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Court And Spark

Joni Mitchell

1974

Court And Spark

Album Summary

Court and Spark is the sixth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. It was an immediate commercial and critical success—and remains her most successful album. Released in January 1974, it has been described as pop, but also infuses Mitchell's folk rock style, which she had developed through her previous five albums, with jazz inflections. It reached No. 2 in the United States and No. 1 in Canada and eventually received a double platinum certification by the RIAA, the highest of Mitchell's career. It also reached the Top 20 in the UK and was voted the best album of the year for 1974 in The Village Voice Pazz & Jop Critics Poll. In 2020, it was ranked at number 110 in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Wikipedia

Rating

3.35

Votes

18629

Reviews

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Feb 05 2021
5

What a beautiful album. Again, this is another album I haven't heard before, but I am so glad that I've been able to experience it now. Joni Mitchell's voice is superb, right off the bat I was blown away by her performance and lyricism. The soft piano ballads and jazzy pop tunes are perfectly crafted and emotionally moving. I listened to this album twice, which is something I hadn't done with the previous albums. The song structures remind me of Joanna Newsome, but I think Mitchell does it much better. I felt connected to each story told in the songs, and the way they flowed together made the whole experience engrossing. Favorite track: all of them Least favorite track: none

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Oct 14 2022
2

Well, it's better than her later albums, I guess. But she's a much better poet than she is a singer. And a better singer than she is a melody-writer. I don't know why she seems to hate writing choruses so much. Most of the songs are just unstructured messes that never go anywhere. There's a story that Mitchell herself tells about Bob Dylan falling asleep when she played the album for him. It's funny but it's also understandable. It's a boring slog of an album. I would much rather have read these songs as poems than be forced to listen to Mitchell's wandering warble for an hour.

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Feb 05 2021
4

Before listening: I always imagined Joni Mitchell's audience as the Emma Thompson's character from Love Actually. Tragic, hopeless, alone.../ I started it for the second time and starting to like it at "Help me"/ The more folkish a song is the less I like it./ "Help me" and "Raised on Robbery" keeps pulling me back (even tough the second one is pretty folkish, but has good vibes, so I don't care)/ This is definitely not the Joni Mitchel I was expecting, and when reading a bit about her it seems that I could like her later stuff, when she ventured to jazzier stuff, seems like this was kind of a starting point.

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Oct 26 2021
5

My mom's favorite Joni album. Mine as well. Straight down the middle folk rock Joni. The trademark floating and swirling Joni melodies but this time with more energy Joni. More direct, incisive lyrics from Joni. More compelling jazz Joni. Incredible Joni production in surprising places (end of People's Parties, middle of Car on a Hill). I'd give it an easy 5 but the cringey final scat scat, so instead it's a labored 5. A+

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Apr 19 2021
2

I do not understand the praise Joni Mitchell gets.

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Feb 05 2021
4

Finally! A female artist, and it's the legend herself. I really love Joni Mitchell, I find myself torn between thinking she or Bob Dylan is the better songwriter. Hard to argue it's Bob in the face of "Both Sides Now." I haven't listened to this album before, but it's great. It only has one song that I already knew ("Help Me"), but there's plenty of heat here. I really like the exploration of different genres--Joni dips into jazz on some tracks, then more rock/pop on others. It doesn't always suit her, but her voice cuts through anything. It's a great experience overall and held my attention throughout. I'm looking forward to getting more Joni Mitchell albums, especially Blue. Also, if this list listened to my plea for female artists, maybe it will hear me ask to honor Black History Month...maybe some Jimi Hendrix? Aretha Franklin? We'll see what's in store. Favorite tracks: Help Me, People's Parties, Down to You, Twisted. Album art: Simple and sweet. I like the textured look. Nothing too special, but it looks like Joni herself may have painted that picture. That's extremely cool. 4.5/5

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Jan 10 2022
3

Interesting grunge dive. Can’t help but feel they aped nirvana a bit.

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Aug 05 2021
2

Sorry lady, not interested in the slides from your trip to Paris.

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Feb 16 2021
2

Such overrated artist... maybe she should have been just a poet?

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Nov 01 2023
5

Rating: 10/10 A classic album. Joni Mitchell sounds fantastic, beautiful vocals and great lyrics. This album is absolutely gorgeous. Lush, detailed instrumentation and pristine production. Loved everything about this album, honestly wish some of the songs were longer but that speaks to how amazing this album is. Favorite tracks: Pretty much the whole album but highlights were Court and Speak, Help Me, Car on a Hill, Raised on Robbery, Troubled Child. Least Favorite song: Down to You, a bit too long but still great though.

