Joni Mitchell

Joni Mitchell (1943- ) is a Canadian singer / songwriter, born Roberta Joan Anderson. Originally a rather twee singer of folksy anthems such as Both Sides Now and Chelsea Morning, both of which were hits for Judy Collins, and the latter song was also included on Fairport Convention's eponymous début LP. Matthews Southern Comfort covered Woodstock in a soft rock style and took it to number 1, but her only UK chart hit was the environmentally conscious Big Yellow Taxi (1970), which almost cracked the Top 10. Nazareth also hit the charts with This Flight Tonight from Blue. However, she is far better known to British audiences for her ground-breaking albums, which range from sparse, emotionally naked drama (Blue) to full-blown jazz experimentation (Mingus). She made her life the template for her lyrics, writing songs that related her experience of giving a daughter up for adoption, her relationships, and issues such as televangelism. She retired from the music scene after the 2007 album Shine.

She made an early appearance in session on Top Gear, singing Chelsea Morning before it had even appeared on Clouds (1969). She was backed by the John Cameron Group, who had worked on Donovan's records. While her earlier work on LPs such as Songs For A Seagull and Ladies Of The Canyon chimed effortlessly with Peel's folk leanings at the time, he felt that she had lost her way in the LPs she subsequently recorded while aiming for a jazz / rock fusion that rejected her folk roots. However:

"'I have never been a great admirer of Joni Mitchell's work, feeling that the considerable promise of her earlier work had disintegrated into a James Taylor-like welter of self-pity and self-indulgence. However, her recently released LP, The Hissing Of Summer Lawns, is magnificent. (1975, Searching For Stars, from The Listener, 1975-12-25 and 1976-01-01, reprinted in Olivetti Chronicles, Corgi edition, 2008, p. 247)."

Consequently, he featured the LP heavily in his shows during the last week of November 1975, naming it one of his 1975 Records Of The Year, and on 23 November 1976 devoted the entire show to Hejira, a slower and more reflective effort than her previous opus. It is significant that this came a few days after Anarchy In The U.K. was first played, and Peel subsequently turned his attention in other directions.

Festive Fifty Entries

 * None

Sessions

 * One session only (she was booked for several others while on tour in 1968/9, but all were cancelled for various reasons). No commercial release.

1. Recorded: 1968-09-23. First broadcast: 29 September 1968. Repeated: 10 November 1968.
 * Chelsea Morning / Galleries / Night In the City / Cactus Tree

Other Shows Played

 * 26 November 1975 and 28 November 1975: tracks from Hissing Of Summer Lawns
 * 23 November 1976: Hejira