Joni Mitchell - Hejira
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Free Music Notes for Hejira
Free Music Review: The true magical mystery tour
Hit: 5 Stars
One of the meanings of "Hejira" is to escape with noble bearings. This recording allows Joni Mitchell to do just that; escape the tags that were placed on her, the relationships that hadn't quite worked, the expectations of an industry geared toward sales. All the while her creativity blossoms in ways previously unrevealed.
After the departure of " Hissing of Summer Lawns" Mitchell was left with two choices : make a recording that fit into the mold she had created in the past or continue a musical/poetic journey. She jumped in with some friends for a road trip and then returned by herself, processing, writing. The road became a metaphor for the lyrics.
"Coyote" is just a fun escape. Rugged Don Juan, the one who might be encountered in the Canadian backbrush, the guy who people in town talk about but follows his own instincts, in fact lives off of them.
"Amelia" is a great epihpany song. Someone who maybe feels that her life has been a series of "false alarms" but finally gets it. She has a dream to fly, and that entails being solo at times.
Moving through the rest of the tracks, we see misunderstood admiration ( "Furry Sings the Blues"), a fantastic summary of life's paradox ( "Hejira"), and a torch singer in the making ( " Blue Motel Room"). Other songs include " Song for Sharon", an epic poem of sorts, and "Black Crow", a rocker that beckons back to Mitchell's school days. This is a CD that really, to me, marks the turn of Joni Mitchell's career. Her voice is different on this one, seasoned, the writing a clarion call for things to come. Buy "Song to a Seagull" as an introduction to the first phase ( and for the references made in "Amelia" and other songs that harken back to the first effort), and purchase " Hejira" to meet the second phase of a remarkable artist with several peak periods.
Free Music Review: Joni is at her best, as usual
Hit: 5 Stars
Each of Joni's albums has its own sound, HEJIRA included. It is unlike any of her other albums and has its own distinct flavor. Luckily, although the feel changes throughout the course of Joni's work, her genius is felt throughout every song. Although these songs are much different from say those on COURT AND SPARK, they are just a brilliant. I have to say that my favorite song from the album is "Song for Sharon"--eight minutes long and absolutely hypnotic. Many of Joni's other songs deal with women on a quest for lasting love, but none of them have dealt with it so obsessively. The narrator from "Sharon" is so fixated on thoughts of marriage that they threaten to suffocate her...the feelings of claustrophobia and paranoia are evident even in the eerie sound of the instruments. It's an absolutely fascinating song that will not leave your mind...and it's got great lines like, "Mama's nylons underneath my cowgirl jeans" or "There's a gypsy down on Bleecker Street, I went in to see her as a kind of joke. She lit a candle for my love life and eighteen bucks went up in smoke." Only Joni could put it so bitingly (I love the way she moans out the words "Eight! Teen! Bucks!") The other underrated masterpiece of the album is "Blue Motel Room," a great jazzy piece that shows Joni's talent for the blues. It, too, has some great lines like "You and me we're like America and Russia...we're always keeping scare. We're always balancing the power, and that can be a cold, cold war." Or, one of my favorites: "Tell 'em you've got German measles, honey, tell 'em you got germs." The expression in her voice on this song is masterful. This is a great album.Free Music Review: One of her best
Hit: 5 Stars
It's been said that there've only been a tiny few true musical geniuses of the 20th century. Louis Armstrong, certainly one of them, immediately comes to mind as does Charlie Parker, Bob Dylan, Miles Davis, Art Tatum and Duke Ellington -- among others.
You can add Joni Mitchell to that elite list.
On "Hejira," Mitchell enlists such venerable sidemen as the late bassist Jaco Pastorius and Victor Feldman -- also deceased -- on vibes, brilliant guitarist Larry Carlton, noted sax player and bandleader Tom Scott and a tasty "harp" cameo by Neil Young on "Furry Sings the Blues."
