Wammers Album Club Tuesday 16th July - Joni Mitchell - Shadows and Light

[Vincent52]

Hi everyone.

I have been shoehorned in at the last moment so this is a bit of a rush job.

I was going to go with a bit of Terry Allen, probably the new one Bottom Of The World, but he is so obscure that probably only Teddy Ray would have heard of him. So I have decided to have this...

I discovered this a couple of years ago after seeing quite a bit of discussion on here and pfm. It is a live album recorded in Santa Barbara in September 1979 and it just blew me away right from the first listen. The reviews are not universally good, one on Amazon saying that " the music is largely jangly and disjointed". Well up to a point Lord Copper, that's the f**cking point - this isn't noodly folky pop it's jazz, and pretty wonderful jazz at that. The line up of Pat Metheny, Jaco Pastorius, Lyle May, Michael Brecker and Don Alias is stellar and as another, more positive review, says " the way Metheny and Pastorius interweave with Joni's haunting vocal will never be surpassed".

This album changed my life (well a bit) it made me aware of how good Joni Mitchell really is, up until then my views had been formed by early lightweight singles such as Chelsea Morning and Big Yellow Taxi, and it sparked an interest in 70s fusion which introduced me to the wonders of Weather Report, Return To Forever etc.

The album is on Spotify but being new to that platform I am afraid that I don't know how to post a link, it seems to come up pretty readily though so I am sure that anyone who wishes to can find it. One word of warning to anyone intending to buy the album, the vinyl (double) is fine but there seems to be two CD versions, a badly stripped down single CD version and a more recent double which accurately follows the original vinyl. This is the one to get and it seems to be subtitled "International Release".

I hope that you enjoy the record, I will be around for the next couple of days to join in any discussion but unfortunately I am away after Monday so won't be able to contribute on the day. I'm sure that you will manage very well without me, the music is quite able to speak for itself.

Graeme

 

[batman]

Just had a quick preview on iTunes Graeme ... Don't be offended but I'm washing my hair tues so won't be able to participate I'm afraid , no seriously though I will give it a listen . It might grow on me a bit , bit like Ricky lee jones early albums did ..

 

[Bazzer]

Many thanks to Graeme for stepping in at the last moment.

 

[Guest]

Well done Graeme for bailing us out.

Totally in ignorance of this album.

But as you say, with that stellar cast, its got to be worth a listen.

https://play.spotify.com/search/joni%20mitchell%20shadows%20%26%20light

 

[Petrat]

I came to Joni through this album, as I was a big Metheny fan and buying all his stuff at the time. It has a good atmosphere to it, and in my opinion, the musicians kind of 'meet in the middle', with all slightly adapting their 'thing' and creating something wholly new. The music is mostly taken from JM's previous 2 albums, Hejira and Mingus, which are a bit more 'jazzy' than previous stuff, but still recognisably Joni. The thing that surprised me was how JM's open-tuning, folky guitar strumming drove so much of the music, IMO keeping the song together and keeping the whole from becoming the potential jazz-blowing gig that her band-mates might have created if left to their own devices. I like this album late at night, with a glass of red wine, if that's not too cliched

 

[batman]

Might be a little too jazzy for moi

 

[Vincent52]

Well done Graeme for bailing us out.Totally in ignorance of this album.

But as you say, with that stellar cast, its got to be worth a listen.

https://play.spotify.com/search/joni%20mitchell%20shadows%20%26%20light

Thanks for the Spotify link. :notworthy:

 

[rockmeister]

Well.

Huge Joni fan and I like a bit of Jazz so. Can the Metheny/Pastorious etc mix rescue what are, to me, songs from the dodgy era. Miss M did have a tendency (in that time) towards pretentious and wordy stuff, which was not supported by the music, leaving me often feeling more like an atendee at grad school lecture, than a guy at a concert.

First play suggests this works well. Where JM is telling me more than I need to know, PM is providing something to listen to instead, but as it wore on, it became a lot more than that, and the weaving Florence mentions really does, for me anyway, lift these songs to a new level. Live is always nice anyway if well engineered, tho I suspect that the recording engineer was in love with Mr Pastrious.

Will play it again on Tue and may even buy the bugger! :shock: :^

 

[notaclue]

I'd rate 'The Hissing of Summer Lawns' as one of the all time great albums. However, I'm not the greatest fan of live albums. So a mixed WAC for me.

 

[Vincent52]

I'd rate 'The Hissing of Summer Lawns' as one of the all time great albums. However, I'm not the greatest fan of live albums. So a mixed WAC for me.

If you like Hissing you really should get on with this. Go on give it a try!

 

[notaclue]

The studio 'Hissing...' is shimmeringly perfect. The live 'In France...' not so appealing. Lovely version of 'Edith...', though. Beautiful. Would of liked more from 'Hissing...'.

Still, also have lovely versions of 'Furry...' and 'Woodstock'. 'Black Crow' also really good - a live version that really adds to the studio one.

The drum solo and doo wop song are both pretty horrible.

A great period from a great artist, but some of the mystery and magic (and perfection, of course) of the studio works are missing on this, for me. Some is great, some a bit disappointing. However, as said, I'm rarely a big fan of live albums. Apart from the odd classic like 'It's Alive' by the Ramones.

 

[twoblacklines]

Looks like you got my turn... oh well :/

 

[jkbmusic]

I shall have to dig this out as I have not had a listen to it for a while. What you say about the double album, makes me wish I bought that one instead of the single Cd :doh: . Hey ho! :roll: .

 

[Ozexpat]

Unsurprisingly, I love this. Jazz mixed with old school folk ? What could be better ? Well, Prog but that's not the point.

This oozes class. Not perfect but the interplay between Pastorius and Alias drives this along. I think Larry Carlton would have been better in this situation than Methany but there you go. Mitchell's lyricism can grate at times but the instrumentalism carries this through.

I really enjoy Live albums. I have a live album for virtually every band in my collection. Despite overdubs, they generally give a truer indication of the band's talent. This is very true here.

I wouldn't call her a show(wo)man, but a great performer of her longevity who can collect some fantastic musos together, is to be applauded.

 

[MJ.]

NEVER listened to any Joni Mitchell stuff , always thought it a bit twee / folksy, so rupturing my cherry on this one, better be worth it.

 

[batman]

NEVER listened to any Joni Mitchell stuff ' date=' always thought it a bit twee / folksy, so rupturing my cherry on this one, better be worth it.[/quote']..... Ha it ain't .....

 

[batman]

IMO of course

 

[MJ.]

IMO of course

Of course

 

[Vincent52]

NEVER listened to any Joni Mitchell stuff , always thought it a bit twee / folksy, so rupturing my cherry on this one, better be worth it.

Early Joni was twee to my ears as well but this changed with The Hissing of Summer Lawns and later albums are anything but twee. Shadows and Light comes at the end of a long highly creative phase in the mid/late 70s and is definitely not twee. Side two on my vinyl copy is IMO just magnificent with two of her strongest songs Amelia and Hejira sandwiching an excellent solo track from Pat Metheney (Pat's Solo). Anyway I hope that you enjoy it - it's not even that folky!

Graeme