All I Want

From the beginning on Joni makes it clear that she is a woman who is going her own way. Already in the upbeat starter All I Want (what a revealing title) Joni sings about the two themes which have been dominant through most of her (early) records. Independence and love. She travels to find herself and falls in love to lose herself in the other. And vice versa. Most of her songs are about the difficult task to reconcile these two opposing movements.

My Old Man

A sweet love song praising her lover in tender words. This is a piano ballad encapsulating the melancholic mood of Blue. It is quite telling that her strongest and most impressive images in this song describe separation.

Little Green

One of the most touching songs on the album. It is the only one which Joni composed long before Blue in 1967. She sings about the daughter she had when still very young whom she didn’t raise herself. There was a happy-end when both met a couple of years ago via the internet. Joni found out that she was a grand-mother.

Carey

Not my favourite song on Blue. Joni has got this high-pitch girl’s voice like on earlier records. When she reaches the high notes to my ears her singing is almost unbearable. The song is an account of a trip to Europe. She even has been to the famous Matala beach at the South coast of Crete where the hippies lived in a commune in the caves at the end of the 60’s.

Blue

The way she stretches the one syllable of the word blue probably is my favourite moment on the record: "Bloo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo". Really stressing the dark primal undertone of the vowel "u". The blues deep inside her emerges at the surface and the feeling is extended to a maximum time length. At the same time I also get the impression that Joni is expelling the mean bad spirits here.

California

Immediately after the sombre Blue we have the bright and sunny California. What a great contrast. Joni is still traveling around Europe (Is she the mother of Rumsfeld's infamous "old Europe" remark?). But she is kind of homesick and dreams about coming back to her adopted home, the warm and easy-going California. Amazing how her enthusiasm about something far away can catalyse such a light groovy song.

This Flight Tonight

This song I first heard in the version of 70’s rockers Nazareth. Another upbeat tune which is quite untypical for Joni as it is rather hard-rocking. I somehow never really warmed up to this one. The lyrics are great as usual and speak of a flight which disconnects her physically from her lover but inspires her to think of him and to come close to him in mind.

River

"The river to skate away on" is a typical image for Joni. As a Canadian she obviously skated a lot in her youth. The frozen river is like a road. A means to escape from lovesickness. On the other hand Joni is very honest and realistic here. She knows that she is not easy. Looking at her statements in interviews in the last couple of years where she is often extremely full of herself only confirms her difficult character. Music wise this ballad is at the border of schmaltz. I have difficulties appreciating it these days but that’s maybe because I have listened to it too many times.

A Case of You

One of the best songs of all time. A simple tune with a chorus which still knocks me down. The mystery of love condensed into four lines. Just a sip of this musical magic potion makes me dizzy. On the Woman of Heart and Mind dvd Joni performs the song on dulcimer. It sounds like an old Appalachian folk tune sung by an innocent and untouchable fairy queen.

The Last Time I Saw Richard

This has always been my song on Blue. During my first year of English in the 5th class every pupil had to choose an English surname by which he/she was called in the English lessons. I chose Richard. But that is just a footnote. The disillusioning story of a dreamer called Richard Joni sings about here has always impressed me because of its psychological realism. Do I have to mention that I saw certain parallels to my student life and that this song seemed like a prophecy of my future?

Further reading:

• AMG review
• 44 Rate Your Music reviews
• Joni Mitchell discussion list (most comprehensive Joni resource around)
• Joni Mitchell portal page with lots of links by Jorn Barger

Here is the overview of the series 40 years, 40 albums of which part XIII was this post.

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