Joni Mitchell – Hejira (1976/2013)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 51:59 minutes | 1,75 GB | Genre: Pop
Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks.com | Front cover | @ Rhino/Elektra
Considered to be one of her strongest records, Hejira was written by Joni Mitchell while she was traveling cross-country by herself from Maine to Los Angeles, California. The songs contain prominent imagery including highways, small towns, snow, and restlessness. About the album, Mitchell said: “the whole ‘Hejira’ album was really inspired… I wrote the album while traveling cross-country by myself and there is this restless feeling throughout it… The sweet loneliness of solitary travel.” The album’s name is taken from the arabic word hijra, which means “journey”. Released in 1976, the album reached #13 on the Billboard 200 pop albums chart and was certified Gold.
Hejira prominently features Mitchell’s guitar and the distinctive bass playing of Jaco Pastorius (most notably on “Refuge of the Roads” and “Hejira”), and is more cohesive and accessible than some of her later work, which was more jazz-oriented.
Joni Mitchell’s Hejira is the last in an astonishingly long run of top-notch studio albums dating back to her debut. Some vestiges of her old style remain here; “Song for Sharon” utilizes the static, pithy vocal harmonies from Ladies of the Canyon’s “Woodstock,” “Refuge of the Roads” features woodwind touches reminiscent of those in “Barangrill” from For the Roses, and “Coyote” is a fast guitar-strummed number that has precedents as far back as Clouds’ “Chelsea Morning.” But by and large, this release is the most overtly jazz-oriented of her career up to this point — hip and cool, but never smug or icy. “Blue Motel Room” in particular is a prototypic slow jazz-club combo number, appropriately smooth, smoky, and languorous. “Coyote,” “Black Crow,” and the title track are by contrast energetically restless fast-tempo selections. The rest of the songs here cleverly explore variants on mid- to slow-tempo approaches. None of these cuts are traditionally tuneful in the manner of Mitchell’s older folk efforts; the effect here is one of subtle rolls and ridges on a green meadow rather than the outgoing beauty of a flower garden. Mitchell’s verses, many concerned with character portraits, are among the most polished of her career; the most striking of these studies are that of the decrepit Delta crooner of “Furry Sings the Blues” and the ambivalent speaker of “Song to Sharon,” who has difficulty choosing between commitment and freedom. Arrangements are sparse, yet surprisingly varied, the most striking of which is the kaleidoscopically pointillistic one used on “Amelia.” Performances are excellent, with special kudos reserved for Jaco Pastorius’ melodic bass playing on “Refuge of the Roads” and the title cut. This excellent album is a rewarding listen.
Tracklist:
01 – Coyote
02 – Amelia
03 – Furry Sings The Blues
04 – A Strange Boy
05 – Hejira
06 – Song For Sharon
07 – Black Crow
08 – Blue Motel Room
09 – Refuge Of The Roads
Personnel:
Joni Mitchell: vocals, acoustic & electric guitars
Larry Carlton: acoustic & electric guitars
Abe Most: clarinet on “Hejira”
Neil Young: harmonica on “Furry Sings the Blues”
Chuck Findley: horns on “Refuge of the Roads”
Tom Scott: horns on “Refuge of the Roads”
Victor Feldman: vibraphone on “Amelia”
Jaco Pastorius: bass on “Refuge of the Roads”, “Black Crow”, “Hejira” and “Coyote”
Max Bennett: bass on “Song for Sharon”, “Furry Sings the Blues”
Chuck Domanico: bass on “Blue Motel Room”
John Guerin: drums
Bobbye Hall: percussion
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