Hejira

This album is a milestone of folk-inflected jazz. It came into being as a kind of musical road movie during several road trips that took Mitchell across the United States between 1975 and 1976. The songs reflect solitude, the endless expanse of the highway, and a turning inward for self-reflection. It is a complete work of art in musical form. Songs like "Coyote" speak for themselves. I am a fan of Joni’s art.

I don’t know specifically what it is about Coyote, but I have been entranced by it ever since I first heard Joni play it in Gordon Lightfoot’s house in Scorsese’s documentary about Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue. I’m still smitten by the song now; maybe even more so with Jaco Pastorius’ bass playing on top. The rest of the album has a similar feel to Coyote. Beautiful, intimate songs built around Joni’s unique open tuned guitar strumming with layers added on top by some amazing jazz musicians and session players. I totally get why this wouldn’t be for everyone, but I could listen to Joni’s poetry set to Jaco’s fretless bass all day.

Pretty good. I doubt I’d seek out this album in future, but wouldn’t mind hearing it at a restaurant or party or wherever. I unequivocally state my lack of appreciation for Joni Mitchell is a failure on my part. It’s a me problem. The fretless bass caught my ear, I looked at the credits and saw it was Jaco, one of the greatest bassists ever. Makes sense.

Not the best Joni but very close. Some great songs and also the one where she sings about WC Handy.

A goddamn masterpiece. Joni’s second best album after Blue.

Favorite track(s): Coyote, Amelia, Furry Sings the Blues, A Strange Boy, Hejira, Song for Sharon, Black Crow, Blue Motel Room, Refuge of the Roads Top priority on my bucket list is now to take a cross-country road trip listening to only this album. I dare say it's better than Blue; Blue doesn't have Jaco Pastorius.

I get the importance of Joni Mitchell in music history - I know she’s an important singer/songwriter. However, she just doesn’t line up with my tastes. Her voice is not my thing. Her harmony is not my thing. Her instrumentation is not my thing. Her phrasing is not my thing. It kinda pains me to say it out loud, but it’s true. 2 stars for her impact on the medium.

3/5

Superb album from a genius songwriter with a beautiful voice. The move to incorporate jazz but in an accessible and, I would say at least, really sympathetic to the songs manner, which elevates the recordings, and doesn't come across as bolted on or overly showy. Some beautiful work from Larry Carlton and Jaco Pastorius in places, Joni's songs and singing soar on the likes of Amelia, Coyote and the title track. I don't dislike anything here, this is a great and timeless album from a musical icon. 9/10

Not my tempo

Joni Mitchell invented sad dad music. Except her voice is too high, of course.

I really struggled through this one and really did not want to finish it. I've said this before, but I just don't get Joni Mitchell.

Die Songs wirken wie Reisetagebuch in Jazz‑Tönen, getragen von Jaco Pastorius’ schwebendem Bass und Mitchells fast sprechender Melodik. Alles fließt – aber oft so frei, dass die Stücke eher gleiten als greifen. Die Atmosphäre ist stark: introspektiv, nomadisch, elegant. Gleichzeitig fehlt manchmal der emotionale Zugriff; vieles bleibt bewusst distanziert, mehr Beobachtung als Gefühl.

album I’ve loved well before I ever made this list. It is a good Joni Mitchell album and if she was going to make this list, I would put this one. Other ones of hers are pretty weird.

Naja

The dense musicality of language.

I got completely zoned out of this one. Realized I was on the second to last song all of a sudden, but as music it was just too boring to keep me interested, but I didn't mind it in the background.

This is my 3rd Joni Mitchell album from this list and all I can really say about it is that it definitely sounds like Joni Mitchell. Joni has a fantastic voice, but her music certainly gets a bit samey after a while. Lovely background, but not much more than that.

hmmm nice but ı probably wont specifically search for it.

Overrated. All the songs sound the same to me. Not one standout track.

Not sure Joni really clicks for me, it's okay

Very good album from a music icon

the recent run of laid-back albums in genres i dont really fuck with had me concerned but thankfully this album ended that run. this is a great sound. i love the washy guitars of "coyote".... i love the feedback swells on "black crow"...... i love, uh, whatever that muted brass sound is on "refuge of the roads"?? sounds like synth brass but going off the personnel list i assume it's "horns". ok. and her voice is great too, the mix of speaking and singing is a great match for the instrumentals. or the other way around? not sure how to word this. anyway yeah i really enjoyed this. didn't quite hit hard enough for me to give a 5 but it's definitely at least a 4. nice to have some good folk for once....

