Joni Mitchell - Painting with Words and Music Review

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(More customer reviews)Released in late Feb in Australia, I grabbed this off the shelfas soon as I saw it. Mitchell is really in her element here - a smallintimate venue ( one of the studios at Warners in LA) decorated with sofas and Mitchell's paintings. The band is just right - not too lush not too sparse. Drums, guitar/pedal steel, bass and trumpet and of course Mitchell herself on that new whizz bang guitar of her's which I think sounds great. She jokes with the audience, dances with one of her singers and tells a great story at the end about Woodstock, knitting and stars. As you would expect, most of the material is post Court and Spark except for Big Yellow taxi for openers and Woodstock in closing. Lots of wonderful stuff from Hejira and fortunately only one from her "I'm angry with the world, so lets write a silly song" repetoire. Throughout the concert (a selection from two consecutive nights) Mitchell's singing is great; 'live' her voice seems fresher than on CD and though the upper register is shot to pieces, what's left is full of character, reveals more light and shade. Plus her phrasing is right on. There are really no dud tracks here and I tend to just put it on as if it were a CD (nice and loud), popping back to the screen every now and then to watch the still beautiful woman do her stuff, though other times I sit down and just indulge in the whole 98 minutes of it. One particularly shining moment is Mitchell's cover of Marvin Gaye's Trouble Man. Its a heartfelt and beautifully sung version that reveals what a great singer Mitchell really is. It sends shivers up my spine everytime I replay. This video is a great introduction to what Mitchell has achieved over the last 20 years. It should send people out to snap up records like Hejira and Hissing of Summer Lawns not to mention more recent stuff. A perfect complement to this video would be Shadows and Light, the double live album that came out in the early eighties and featuring Jaco Pastorius on bass and other luminaries.

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Joni Mitchell, the Queen of folk/rock, performs for an intimate audience on the Warner Brothers lot in Los Angeles. This concert is classic Joni Mitchell, and her repertoire here covers the complete arc of her career. With a stage backdrop of her own paintings, this program gives a unique insight into the talents and life of Joni Mitchell.Track Listing: 1. Tiger Bones 2. Big Yellow Taxi 3. Just Like This Train 4. Night Ride Home 5. Crazy Cries Of Love 6. Harry's House 7. Black Crow 8. Amelia 9. Hejira 10. Sex Kills 11. The Magdalene Laundries 12. Moon At The Window 13. Face Lift 14. Why Do Fools Fall In Love? 15. Trouble Man 16. Nothing Can Be Done 17. Song For Sharon 18. Woodstock 19. Dreamland

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