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Rating: On the cover: Joni Mitchell (painter, 1943) "Self-portrait of an indestructible woman, but very dissatisfied". This is the caption I would put under this image, and I would also associate it with this indecipherable record, which has the power to trigger a conflict between ear and mind within me.
On one hand, there is the ear, greedy and gluttonous, which would like to bask for three hours in the majestic and powerful sound of a great jazz orchestra, enjoying the perfection reached by the voice of the older enchantress Joni, now at ease even in performing a beautiful and not too predictable selection of songs from times gone by, real standards from the '30s, '40s, and beyond. Sometimes the signatures are of renowned authors like Hart-Rodgers or Koehler-Arlen: the latter's classic "Stormy Weather" is more famous in the versions of Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald...and I'm saying a lot. Other times the authors have more obscure names, but it's always material of great class. The sequence of these classics is also intelligent, representing the different phases of a love relationship, from the initial spark to disillusionment. Other valid arguments for the ear's reasons are provided by the precious appearances of Wayne Shorter on the sax (soprano and tenor) and Herbie Hancock on the piano, even if the latter only appears on one piece.
But music is not only listened to with the ears, but also with the mind, or, as romantics say, with the heart. From the first songs, the instinctive tendency towards pleasure is disturbed by a barrage of pressing questions: - What sense does this record make? What is its purpose? What does it intend to prove with such a record that the greatest of singer-songwriters, after more than 30 years of career in which she has built a solid credibility, and one that lasts, with HER music and HER lyrics? I have no idea. A similar set-up record comes to mind: "Songs From The Last Century" by George Michael. He, too, plays the old crooner, managing at least to demonstrate he has a beautiful voice, which for a singer is not a flaw. But he is part of another world, that of light, very light music; he has to be forgiven for having inundated us, with or without Wham, with silly little songs for much of the '80s. For a George Michael, making such a record is a point of arrival, but for a Joni Mitchell, what is it? Boo, maybe that dissatisfied expression on the cover hides the desire to indulge in a luxurious whim of a mature, bored lady, but knowing a lot of what she has created previously, I just can't get used to the idea that at some point she felt the need to put herself in the shoes of Barbra Streisand.
Another thing that doesn't add up: what are her two songs "A Case Of You" and "Both Sides Now" doing in the collection? Not because they are unworthy of the old standards, but simply because they have nothing to do with them, they are not even comparable, it's a whole other genre, despite the clumsy "aging" disguise they have undergone. Especially for "A Case Of You" the more you hear it, the more you want to listen to the bare original version (from "Blue"), with its guitars, metallic and maybe a bit clumsy, but authentic. Having heard the reasons of the ear and those of the mind, the verdict is left: paradoxical record, well-made and precious, but perfectly useless, like a beautiful luxury ornament.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 You're My Thrill (03:53)
You're my thrill
You do something to me
You send chills right through me
When I look at you
'Cause you're my thrill
You're my thrill
How my pulse increases
I just go to pieces
Every time I look at you
I can't keep still
Nothing seems to matter
Here's my heart on a silver platter
Oh where is my will
Why this strange desire
Flaming higher and higher
Every time I look at you
I can't keep still
You're my thrill
Oh where's my will
Why this strange desire
Flaming higher and higher
Every time I look at you
I can't keep still
Oh you're my thrill
04 You've Changed (05:00)
You've changed
The sparkle in your eyes is gone
Your smile is just a careless yawn
You're breaking my heart
You've changed
You've changed
Your kisses now are so blasé
You're bored with me in every way
I can't understand
You've changed
You've forgotten the words I love you
And the memories that we've shared
You've ignored all the stars up above you
I can't realize that you ever cared
You've changed
You're not the angel I once knew
No need to tell me, I know we're through
It's all over now
You've changed
You've forgotten the words I love you
And the memories that we've shared
You ignore all the stars up above you
I can't realize that you ever cared
You've changed
You're not the angel I once knew
No need to tell me, I know we're through
It's all over now
You've changed
06 A Case of You (05:53)
Just before our love got lost you said
I am as constant as a northern star
And I said, constantly in the darkness
Where's that at?
If you want me I'll be in the bar
On the back of a cartoon coaster
In the blue TV screen light
I drew a map of Canada
Oh Canada
With your face sketched on it twice
Oh you're in my blood like holy wine
You taste so bitter and so sweet
Oh I could drink a case of you darling
And I would still be on my feet
Oh I would still be on my feet
Oh I am a lonely painter
I live in a box of paints
I'm frightened by the devil
And I'm drawn to those ones that ain't afraid
I remember that time that you told me, you said
Love is touching souls
Surely you touched mine
Cause part of you pours out of me
In these lines from time to time
Oh you're in my blood like holy wine
You taste so bitter and so sweet
Oh I could drink a case of you darling
Still I'd be on my feet
I would still be on my feet
I met a woman
She had a mouth like yours
She knew your life
She knew your devils and your deeds
And she said
Go to him, stay with him if you can
But be prepared to bleed
Oh but you are in my blood you're my holy wine
You're so bitter, bitter and so sweet
Oh I could drink a case of you darling
Still I'd be on my feet
I would still be on my feet
09 Don't Worry 'Bout Me (03:49)
Don't worry 'bout me
I'll get along
Forget about me
Just be happy my love
Let's say that our little show is over
And so the story ends
Why not call it a day the sensible way
And still be friends
Look out for yourself
That should be the rule
Give your heart and your love
To whomever you love
Darlin' don't be a fool
Why do we cling to this old faded thing
That used to be
So if you can forget
Then you don't worry 'bout me
10 Stormy Weather (03:06)
Don't know why
There's no sun up in the sky
Stormy weather
Since my man and I ain't together
Keeps rainin' all of the time
Life is bare
Gloom and misery everywhere
Stormy weather
Just can't get my poor self together
I'm weary all the time
All the time
So weary all of the time
When you went away
The blues stepped up and met me
If he's gone to stay
That old rocking chair's going to get me
Every night I pray
That the Lord above will let me
Walk in the sunlight once more
I can't go on
Everything I had is gone
Stormy weather
Since my man and I ain't together
Keeps rainin' all of the time
Keeps rainin' all of the time
12 Both Sides Now (05:46)
Bows and flows of angel hair and ice cream castles in the air
and feather canyons everywhere, I've looked at clouds that way.
But now they only block the sun, they rain and snow on everyone.
So many things I would have done but clouds got in my way.
I've looked at clouds from both sides now,
from up and down, and still somehow
it's cloud illusions I recall.
I really don't know clouds at all.
Moons and Junes and ferris wheels, the dizzy dancing way that you feel
as every fairy tale comes real; I've looked at love that way.
But now it's just another show. You leave 'em laughing when you go
and if you care, don't let them know, don't give yourself away.
I've looked at love from both sides now,
from give and take, and still somehow
it's love's illusions that I recall.
I really don't know love at all.
Tears and fears and feeling proud, to say "I love you" right out loud,
dreams and schemes and circus crowds, I've looked at life that way.
But now old friends are acting strange, they shake their heads, they say
I've changed.
Something's lost but something's gained in living every day.
I've looked at life from both sides now,
from win and lose, and still somehow
it's life's illusions I recall.
I really don't know life at all.
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By pier_paolo_farina
I much prefer this mature, breathless, and limited but sexy Joni Mitchell to that kind of exaggerated nightingale she was as a girl.
Her voice gives me chills, even when tackling these antiquated pieces by Richard Rodgers, Mack Gordon, Harry Warren...