An album I know pretty well. Restless, weaving, diving down on every shining thing. Beautiful singing, lyrics relatively easy to follow, quite poetic. Rhythmically subtle and charged - harmonies and interplay moderately complex but alluring. Jaco Pastorius’ lines are a significant part of the magic. Album as a whole strikes me as both cool and warm. The songs aren’t all perfect (I’m not a fan of Blue Motel Room), but overall the album is Incredibly Wonderful, 10/10.

⭐⭐⭐ Känns som Joni borde vara min grej men det klickar inte riktigt, jag tycker inte det är dåligt och kan tänka mig att ge albumet fler chanser. Tycker det är som bäst när det är lite jazzigare. Som jag känner nu är det ganska mycket medel, det får bli en 3a. Bäst är A strange boy, Hejira

I only knew one Joni Mitchell song and that is definitely a banger. This album is not bad at all, her voice is very nice.It’s enjoyable and really chill with some funky lil instrumentals on some of the tracks. Unfortunately it just lacks a lil something

Not a terrible album. I found it a little boring to listen to, but it has a fairly chill vibe which I do enjoy and she has a good singing voice.

I prefer earlier albums and her folk sound more than the later jazz but . . . Joni can do no wrong.

Menopausal women all over the world will not like this, but I find Joni Mitchell slightly annoying. I'm not sure what it is but I like very few of her songs

yes girl #yesgirl

A windswept, lost highway of melodic imagery.

Very beautiful, and lovely to have a Canadian album! Specially one from my home province. This was an album that was longer, but didn’t feel like it. It used its time well. I don’t think it’s truly meant for casual listening, but it worked well as a background to my workday. 4/5 ⭐️ 292/1089

joni is my everything 🙂‍↕️🙏

She has an excellent voice but in the end I was unmoved by the songs on this album. Not sure why?

Im sure a lot of people like this, but to me its just someone randomly playing and randomly telling stories with a singing voice.

Very much in a folksy cill albums aren't you 1001 Album Generators? Joni Mitchell's a particuler sound, not a lot my thing but still a bit my thing

There is so much of Joni that I love. I know that this is a road album and the rambling around is kinda the point, but I prefer the still Joni.

Nice.

Not so much songs as rhymeless poems which are sort-of sung while some unrelated guitar music plays. Tedious, keeping up a perfect record of boredom with Joni Mitchell from me. I have heard three other records from her and I have not liked any of them.

Enjoyment: 5/10 Replayability: 2/10 Cohesion: 6/10 Flow/Pacing: 3/10 Artistic Merit: 5/10 Weighted Average: 4.2/10 Review: This is the most lyrically dense album to date as Joni's stream of conscious is laid over the peaceful strumming of a bass guitar. The melody is pleasing and I'll want to return to this at a later time to get a better understanding over the lyrical meaning. Liked Song(s): (None) Disliked Song(s): (None) Recommend? Maybe Heard Before? No

Joni Mitchell has such a unique style and sound. This album has got a real spoken word feel that demands your attention to make any sense of, not great background music but pretty intriguing to listen closely too. The band also deserves lots of credit on this , they really capture the whole beatnik vibe that I feel like they were going for.

The second half of this album was more interesting to me than the beginning. Love some of the guitar work on this.

Repetitivo. Canciones muy largas y monótonas

Honestly, wasn't a fan of this album. I think I had listened to another album by her and somewhat enjoyed it, but this one wasn't that for me. Probably a 2-2.5? It wasn't terrible, but I wouldn't want to listen to it again.

Coyote - 83 Amelia - 88 Furry Sings The Blues - 78 A Strange Boy - 87 Hejira - 90 Song For Sharon - 88 Black Crow - 86 Blue Motel Room - 84 Refuge Of The Roads - 86 Hejira - 84

This album is one of my all time fastest top 10. The music is blended as smooth as the finest scotch whiskey. It's ethereal timeless with a surreal lyricism. Musically her best. Her voice is still wonderful here until the dreadful smoke starts to effect her range.

She was a bit screetchy, and she went on a bit. Not one for me, perhaps have it on low volume in the background for some London based dinner party.

Another excellent album by Joni Mitchell. Very good lyrics. This is at least a 4 star album for me. Some songs I enjoy: "Coyote", "Amelia" (probably my favourite), "Hejira", " Song For Sharon", or "Furry Sings The Blues".

