can she write and damn can she sing but damn does she write and sing about the same thing just about every song. It's impressive and I really like it. Very creative. I just don't love it. One more for the 'obviously good just not my jam' pile.

Number: 296 Familiarity: Aware (2) Rating: 3 Before: ======= Not a Joni Mitchell fan. Oh, except for "Help Me", I see that's on this album. I just listened to another of her albums a couple days ago, as part of different challenge and didn't like that one at all, and gave it a 2. Maybe this one will be different. After : ======= Definately like this more than Blue, but still, didn't like it that much, certainly not enough to want to listen to it again.

It's quite suprising how much you can appreciate an album for how good it is, yet cannot wait for it to be over so you can listen to literally anything else that isn't as soft

It feels impossible and somewhat criminal to not rate a Joni Mitchell album a 5. So I won't.

Not as good as Hejira

Das Album hat bei mir etwas gebraucht. Die Instrumentierung sowie Joni Mitchells Gesang haben sich für mich nicht direkt erschlossen bzw. ist ihr Gesang ja auch eh schon etwas spezieller. Auch die Texte habe ich nicht alle direkt beim ersten Hören durchschaut. Die Songs wachsen jedoch beim mehrmaligen Hören stark. Die mir vorab bekannten Songs "Help Me" und "Free Man in Paris" sind absolute Über-Songs, die sich noch Tage später im Gehörgang festgesetzt haben. Mir gefällt auch der Wechsel zwischen reduzierten Jazz-Arrangements und eher poppigen Songs. Nur das rockige "Raised on Robbery" hat für mich gar nicht funktioniert; diese sehr rockige Sound passt für mich nicht zu Joni. Und das finale "Twisted" war mir irgendwie auch zu überdreht für die sonst doch eher introvertierten Songs. Aber abgesehen davon eine Wahnsinnsplatte.

Ist im Grunde nur so vor sich hin geplätschert...

Das geht auch wirklich gut rein. Ich finde die Kombi aus Pop, Folk und stellenweise Jazz (!) sehr interessant. Nicht, dass ich glaube, das ich das häufiger hören werde, aber es hat Spaß gemacht.

Das war sehr schön, würde ich mir nochmal anhören, aber auch nichts was ich vermisst hätte, hätte ich niemals davon erfahren

Respect her as an artist but it's just not for me

What can I say about this one? In it's majority,  one of the best albums ever made. A transitional album for Joni (after the underrated masterpiece for the roses that was transitional on it own) it captures her compositions, lyricism and delivery at it's best. An incredibly lush, well produced and preformed effort for her. What display of talent and vulnerability. I could get into each and every track but it's been done better before. I'll just say that I love her art dearly, and that it's an incredible album. It may have some little flaws, but this time I have no other choice than to give it a 5

Big meh. Ok as background music, feels "dated", which I don't like as a descriptor over music as a rule but feels appropriate here.

So good

A classic. Everyone should own it

Good album. Reminds me of Fiona Apple. Raised on Robbery seems like it came out of nowhere, but it ended up being my favorite track. 3 stars

My favorite Joni album. I like all her stuff but I've found that I have to be in the right mood for it, or else her music can be a bit grating to me. That isn't the case with this album though I'm not sure why. Favorite track: Help Me

This was a nice change of pace. What a lovely album, with brilliant songwriting and instrumentation that's low key while still feeling incredibly warm. I couldn't care less about most songs about love and relationships but Mitchell can make them the most beautiful and tragic things in the world.

Mærkbar overgang mellem folk-Joni og jazz-Joni. Jeg kunne godt lide det.

Starts off strong and then kinda all blends together

Bonita voz, letras românticas, mas não faz o meu estilo

You know those artists that you are convinced you will be a fan of but you haven’t gotten around to listen to their music yet? Yeah, that’s me and Joni Mitchell, and she did not disappoint. Exactly what I was hoping for.

God let’s just rename this list 1001 dullest soft rock albums of the 70s.

I could listen to Joni Mitchell every day. Listened to the whole album twice and then switched over to Blue. I wasn’t as familiar with this album so I wasn’t sure it would live up to my expectations but it certainly did.

Crucially amazing

Sitta på café med stor kopp té och fantisera om människor man ser virvla runt i den soliga och kyliga höstdagen utanför-core. Hellgren vad bra det är. Tappar lite på slutet där det blir för mycket stråkar för min seismologiska smak. Nära femman.

I love this album. Really exceeded my expectations. Great songwriting and different type.of songs from stream of consciousness jazz, to soft rock pop to more experimental. Really impressed.

