Tribute To Joni
Joni Mitchell's on her way into the Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame! Not surprising, naturally (if it were up to us, she'd even be in the Halls of Canton and Albany), but it gives us a reason to talk about Ms. Mitchell, and to point you to a very cool website that the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has launched in honor of her induction. They've dubbed it the "All Sides Now" page, and it features interviews, performances, and other TV and radio footage of Joni from as far back as 1967. That's the year this clip of "Song To A Daydreamer" (or "Blue On Blue") is from, great both for its glimpse at a pre-fame icon and for its contrast to the full-fledged Joni of just a year later on this footage of "Both Sides Now." Be sure to check her interviews, full of fun stories that are undoubtedly true 'cause Joni Mitchell never lied.
And then there's the forthcoming Joni tribute album, with a you-gotta-be-kidding me lineup, including Sufjan on "Free Man In Paris," Bjork on "Boho Dance," and more from Brad Mehldau, Prince, Emmylou Harris, Elvis Costello, and others. A Tribute To Joni Mitchell tracklist after the jump.
01 "Free Man in Paris" - Sufjan Stevens
02 "Boho Dance" - Bjork
03 "Dreamland" - Caetano Veloso
04 "Don't Interrupt the Sorrow" - Brad Mehldau
05 "For the Roses" - Cassandra Wilson
06 "A Case of U" - Prince
07 "Blue" - Sarah McLachlan
08 "Ladies of the Canyon" - Annie Lennox
09 "Magdalena Laundries" - Emmylou Harris
10 "Edith and the Kingpin" - Elvis Costello
11 "Help Me" - k.d. lang
12 "River" - James Taylor
A Tribute To Joni Mitchell is out this Spring on Nonesuch.
Posted at 10:00 AM
Tags: Joni Mitchell
a case of you has owned my life for the past month.
Posted by: changa at January 24, 2007 11:06 AM | ReplyScore = 0
A Case of You is such a great song.
Free Man In Paris, however, is downright iconic...that opening flute line (I know, so rock and roll) is just badass. I'm wondering if Sufjan can pull that off. What a weird song choice.
And I want to say that "Cary" is the best song of Blue. No one ever talks about it.
Posted by: derek at January 24, 2007 11:30 AM | ReplyScore = 0
a horrible, horrible girl i dated counted "a case of you" as one of her all-time favorite songs, and therefore i generally hate it. for Prince, however, i think i can make an exception.
Posted by: dan b at January 24, 2007 11:32 AM | ReplyScore = 0
Is that the actual Princified spelling of "A Case of U" or is that someone making a joke. If its real, that the coolest thing ever.
Posted by: nick at January 24, 2007 1:37 PM | ReplyScore = 0
Joni Mitchell is also currently putting together a ballet danced to her music with the Alberta Ballet, which is in Calgary, where she attended the Alberta College of Art (and Design as it's now called)
http://www.albertaballet.com/users/news_view.asp?FolderID=3219&NewsID=52
Posted by: Jeff at January 24, 2007 2:12 PM | ReplyScore = 0
Wow, this tracklisting changed a lot from when the album was originally planned, what, nine years ago? I do think that going from Elton John to Sufjan Stevens for "Free Man in Paris" is an improvement, but I was pretty curious to hear Etta James sing "Amelia" and Janet Jackson do "The Beat of Black Wings".
Posted by: Francis at January 24, 2007 2:23 PM | ReplyScore = 0
no no no... not james taylor. why is that necessary?
also, i kind of love that annie lennox went with ladies of the canyon. it takes commitment to opt for a song with lyrics that queasymaking.
also, the princified "case of u" is a joke, or at least it's not spelled that way on the nonesuch site. it would be fully thirty-seven times more awesome if it were, though.
Posted by: steven at January 24, 2007 2:54 PM | ReplyScore = 0
Pretty cool tracklist, but I'm seeing a definite lack of Hejira. Oh well.
Posted by: lex at January 24, 2007 4:19 PM | ReplyScore = 0
If you want a couple of beautiful Joni covers, check out kd lang's Hymns of the 49th Parallel. It's all Canadian covers (sorry, no Bryan Adams!). She covers Joni Mithcell, Janes Siberry, and Leonard Cohen. This CD will truly break your heart.
Posted by: Larry at January 25, 2007 8:32 AM | ReplyScore = 0