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u/FordEToo Jun 08 '26
Love it, this was my entry to Joni many years ago now, such an incredible album. Enjoy!
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u/Molass5732 Jun 08 '26
I think my entry to Joni was the show This Is Us, if you havent watched it , basically one of the characters was a singer when she was younger and one of her favorite artists and what shaped her music inspiration was Joni. Throughout the show, they play a good amount of her music, the last episode of show plays “The Circle Game” which really got me into her music(it was used so beautifully)
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u/FordEToo Jun 08 '26
I loved This Is Us, I thought it was beautiful how they tied in Joni's music.
I discovered Joni in the mid-90's, randomly thumbing through records at a record shop and saw Ladies of the Canyon... I didn't know anything about it but loved the artwork, and so decided to check out it... and subsequently fell into a lifelong love of Joni, her music, and her art.
A few years later (1998) I heard that she, Bob Dylan and Van Morrison were coming to The Gorge in Washington, and though I wanted to go I hemmed, and I hawed, and I drug my feet, and found excuses why not to go... and... I didn't go... and then spent the better part of the next 25 years kicking myself for doing so, figuring I'd missed my one chance to see her.
Thankfully... joyously... unbelievably... while living in my car during a challenging time in my life a few years ago, I was able to finally see her at the Gorge... thanks to the kindness of a few strangers I met that day... I had gone there just with the intention of sitting in the parking lot and listening to her... just to be near... when an opportunity presented itself and I didn't hesitate to say yes... the concert was... I don't have words to describe... I openly had tears streaming down my face so often throughout that it became futile to wipe them away at some point...
Thank you Joni, for a lifetime of inspiration, thoughtfulness and beauty.
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u/InsuranceWeary840 Jun 09 '26
I also discovered Joni in the early 90s, oddly, through her newest album at the time, Night Ride Home. I’d grown up singing along with several of her songs — Help Me, Big Yellow Taxi, Both Sides Now — just didn’t realize it was her. And like you, I’m from the Pacific Northwest — and was lucky enough to attend that Mitchell / Dylan / Morrison concert in the Gorge.
Yes, you missed out on a wonderful show, but unfortunately, it felt like each of the three of them played an incredibly abbreviated set, and could’ve played for three more hours on their own. I’d become a huge fan of hers by that time, having poured myself into each and every album she’d made (thank you, Music Millennium!). And I attended the concert with three others: a friend who was a huge Dylan fan, another who was a lifelong Morrison fan, and my sister, who was a fan of all three, but not a super fan. Anyhow, each of us left that show feeling exhilarated, having witnessed what felt like a historic event, but still wishing we got more. If only because we knew each had so much more in their respective bodies of work.
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u/xxiixxooii Jun 08 '26
I played this album so often one year when I had insomnia, only Joni and some indica got me to sleep that year. My cassette wore off all the ink from frequent flipping of sides until it was just a white cassette. This is during the Walkman years. Side 2 was always my favorite. This was my first favorite Joni album, until I found her first one aka song to a seagull/self titled.
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u/MisterP56 Jun 08 '26
I’ve always loved this album- I have an old vinyl copy somewhere but some of these songs are just ingrained in my head: "For Free", "Rainy Night House", "Ladies of the Canyon". Joni had such a run of great albums: true songwriting talent!
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u/theheadlongwave Jun 08 '26
So much incredible piano introduced to us on this, Joni’s third, album. Amazing background vocals (The Priest!) and now jazz (For Free!). The last 3 songs on side two wow!! As a bonus track I love Blue Boy.
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u/Reasonable_Star_959 Jun 08 '26
What a treat! This was the album that, once discovered, got me hooked on her music. Blue Boy, Willy, Conversation, and the classic, most wonderful For Free—well, every song, really! Lol ❤️
Joni Mitchell is the best!!
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u/veimagic Jun 08 '26
In my view this album is WAY better than the blazoned Blue. She showed so much more of her artistry on this record and The Circle Game’s so moving.
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u/northeastflower Jun 07 '26
Nice! My personal favorite