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May 01 2023
5

I love Joni’s voice in the same vein of Chris’s love for Adele. She has such total command over her voice as an instrument, not just in maintaining pitch, but in volume, delivery, especially cadence. I could listen to her sing the verses of Help Me a million times and never get tired of it. On top of her second-to-none vocal talent, the music is interesting enough. This album, IIRC, is about when she begins a pretty full dive into more jazz. Extra star for real guitar, drums, and tasteful horns, but it won’t let me add a 6th star.

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Oct 02 2023
4

Joni Mitchell's voice is such an elixir for the ears. Very expressive and dynamic, with the perfect mix of vulnerability and cool aloofness. I could listen to her sing a shopping list. But the songs here are mostly elaborate monologues of experience and emotion. It's pretty hard to make those kinds of song work, but her voice brings them alive. The music is good, with interesting jazzy additions to the folk palette - but really it's all a backdrop for the voice. The final track is impeccable vocal jazz performance, and I would love to hear a whole album of that. Overall, this album doesn't quite reach the soaring heights of Blue, and I don't really like how it takes a sharp turn in sound for the last three tracks (though they are still good tracks!) so I have to give it a 4*.

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Aug 05 2021
2

This album was so BORING. It wasn't actively *bad*, but I just didn't care about it.

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Dec 24 2024
5

Easily the most accessible Joni album I've heard. I prefer her jazzier albums with Jaco but that takes nothing away from this one. Really enjoyable listening.

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May 24 2023
5

Legendary singer/songwriter, beautiful music, absolute masterpiece.

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May 09 2023
5

How can you not love Joni

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Dec 13 2021
5

I was gonna give this only 4 stars but I don't think my mom would ever forgive me if she found out, so I'm rounding up.

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Jun 02 2023
5

I could listen to this every day.

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May 01 2023
5

Incredible melodies and lyrics. Not typical pop music at all. Interesting jazz influences and flourishes. Joni Mitchell is a genius. Every song is an interesting adventure.

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May 21 2021
5

It’s a testament to how great Joni Mitchell that this can be a perfect album and still not my favorite by her

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Apr 07 2021
5

Folk, guitar moving into some jazzy flourishes. She knocks it out the park again. Best Tracks: Court and Spark, Raised on Robbery, Twisted

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Jul 15 2021
5

Another high note in a very specific genre (that basically has a one woman sub genre in this particular performer). About perfect, if you like this kind of thing (which I do)

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Jan 16 2025
4

Like a lot of Joni Mitchell's music, I choose to like this album. She doesn't always make it easy for me to like it and in other hands a lot of these sounds and pretensions would seriously irritate me. A lot of these songs have parts I really like and parts I really don't like, often right after one another. I share a home with one or more people who seriously hate her music. So I have to be strategic about when and where I listen to it. In fairness to my housemates, Joni Mitchell's a bit of a musician's musician, I think, and that you'll hear a lot of people like Jimmy Page waxing poetic about her amazing guitar playing, but not a lot of non-musicians waxing about her. I think that's part of why she largely been forgotten over the last 20 or so years. Free Man In Paris is supposedly about David Geffen, who was her manager at the time and during a trip to France together was bitching to her about having put up with random calls from temperamental artists at all hours but in Paris where no one could reach him he was finally free and could relax a little. That's one tune I like all the way through without any major irritations. But my favorite story about Joni Mitchell and David Geffen was the time when he drove her to Woodstock and they got stuck in traffic and ended up just camping out in a motel room and watching the festival on TV where she wrote her song Woodstock that her boyfriend Graham Nash made famous with CSN a year or two later.

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Aug 01 2022
1

This is the second Joni Mitchell album in about a week. They're also not on Spotify cause she "stuck it to the man". So I'm honouring her wishes and not listening - the only time I'll do so in this project (because fuck mean spirited "hippie" boomer cunts like her and Neil Young). Thankfully I know how much her music sucks anyway. So here's a 1/5 and I hope this sets a lovely precedent where I never have to hear her awful wailing again.

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Feb 04 2021
1

at its best its female madman-era elton john written by a 14 yo girl who just went through her first breakup standing in for taupin. at its worst it sounds like joni mitchell. boring, repetitive instrumentation. trite, on-the-nose lyrics. i actively hate it. closing track was particularly insulting

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Feb 16 2024
5

I’m sorry…why haven’t I been listening to Joni Mitchell? Her albums on this list, so far, have been *excellent*. On Court and Spark, her voice, as always, is beautiful and unique, the instrumentation is varied, lively and engaging. Her blend of folk and jazz manages to be both soothing and invigorating, with flourishes of ambitious sonic textures and experimentation. What an excellent album.