Not on Apple Music. Rating based on other album.

A little better than the previous Joni Mitchell album. Not my favorite of the 3 but solid easy listening. Still not a daily driver genre for me though.

The bass work from Jaco Pastorius was a nice addition to this one, and I was a sucker for the theme to Amelia. Still only ok to my tastes but probably my favorite from Joni so far.

I've mostly been underwhelmed by the Joni Mitchell albums on the list, and this continues the trend. There's something about the sprawling, loose songs that I like, but equally, there's a fine line between actual songwriting and just using notebook fragments as lyrics. Some of it felt a bit lazy.

really got into the guitar on this album. definitely sleepy at times, but her guitar work was excellent

3/5

Good

Take it somewhere else.

when people say Taylor swift is a lyrical genius, I just shake my head and think of joni

me importa como esta el mundo

God this is boring. Music for your mum. Never gets going, completely fades into the background. I could easily sleep to this, it’s so dreamy.

it's funky but i like it? as weird background sound, not as music though... although some moments are have a nice melody (2.5/5)

Pleasant and relaxing tunes. Joni's voice is easy on the ears too.

Nobody sounds like Joni, just a wild journey while staying so light

Best Track - "Coyote"

La portada es sugerente y elegante. Joni eso siempre lo logrado. No es una artista fácil para mi. He intentado apreciar la belleza que los elogios de sus discos siempre me han llegado pero su timbre de voz y su estilo musical no terminan de llegarme. Laurel Canyon no es mi sitio. Este disco es diferente, suena actual (Weyes Blood sin ir más lejos), atemporal, su guitarra (siempre ha sido un referente como una de las mejores guitarristas de la historia) sí que me gusta. Colaboran Jaco Pastorius (otro referente, en el bajo) o Larry Carlton (guitarra), además de su novio John Guerin a la batería. La entrada no puede ser mejor: Coyote y Amelia ya valen para estar en este listado. Hejira es una delicia, con Jaco sublime. Coyote, de sus travesías conduciendo sin carnet por medio USA (y su relación con Sam Shepard), Amelia (de su ruptura con su novio Guerin, como Hejira o Blue Motel Room, y dedicada a Amelia Earhart ), Furry Sings the Blues que gana mucho con Neil Young en la armónica, A strange boy (sobre otra relación amorosa).. en realidad el disco va sobre una mujer en la carretera reflexionando sobre su existencia y relaciones (Song for Sharon va sobre su relación con Jackson Browne y la de este con su mujer)... pero toca la fibra. Refuge of the Roads es un buen final. Si tuviera que elegir un disco de Joni, este sin dudarlo.

A buddy of mine in high school tore his ACL playing football so he took up the bass, and I’m still pretty amazed that he then became obsessed with Jaco Pastorius. I wasn’t sophisticated enough for it to rub off on me, and but I get it now, and Jaco makes this album really special. Joni’s collaborations with top notch musicians is a primary reason she’s a brilliant producer, and Jaco’s playing has such a unique signature that it’s hard to separate the playing from the songs themselves. The sound is thick, rubbery and bouncy, like the car tires of the lyrical freeways in Joni’s travelogue. A more ‘difficult’ Joni album, but not if you’re alone and driving on an overcast fall day, as I was today when I listened. Contemplative, airy and gorgeous. It’s an entire ecosystem to walk around in and remarkable that Joni was able to make something both so new and so familiar in the same package.

I am probably going straight to hell for this, but here goes… Joni has a great voice there is no denying that but the whole album is just a bit boring… Sorry!

A bit boring

I’m surprised that I didn’t like this album more given how much I enjoy Blue

Mellow, chilled story telling at it's best.

Joni, Joni, Joni..... Selvom du er en af dronningerne, så sinker dit musik af prepper... oni.... 🤷 - Pænt meget honning, men pisse kedeligt!

Stemningsfuldt. Ikke lige det man smider på når man skal banke en fest op fra slap. Men langt bedre end looppedal og hjemmebryggede rim.

Apparently i'm not a Joni Mitchel fan. Respect the artist but this ain't for me.

Not my favourite Joni Mitchell album but not far off. This has hugely inventive instrumentation and performance wonderful moving songs and Joni’s voice soaring above it all. Wonderful

meh

incredible

I much prefer Blue. Some of the melodies seemed a little repetitive. I liked the jazz undertones though

Favorite Track: Song For Sharon

smooth

This sounds a lot like lucy dacus. 3.5

Joni Mitchell is a national treasure.

