Joni Mitchell

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"Both Sides Now" Joni Mitchell has long dabbled in the jazz world, forging alliances with the likes of Charles Mingus, Jaco Pastorius, and Wayne Shorter, while incorporating elements of fusion into her more intrepid recordings. Both Sides Now, however, comes at jazz from a different angle than the experimental likes of Mingus and The Hissing of Summer Lawns. Here is Mitchell the chanteuse, tackling smoky standards such as "At Last," "Sometimes I'm Happy," and "Stormy Weather" in the embrace of lush pop arrangements that owe a debt to Nelson Riddle and Gordon Jenkins, though some stray over the line from stately into staid.Focus here is on Joni Mitchell's vocal, and she displays a real commitment to the music. --Steven Stolder

Customer review from Amazon

Reviewer: Ward Lamb Here Mitchell combines her love of colour in art with her whiskey coloured voice. The nuance is particularly heart felt.The songs seem tinged with pain, and poetry. The echoes of Billie Holiday are pronounced and reverant.If ever Joni has made an effort to send someone a love letter it is to Holiday in her phrasing and smokey vocals. Her Canadian American directness is a metaphor to her artworks included within the cd cover. There is a Hopper-esque lonely solitude that pulls one into a vintage American sensibility. The cd is one that grows on you and penetrates the heart with every layer of listening. A superb rendition of "A Case of You", reminds us that Joni is a classic writer, as well as performer.This cd could have been called "The four seasons of Love".Like Leonard Cohen she sits perfectly with those that enjoy their personal torments and share the depth of the human condition with their listeners.