Turbulent Indigo was pitched as Mitchell’s comeback album. Technically speaking, this is accurate, marking as it does the conclusion of a brief hiatus. But the use of the word “comeback” as a euphemism granting Turbulent Indigo superiority over either Mitchell’s previous or subsequent albums (Night Ride Home and Taming The Tiger, respectively) is highly suspect. The truth is that Turbulent Indigo is an unwelcoming album as opaque as the oil paint used on the Van Gogh-inspired pieces, painted by Mitchell, that adorn the booklet. By now, Mitchell’s ability to write songs that detail moral or spiritual transformation is second nature, but her lyrics have grown cheerlessly polemical. While the political songs are mostly bluster and rage, almost everything else sounds vanquished and impersonal. Even the titles suggest a bleak worldview, with references to killings, sorrow, and lost last chances. Only during the populist “How Do You Stop” do the clouds part a bit, and it’s revealing that it’s the only song on the album not composed by Mitchell (P.S: it’s also lousy). Turbulent Indigo inexplicably remains a fan favorite, and even claimed a Grammy for Best Pop Album of 1994. It would be three years before such a frosty, narcissistic album would again garner such undue praise.