First listen

This album, released in 1974, is classified as folk or soft rock with jazz elements. It is considered one her best albums and rightly so. It's great. I was only familiar with a couple of the songs on this album and discovered a few "deep tracks" I really like. This is one of the main reasons I'm participating in this project. She really is gifted. The songs are good musically and her personal lyrics are clever and insightful. Her voice is generally lower than on earlier albums which I like. And finally, the variety of musical styles, (folk, rock, jazz) on each song is impressive and makes listening to the entire album at once more enjoyable. I did notice she does her signature raising of the note in the last syllable at the end a verse quite a bit. I really enjoy all her songs but top songs are: Court and Spark Help Me Free Man in Paris Car on a Hill Raised on Robbery Twisted

Gefiel mir ähnlich wie das andere Joni Mitchell Album überraschenderweise sehr gut.

I have never heard of her until this list. "Blue" was the first album I got, and boy was it stunning. And now this! One of these rare sparks that make me continue with the list and plow through all this other mediocre garbage

Her second best, right after “Blue”.

rare decent singer-songwriter album

I have it.

Great album, relaxing, and just pleasant singing.

Kritische Geschichte… musikalisch eigentlich interessant und Joni Mitchell kann auf jeden Fall sehr gut singen. Leider hat’s mich überhaupt nicht überzeugt und abgeholt zum Ende fand ich es sehr nervig. Ein komischer Mix aus Country Musical und vom Gefühle her. Eine schrecklich nette Familie downto you hat mir am meisten gefallen.

Help me may be an absolutely perfect song

She does her thing here As she often does I like seeing the jazz influence begin to develop

Easy to listen to. Raised on Robbery is good fun.

For fuck’s sake. How many Joni Mitchell albums do I have to listen to? It’s like the Pet Shop Boys on here. One record I get, but the whole damn catalog?! Ok, so getting to it. It was pleasant. And mostly a nice folk album. Although Twisted was bad jazz. People’s Party was quintessential Joni.

Bon alors ça a gagné énormément de prix donc j’en attends beaucoup. Je ne comprends pas la couverture de l'album. Apparement c'est une femme qui regarde vers le nuage. Je suis tres troublee par le dessin car je ne trouve pas la femme et vraiment je suis tres frustree. ca m'enerve bcp bcp. -1 juste pour ca. Et pas compris on dirait un schema son album.

Joni Mitchell c'est proche de ce que j'écoute normalement mais je sais pas j'ai du mal avec la voix. Les instrus et la diversité était quand même sympa.

This is no blue but this was a very enjoyable folk album experience.

Джоні бляха Мітчел!!! Будем слухати)

Way more Blue like than the last couple Joni’s we had which I really appreciated, and short to boot Funny to hear the last track go all jazzy, segueing a bit into the style of her later albums

Kinda glad to be done with the Joni Mitchell now tbh I can see the appeal for her music but outside of blue these haven’t done all that much for me Maybe because I gave blue more listens and became more familiar with it? Idk 2.5

I loved this album and listened to it so much when I was in college. I didn’t realize until now, though, that I actually love it more than Blue. I’m so glad it’s back in my rotation.

Favorite Track: Raised on Robbery

The first album of hers that I didn't turn off immediately. Three stars

I think Joni would be better as just a lyricist than a song-writer

Really pleased that this album got generated in October, because Joni Mitchell for me is a perfect October/November listen. Something about listening to her music while on a walk through crisp air and late year melancholy is a peak life experience for me. I find her voice and music very soothing, and it's one of few instances where I prefer listening as an album. Not a lot of individual tracks jump out on a first listen, but Raised on Robbery was a particular delight. Rating: 3.5

So I think I get Joni Mitchell now. Very strong songwriting and delivery. I don't think it has the depth that Blue does, but it was still good and I could listen to the whole thing on repeat and not mind for a while, depending on setting.

holy shit....

I'm like 90% Joni Mitchell is a lady but i'm not really sure, pretty solid though

its very nice wouldnt give it 4 though

I could listen to this all day. I have probably actually listened to this all day.

Listening to this album is like putting on a coat and scarf and going and playing in the fall leaves

Didn’t hit the same as the previous Joni Mitchell album but still pleasant enough.

I liked this more than The Hissing Of Summer Lawns, but not my thing. She’s an amazing writer and has a great voice, that being said.

It was alright. Nothing that really stood out to me.

Favourite Joni album. Incredible jazz influenced tunes that twist and jump with melodic athleticism. Produced by Robbie Robertson of the band, so how can you go wrong?

I love joni mitchell's voice so she always gets a good rating from me

Really cute