A Tribute To Joni Mitchell
by: Various Artists
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Tribute records live or die by the performers' ability to interpret the subject's work in new and inventive frameworks, or by how well they evoke the spirit of the original recordings. Joni Mitchell's poetic folk and jazz offers infinite possibilities for the former, which makes the notion of this collection by indie rockers, pop divas, and country and folk practitioners most appealing. Not surprisingly, for most of the men it turns out to be more of an intellectual exercise than an emotional foray (Elvis Costello's harder take on "Edith and the Kingpin," Sufjan Stevens's jumbled sonic landscape on "Free Man in Paris"). But there are some breathtaking performances from the women, starting with Björk's wide-eyed cover of "The Bojo Dance" and moving on to Cassandra Wilson's mahogany-voiced "For the Roses," Emmylou Harris's devastating reading of "The Magdalene Laundries," and Sarah McLachlan's goosebump-raising "Blue," where her vocals approximate Mitchell's so thoroughly some folks might be fooled. Hands down, the most peculiar track is Prince's doo-woppy "A Case of You," which nearly defies description. The project got started in the late '90s and was finished only recently, which probably accounts for a stilted unevenness and seeming lack of continuity. Think of this as an interesting companion to Mitchell's vast and vital body of work. But the revered Lady of the Canyon doubtless deserves a far more comprehensive and well-executed homage. --Alanna Nash
Album Description:
A Tribute to Joni Mitchell features a strikingly eclecticroster of artists who share Mitchell's fierce intelligence, musicalsophistication, and boundary-pushing experimentalism. The creativeinterpretations of some of her best-known songs illustrate Mitchell'sbreadth as a composer and lyricist while putting something of a uniqueflavor on the chosen songs.
Tribute records live or die by the performers' ability to interpret the subject's work in new and inventive frameworks, or by how well they evoke the spirit of the original recordings. Joni Mitchell's poetic folk and jazz offers infinite possibilities for the former, which makes the notion of this collection by indie rockers, pop divas, and country and folk practitioners most appealing. Not surprisingly, for most of the men it turns out to be more of an intellectual exercise than an emotional foray (Elvis Costello's harder take on "Edith and the Kingpin," Sufjan Stevens's jumbled sonic landscape on "Free Man in Paris"). But there are some breathtaking performances from the women, starting with Björk's wide-eyed cover of "The Bojo Dance" and moving on to Cassandra Wilson's mahogany-voiced "For the Roses," Emmylou Harris's devastating reading of "The Magdalene Laundries," and Sarah McLachlan's goosebump-raising "Blue," where her vocals approximate Mitchell's so thoroughly some folks might be fooled. Hands down, the most peculiar track is Prince's doo-woppy "A Case of You," which nearly defies description. The project got started in the late '90s and was finished only recently, which probably accounts for a stilted unevenness and seeming lack of continuity. Think of this as an interesting companion to Mitchell's vast and vital body of work. But the revered Lady of the Canyon doubtless deserves a far more comprehensive and well-executed homage. --Alanna Nash
Album Description:
A Tribute to Joni Mitchell features a strikingly eclecticroster of artists who share Mitchell's fierce intelligence, musicalsophistication, and boundary-pushing experimentalism. The creativeinterpretations of some of her best-known songs illustrate Mitchell'sbreadth as a composer and lyricist while putting something of a uniqueflavor on the chosen songs.
Disc 1:
- FREE MAN IN PARIS - Sufjan Stevens
- THE BOHO DANCE - Bjork
- DREAMLAND - Caetano Veloso
- DON'T INTERRUPT THE SORROW - Brad Mehldau
- FOR THE ROSES - Cassandra Wilson
- A CASE OF YOU - Prince
- BLUE - Sarah McLachlan
- LADIES OF THE CANYON - Annie Lennox
- MAGDALENA LAUNDRIES - Emmylou Harris
- EDITH AND THE KINGPIN - Elvis Costello
- HELP ME - k.d. lang
- RIVER - James Taylor
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- Excellent (7 out of 12 cuts)
The 1st 5 cuts are boring uncreative fare.
Wow, do things take off on Prince's cut - contemp R & B / gospel / jazz but what a vocal performance and such an original arrangement.
The rest of the cuts are also top class. Creative and so "right" and musical they more than make up for the first 5.
Highly recommended.
Rating: - Sufjan Stevens' "Paris" IS a tribute
Wow, tough room. Still, I think Sufjan Stevens' "Free Man In Paris" is a fitting tribute in this collection. For, whatever you think of the final result, clearly he was inspired by Joni and this is the result, rather than just another tired cover.
Carry on, Sufjan!
Rating: - Long Time Waiting for this
This album is the result of a tribute to Joni hosted by TNT Network almost 5 years ago. While some find this missing a few cuts or some of her most popular songs, it is nonetheless a wonderful album. What's unfortunate is that many who buy may not have seen the actual broadcast that was touching and very well produced. It's a shame that TNT didn't release the video of the broadcast. I've been listening to kd Langs version of help me for almost five years from my saved tape; it was the most memorable ... Read More
Rating: - Joni tribute just so so
I just got "Shine" and absolutely love it. Joni is coming into her own again. This tribute album is just so so. Lots of different interpretations, but it doesn't work for me. Kind of boring, like the Leonard Cohen tribute album "Tower of Song." The originals are better, why bother with this one.
Rating: - Why you are making a huge mistake to pass this up....
I was comparing this album and Herbie Hancocks new release "River TheJoni Letters". Both are uniformly excellent but the difference is that in the Hancock album you have Herbie unifying the entire experience. This album is very uneven in the listening. There is a vast textural disparity from the smoothness of James Taylor's version of "River" to Bjork's "Boho Dance" cover. So I think the first impulse of many listeners would be to dismiss this album. What a huge mistake that is. The common thread in ... Read More
- Excellent (7 out of 12 cuts)The 1st 5 cuts are boring uncreative fare.
Wow, do things take off on Prince's cut - contemp R & B / gospel / jazz but what a vocal performance and such an original arrangement.
The rest of the cuts are also top class. Creative and so "right" and musical they more than make up for the first 5.
Highly recommended.
- Sufjan Stevens' "Paris" IS a tributeWow, tough room. Still, I think Sufjan Stevens' "Free Man In Paris" is a fitting tribute in this collection. For, whatever you think of the final result, clearly he was inspired by Joni and this is the result, rather than just another tired cover.
Carry on, Sufjan!
- Long Time Waiting for thisThis album is the result of a tribute to Joni hosted by TNT Network almost 5 years ago. While some find this missing a few cuts or some of her most popular songs, it is nonetheless a wonderful album. What's unfortunate is that many who buy may not have seen the actual broadcast that was touching and very well produced. It's a shame that TNT didn't release the video of the broadcast. I've been listening to kd Langs version of help me for almost five years from my saved tape; it was the most memorable ... Read More
- Joni tribute just so soI just got "Shine" and absolutely love it. Joni is coming into her own again. This tribute album is just so so. Lots of different interpretations, but it doesn't work for me. Kind of boring, like the Leonard Cohen tribute album "Tower of Song." The originals are better, why bother with this one.
- Why you are making a huge mistake to pass this up....I was comparing this album and Herbie Hancocks new release "River TheJoni Letters". Both are uniformly excellent but the difference is that in the Hancock album you have Herbie unifying the entire experience. This album is very uneven in the listening. There is a vast textural disparity from the smoothness of James Taylor's version of "River" to Bjork's "Boho Dance" cover. So I think the first impulse of many listeners would be to dismiss this album. What a huge mistake that is. The common thread in ... Read More
