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Nonesuch Records
B00006X06U
Mitchell's "Travelogue" is a
Tiresome Journey
Joni Mitchell
is one of those songwriters that tends to change any
conversation her name appears in. Enigmatic doesn't begin to describe her
long, storied and baffling career. But no one would argue that her best
work is unequalled in western culture. How else could someone stay on a
major label nearly thirty years after her last hit?
Travelogue is yet another head scratching installment in her
musical output. It's her second CD in a row to explore older
material. Both Sides Now focused primarily on that of other songwriters,
but Travelogue is Joni's tribute to...well...herself.
It's hard to
imagine anyone else pulling off a CD of Joni covers with any
aplomb, so Joni beats them all to the punch. In my opinion,
she should have let sleeping cats lie! She did such a marvelous
job the first time around, that it's like hearing
RUN-DMC's version of Walk This Way. It just whets your appetite for
the original and makes you wonder "What were they thinking ?" In RUN-DMC's and
Aerosmith's case they were thinking
$$$. That's never been Mitchell's motivation, so you can only conclude
that vanity put the gas in the tank for this trip to the recording
studio. If you ever read one of the interviews borne from the infrequent audiences Queen Joni grants her subjects, you'll know that humility isn't one of her
strong suits. Imperious, distant, and tough minded describe Joni
these days and there's not a hint of insult in that description. We all know plenty of "great artists" from the 60's and 70's who
just won't go quietly (Rod Stewart, your limo is here...) and maintain
some modicum of dignity. Joni Mitchell was already busy retiring from
the public eye when she was recording Ladies Of The Canyon in
1968. Back then she heard the phrase " David Crosby's old lady"
once too often and decided she wasn't about to be a musical homebody. Nope, Joni's not one to overstay a welcome. She's more the type who
won't join any club that would have her as a member. Just as soon
as she gets comfy, she's gone.
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Now, let me not leave anyone with with the wrong impression here.
I'm no fan of the "aw shucks" adult alternative types in gingham
dresses and Sunday shoes. Joni Mitchell smokes French cigarettes
and drives an SUV. She never learned to be a well behaved soldier
in the Birkenstock Brigade and I'm damned glad she didn't. I've
always loved her crusty ego and blasé' attitude about record
sales, but I also got rid of my copy of Don Juan's Reckless
Daughter many years ago, and I didn't make much for my trouble! Joni Mitchell is one of my true
heroes; a rugged individualist in an
era when every 19 year old on MTV thinks they are a rugged individualist. Like any flesh and blood hero, my guess is I'd dislike her if I met
her. Therefore, I'm happy to stay out here and just follow the
bouncing ball. Doesn't mean I'm going to shell out for every cockeyed
idea she dreams up. On it's face, Travelogue is not such a cockeyed
idea. Many of her contemporaries have conjured up orchestral
renditions of old material for new commercial life.
Elton John has
pretty much made a career out of re-recording himself in the past
ten years.
But Joni Mitchell ain't Elton John. Her songs always have defied
convention and cliché'. Some of her best efforts, like Amelia,
are stripped down epics toughened by the desert and ignited by
her old world sensuality; hardly the type of material that
benefits from an ocean of strings and horns. Where Travelogue
works is where you'd expect...the testy medley of Chinese Cafe/
Unchained Melody, but most of the time it doesn't work. The original
version of Refuge Of The Road ( from 1976's Hejira) reduces me
to tears. The late Jaco Pastorius wove a sweet, slippery bass line
around her words with a fluid and deep sadness. To ever change a note
of this arrangement is blasphemous in my mind...and that's just the sort of
concession to convention Joni hates. So, we get a polite and laboured
version here that undoes most of the magic of the original.
Woodstock isn't harmed much by the
florid arrangements, but you get the point. The first time around left no
room for improvement, so why are we left with these couch painting
versions of Joni Mitchell's breathtaking art? If you just love
taking any tour of Joni's twisted world of desire and heartache, sarcasm
and surrealism, maybe you'll get a reservation for this trip. But, I
have a lot of reservations of my own about these indulgent forays into
both genius and overkill! This Travelogue just takes
me to too many destinations I've been to before, and they were much more
inviting the first time around.
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