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Jan 17 2024
5

Easy 5 even with the awful last track (that I since discovered is not by Joni at all!). Her voice sounds "softest" here compared to the other '70s classics although the songs are far from "pop". Great album

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Jan 17 2024
4

Another neglected purchase on my hard drive, I may have skimmed off the opening, Broadway-esque piano chords, not in the mood. Silly me, this is very good, and I'm finding it hard to sum up why. Am tired and a blizzard arrives tomorrow, and I imagine this record would be good, conversational company for it. The instrumentation is superficially super normal and actually deeply weird. Free Man in Paris's Paris is a little Emily in Paris; it is still a good song.

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Oct 22 2023
4

I’d say it’s up there with her best pieces of work (I prefer The Hissing of Summer Lawns more though)

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Jun 01 2023
2

It's like a well-executed, yet unflavored custard. Pleasant enough but there's no point in eating it.

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Jan 31 2022
2

not available on Spotify?

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Jun 20 2022
1

I didn't realize I hated Joni Mitchell so much. It's one of those names I've heard a bunch but never listened to.

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Feb 12 2021
1

Joni Mitchell? More like moany shitshow.

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Oct 29 2020
5

Gorgeous, Side B is a bit weak though.

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Jun 12 2023
4

My favorite of her albums and that's saying something. Brilliant songwriter and wonderful singer.

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Jul 16 2021
4

Longtemps restée dans l'ombre de son petit-fils Eddy, Joni Mitchell n'en a pour autant pas moins de talent. C'était d'ailleurs prévisible. Je m'explique. Une fois que l'on a compris que Joni était une femme et non un énième gonze, on se doute que l'album sera bon puisque à l'exception de Patti Smith et sa crête iroquoise, aucune représentante de la gente féminine n'a obtenu moins de quatre étoiles de ma part. Et cet album les vaut bien.

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Jan 25 2021
4

great full band and piano, riffs can be pretty fun to listen to

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Nov 01 2024
3

a very intresting mix, nice deep lyrics, love the mesh of the different elements... i expect this to age well, specially the uniqueness of the jazz pop sound which im excited to try in diff contexts. a very strong 3.

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Nov 27 2023
3

I enjoyed it, she has a really nice voice, and very poetic lyrics. To me, the lyrics actually gave off strong Taylor Swift vibes, it’s the stories she tells and vulnerability in the way in which she talks about her emotions. Her and Swift may be decades apart in their age and musical careers, but they have the same inner emotional landscape driving their song-writing. Well that’s my take anyway.

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May 19 2023
3

I sense the talent but it's just on the verge of tipping me over into really liking it

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May 09 2023
3

This was better Joni Mitchell than The Hissing of Summer Lawns. Still not my style, but much better.

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Jun 28 2025
2

Joni Mitchell is overrated. She is a good poet, but not really a musical artist. I don't know why she seems to hate writing choruses so much. Most of the songs are just unstructured messes that never go anywhere. 2⭐️

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Jan 17 2024
2

This wasn’t terrible but it’s not for me. Something about her style or voice just makes every song sound the same. Needs to throw a chorus in every once in a while. 2.5

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May 16 2023
2

Can be tough-going Joni. When she's great she's super-brilliant, eg River, Both Sides Now, but the jazz-folk fusion can be a bit grating. This album, for me, was more of the latter.

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May 09 2023
2

Joni Mitchell is a polarizing figure for me. I enjoy her folky stuff more than her easy listening jazzy style stuff.

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Feb 22 2022
2

Couldn’t find it on Spotify and in the end not overly mad about it. Deedle deedle deedle

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Aug 11 2021
2

I really liked her voice, but the songs are a bit too generic and flat. I'm sure the lyrics are meaningful but I couldn't be bothered to pay them any mind because of this.

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May 18 2021
2

meh, just not really my style

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Nov 18 2020
2

A bit meandering and winding in places; middle of the road. Good album for dinner parties.

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Dec 08 2024
1

2 Joni Mitchell albums in 3 days, am I in purgatory?

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Dec 07 2024
1

Hated this. Unfathomably dull.

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Nov 10 2024
1

Realised after one hour that the album was over and that I wasn't listening to anything. Completely forgettable (for me) and even more astonishing if you see the (good) ratings it got on release.

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Nov 08 2024
1

Girls just wanna have fun but this album does not let that. It's so boring except the Twisted song.

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Jan 30 2024
1

I feel like this is what divorced cigarette moms listen to.

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Jul 08 2025
5

Probably my favourite Joni Mitchell album, certainly my most played. Car on a Hill is just perfection. A beautifully arranged, sumptuous-sounding record that I could (and do) listen to over and over.