While this recording clearly showcases Mitchell and her immense talent, the other players all make important background contributions as well: Bobbye Hall, percussion, John Guerin, drums, Max Bennet, bass, Alec Most, clarinet, Chuck Domanico, bass and Chuck Findley, unspecified "horn."
For my taste, however, the featured collaborations with Pastourius are particularly scintillating: "Coyote," "Amelia," "Hejira," and "Refuge of the Roads," highlight Pastorius' understated but essential contributions to this recording. Jaco picks up the vibe of these tunes beautifully and his work on fretless bass provides sweet counterpoint to Mitchell's vocals and guitar. God, why do these people have to leave us so soon??
In the end, you have Mitchell's brilliant lyrics, expressive, jazzy vocals and that wonderful guitar work of hers with the myriad alternative tunings working their magic that sounds just as fresh, poignant and emotionally powerful as it did in 1976 when the album was released.
She's a stone genius, ain't no doubt about it. 5 stars.
Free Music Review: What a huge surprise!!!
Hit: 5 Stars
Never hearing Coyote before, and public FM station played it and I was fascinated. Only being somewhat familiar with some Joni Mitchell songs, I learned Coyote was on Hejira and put it on my wish list. Couple weeks later I actually ran across the CD in a discount bin and was just too happy to pick it up! I was amazed at what I was hearing. After about a year, I have yet to tire of the music. The songs are long with many versus. Lyrics are very haunting at times. Loneliness, travel, and simple human interaction. Strangers and weird situations. Long for home while thinking about paradise. Parallel of life and long road - the safe containment between the lines and the wandering out of bounds. Multiple paths and decisions made, both bad and good. Great music for late at night or long distance travel. Most songs guitar and bass smooth sounding but very complex at times. Most songs with a trance effect. Some sharp lyrics and style effects a bit over the top that I can do without, but they eventually get absorbed a bit. Very much touchy feely stuff from a woman's perspective but you (males) still relate in many ways because she sings about many ideas that effect everyone. Some lyrics involve one-on-one interactions, and what is truly fascinating about Joni is her abilty to put you in both character shoes at the same time. Result is you actually know what both people are feeling although she mainly sings from the first person perspective. I am rambling on here a bit, but in conclusion, from the experiences she sings about, it tends to be inward focused and exposes self thoughts and motivations. Life changing in several dimensions. And just to think, all of this for $5.99 plus tax.Free Music Review: "HEJIRA": JONI MITCHELL'S FLIGHT FROM THE BLUES, PART TWO
Hit: 5 Stars
Joni Mitchell's absorbing "Hejira" (noun; any flight or journey from danger or undesirable circumstance towards a more desirable and congenial place) marks the second time she let her listeners in on the fact that she just couldn't take "it" any longer and travelled in pursuit of a happier space. (The first was "For The Roses".)
However, this was no simple sojourn as with "For The Roses". This was a cross-country trek by herself, documented in the nine tracks here which are each somewhat long and can be difficult listening because here she has stretched her song formats to the max: it's what I consider to be "folk-jazz" and there is nothing here of a Top 40 singles style. What the listener gets are serious ruminations sung over her magnificent rhythm guitar and jazz bassist Jaco Pastorius' melodic underpining. Her lyrics, always meaningful and memorable, are stretched, also. With fascinating imagery abounding, a sophisticated rhyming pattern and just a general great intelligence, these song lyrics can stand by themselves as great poetry next to any work by any great poet, I dare say. One can get quite lengthy discussing the songs topically, so I just won't go into that here; but I must say that tracks like "Coyote", "Furry Sings The Blues", "Song For Sharon", "Refuge Of The Roads" and the title track remain some of my very favorite Joni Mitchell compositions: although they are certainly most autobiographical, I have related to them and, therefore, they have touched my life profoundly.
So, if you're in the mood to spend some quality time with a set of songs that goes above and beyond the norm, "Hejira" is the album for you.