Soothing and very pleasant. Would buy as a record to play as I go about my day but definitely needs the right mood.

A very modest and mild album, almost excessively so. There is something to chew on here and I’m open to returning, but I’m not as compelled by this as some of her other music. I think her sound sometimes has an unfortunate tendency to dissolve into the musical equivalent of watercress.

This is chill, beautiful, story-driven music. No less than you should expect from Joni Mitchell.

Very much enjoyed this

My favorite Joni Mitchell record. Inspired by a road trip from Maine to Los Angeles and that exactly what it sounds like. Spacious and explorative. Mitchell and bassist Jaco Pastorius play like they are attempting to become one instrument. Jaco giving Joni’s guitar that bottom end that her open tunings and playing style doesn’t allow. He just fills that space with beautifully instinctual smooth, low notes that propel the songs along like wheels grip the road. The opening track, Coyote is one of the most perfect songs I’ve ever heard. Joni wrote this song about her brief, intense affair with actor/playwright Sam Shepherd, who she met on Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Tour. It’s an incredible song. One of the most honest, while still poetic, tales of a romantic fling, doomed from the start, ever recorded to tape. Mitchell is being taken advantage of by a devilish dog, but she knows it. It’s an interesting perspective and a fantastic song. Black Crow is jagged and tense. Joni and Jaco are dance fighting like the Jets and the Sharks. Are crows the sharks of birds? Refuge Of The Roads is the exact opposite. It’s like a galactic hot air balloon ride. This song makes me want to float away. This is the most 5 album of 5 albums.

Cool

6.2

It was alright. The bass provided some interesting stuff in some songs, but it is not really an album I would revist

V nice, quite a lot of wacky bass though by the end

her voice, the mood

Overrated. Good songwriting but boring and all songs sound the same

I want to like it so much more than I do. Joni is truly great, I just don’t dig it

Cool musical and Instrumentation for a Joni album - but just doesn’t have the same raw emotional power of Court or Blue.

1976… about the time my mom went full hippy! Yeah… good times.

Imagine walking into a mid-western diner sometime in the mid 70s. There’s a woman by the counter with a red wig and sunglasses, who says her name is Joan Black, or was it Charlene Latimer? She tenses up every time a cop car cruises past, and then lets out a sigh of relief when it doesn’t stop. You get talking to her while the waitress is fetching your coffee, and she pulls out a dozen gas station road maps of different states from her purse. She tells you about every stop on the journey, old lovers who let her down, and the ones that got away, and meeting an old blues musician on Beale Street in Memphis, and the sad details of his life. She’s looking for something that she can’t quite explain, and it’s like that famous aviator Amelia who went missing and nobody knew what had happened to her. Somewhere in the background you can hear a band, noodling some jazz and setting her words to music that evokes wandering and wondering on an endless exodus - a Hejira if you will. That’s what listening to this album is like. Your road trip mileage may vary.

Nice and folksy. But didn't really hook me. Again nice if happens to be on, but I am not seeking it out.

Refuge Of The Roads

I’m really torn on Joni Mitchell I think the first half of this album musically is about the best I’ve heard from her so far, I like the instrumentation and energy in the first 3 songs. The one thing I think is pretty unarguable is that she’s a great songwriter, the stories and pictures she paints with her words are better than just about anyone. Her voice is nice too, more than passable which is great when you actually want to hear the lyrics (looking at you Bob Dylan) I unfortunately just think most of her musics kinda boring, especially the second half of this one. I’m sure if a song really emotionally resonated with me I’d change my mind but that slow, somber, minimal sound she has in so many of her songs does just absolutely nothing for me. Not to say she doesn’t have any good songs since she does, but I do think her ceilings pretty low Can’t say I’m super excited to listen to two more of her albums, but her musics inoffensive and at least makes you think a little; we’re definitely going to get at least two more albums in the next week that are worse than this

So we're looking at a pretty colorful composition; there's no main chords or rhythm and instead the bass takes on a unique role as a second voice. aaaaand thats it. four hours later and every track has exited my brain

Usually not a big fan of Joni’s voice but this one works for me. I think it’s the combination of the music and her storytelling. It’s got less weird vocal takes. Coyote was the only song I was familiar with but I have always liked that one.