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Jul 04 2025
5

It will be a sad day when Joni Mitchell dies. 10/10

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Jul 03 2025
5

songwriter perfection

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Jul 03 2025
5

Really great album - loved the jazzy vibes and vocals

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Jun 28 2025
5

Court and Spark is the sixth studio album from Canadian singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell. This was the most commercially successful album of Mitchell's career. Court and Spark was regarded as one of the best albums of 1974, and in top one hundred of the "best albums of all time" lists. The album includes "Help Me," Mitchell's most successful single. Her clear, distinct voice is one of the most recognizable in folk - and perhaps all of popular music. These are beautiful, thoughtful songs from one of the most accomplished songwriters of all time.

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Jun 28 2025
5

Found myself going back to help me.

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Jun 28 2025
5

5/5. Vocals, lyrics, melodies, instruments, just excellent.

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Jun 24 2025
5

Heartfelt, fun, jazzy, powerful. Such a great blend of engaging and reflective music that really goes well with any mood. And will definitely leave you feeling better after listening. Top tracks: Court and Spark, Help Me, Car on a Hill

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Jun 20 2025
5

I feel this album gets overlooked, but it's definitely up there with Blue for me.

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Jun 19 2025
5

Really enjoyed this, not as dreary as I expected

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Jun 18 2025
5

Great classic albom! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Jun 08 2025
5

This is a slow burn. Music and lyrics of great sophistication which gradually reveal their power and depth. Beautiful and mysterious from start to finish.

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Jun 04 2025
5

already aware of ms Mitchell, a true bible. twisted could be an anthem today.

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Jun 04 2025
5

Beautiful lyrics and voice. What's not to like?

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May 22 2025
5

Joni Mitchell has really grown on me. Her music is so intricate

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May 20 2025
5

Hell yeah I love Joni Mitchell

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May 13 2025
5

Arrancamos el casi mediado de mes con esta artista bellísima, de la que escuché todo su trabajo hace unos años atrás. Es increíble cómo la suavidad de la voz de Joni Mitchell relaja, hace que uno baje un cambio. Su forma de cantar es hipnótica. Narra. Relata historias. Un disco pop, folk, jazz. Un equilibro bellísimo de todo eso. Favorite tracks: Help me, Down to you. Gracias por el regalo de comienzo de semana. Hasta mañana

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May 07 2025
5

Joni Mitchell has one of the greatest voices I've ever heard. And the songs on this album are just beautiful. The album has an effortless natural progression, each song is well written and is a beautiful trip.

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Apr 25 2025
5

So much of what came after this was an imitation. This is another one of those albums that could be released now and still be a sensation. Goddamn her singing is so, so pretty. Not my usual style, but I really like this a lot. It’s flawless.

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Apr 16 2025
5

Ms. Mitchell proves once again why she's hands down the single greatest songwriter to ever exist. And I will die on that hill. From the jump, this album has me mesmerized, constantly asking, "How in the HELL did she even come up with that?" It's truly not fair that someone can be this creative. There are turnarounds on this album that somehow make no sense and perfect sense at the same time. It shouldn't work, and that's the frustrating but amazing part.

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Apr 16 2025
5

Through a fruitful fusion of folk introspection and jazz sophistication, Court And Spark balances commercial appeal with artistic depth and emotional vulnerability with musical ambition, showcasing a songwriter at the height of her powers yet still reaching for more.

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Apr 14 2025
5

I may be a bogan tradie Aussie bloke but fuck me dead I love a bit of Joni Mitchell

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Apr 14 2025
5

Fucking beautiful, I love Joni Mitchell. Blue might be the more talked about album but this is her crowning achievement I reckon. Cinematic jazzy poppy masterpiece

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Apr 14 2025
5

One of the greatest writers of our time, and probably the only white woman has an understanding of “the black man’s experience” ✊🏾

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Apr 08 2025
5

Its this and hissing of the summer lawns for me. But this is just lovely

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Apr 07 2025
5

Good tunes, i really mess with Joni

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Apr 02 2025
5

This was one of my mom's favorite albums and I listened to it in our house all though my childhood. I really enjoyed revisiting it today.

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Apr 01 2025
5

would’ve been a 4 but since this is maybe the first woman musician we’ve had in a week, and before the last one many months, gotta be a 5. love you Joni

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Apr 01 2025
5

Not quite a 5, but rounded up to a 5 - great variability, kept me interested - some bangers for sure - never really listened to her music bc I had a preexisting thought that it was boring but I’m glad I was wrong!

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Mar 28 2025
5

I’m only starting to get into Joni Mitchell album so hearing this early work was great. Her voice at the time was amazing as were the lyrics. Great album

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Mar 26 2025
5

Mitchell's voice is on display at its most beautiful on this album. Help Me is a perfect example of both her range and her songwriting prowess, she has the power to jerk a listener around with her arrangements in a smooth and almost inevitable way and is probably the best song on the album. Hallelujah to the oddball harmonies and resolutions in Free Man in Paris and Down to You. The storytelling journey is especially strong in songs like Car on the Hill, and the piano breakdowns leave you wanting more. She is also exceptionally dynamic in a way that I don't hear often. I adore the jazz influences and arrangements on songs like Just Like This Train and Twisted (Twisted is just plain jazz, no pop nowhere). Raised by Robbery is the black sheep of the album, it's the biggest thematic departure. To me it's by far her most "standard" rock 'n' roll song, from the more "roll" days of rock. She does a great job but I probably wouldn't like her as much if she stuck to this genre, it's not where her arrangement style thrives. I see other peoples comments about her obviously being a poet first and songwriter almost as an afterthought. I agree with this for parts of the album, like People's Parties and The Same Situation. That said, her lyricism is groundbreaking and more than compensates for the poetic focus. Her phrasing is unusual as a result, but I think that's a plus. I don't see how this is supposed to be a pop album, or a folk album. Its jazz fusion if anything. Overall, I definitely needed to hear this before I die.

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Mar 24 2025
5

This has been my favorite Joni Mitchell album. Great lyricism as always but this also felt more rythmic and upbeat than other albums I’ve heard like Hejira. The pacing was great and there weren’t any particularly weak tracks. Favorite songs were: Twisted Raised on Robbery Just Like this Train Free Man in Paris 10/10

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Mar 09 2025
5

This is the album that Jimmy Page and Robert Plant often mention when they talk about their admiration for Joni Mitchell. I personally prefer "Ladies Of The Canyon" from this period of her career, but this, like all of her albums, deserves at least 5 stars.

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Mar 04 2025
5

Beautiful. Jazz-like vocals on top of Americana/folk instrumentation. Perfect morning album.

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Feb 26 2025
5

Joni has such an amazing voice. I recently saw a YouTube video of her singing live in 2022. 79 and she can still pull it off, gave me goosebumps. Great lyricist, great poet, great singer. A nice album. I’m going to have to go and listen to more of her albums today, and because she reminds of Karen Carpenter I’m going to listen to The Carpenters and Neil Diamond as well. (Then on to some Megadeth🤘🏻)

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Feb 19 2025
5

CONSTANT STRANGER YOU'RE A KIND PERSON YOU'RE A COLD PERSON TOO one of my favourite Joni album.

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Feb 16 2025
5

Maybe my favorite Joni album. Reminds me of driving to Mwold this was in the tape rotation for sure.

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Feb 15 2025
5

Pre-listening thoughts: FINALLY we are back with a woman. Thank god and it’s legend Joni Mitchell. So hype Post/during listening thoughts: oh this is fireeee. Folky and jazzy in all the right places, and a masterclass in lyricism. People seem to be divided on her voice but I think it is beautiful. This is amazing. 9/10 DID I NEED TO HEAR THIS BEFORE I DIE: mmm no but everyone should hear some Joni Mitchell before they die Fav tracks: no skips but I love Help Me, Car on a Hill, Raised on Robbery, and Twisted Least fav tracks: n/a

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Feb 14 2025
5

Get it twisted. You will never become a generational singer-songwriter. Your talents and efforts mean nothing to a cold, indifferent universe that will send Joni Mitchell to mog the ever-living shit out of you. You think you're safe, hiding in your genre. Sitting there thinking to yourself "I don't make folk rock; she can't hurt me." Then out of nowhere, like she's serving a warrant, Joni kicks in your door and says, "I learned jazz bitch." She proceeds to give you a tight, all killer no filler project. Just spitting hot lead for 37 minutes. Pay attention folks. This is how you blend genres. Sad to see it didn't win AOTY, but if you're going up against peak Stevie, I get it. Joni and Stevie battling it out in '75. Can you imagine? In the year of our lord 2025, I've got to seriously consider if Jacob Collier is going to win a Grammy. We used to be a country. 9/10 Favorite Song: Free Man in Paris/Trouble Child

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Feb 14 2025
5

10/10 Often imitated never replicated. Joni’s songwriting, composition, and storytelling vocals are in full force here. The peak of singer songwriter work here on the levels of Carole King’s tapestry but in its own unique way. Joni could make like a rolling stone but Bob Dylan could never make Same Situation. Favorite Song: Same Situation

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