Saturday, January 18, 2014

352. Hejira

Hejira
Joni Mitchell
1976














Tracks
1. Coyote
2. Amelia
3. Furry Sings The Blues
4. Strange Boy
5. Hejira
6. Song For Sharon
7. Black Crow
8. Blue Motel Room
9. Refuge Of The Roads


I am a huge fan of Joni Mitchell and was quite excited to listen to this album, which is comprised completely of songs I had never heard of.  But Joni, Joni, Joni...this was not as good as it could have been.

I read some comments that people had posted on YouTube under these songs.  One person said that every line of "Song For Sharon" explored the journey of being a woman.  Hmmmm...I don't know about that.  I am a woman and I have never played bingo in Staten Island.  I suppose I could relate to her complaining about the pressure of having children but other than that the lyrics were a miss for me.

Joni's writing style always seemed like more of a train of thought that actual lyrics.  While this is frequently charming, I felt like she missed her mark this time around.  The songs also seemed to all have identical melodies (although I thoroughly enjoyed "Blue Motel Room") and I felt myself wanting her to take more risks.

Of course, it is Joni so the singing is beautiful and it is easy to listen to.  Still, she has set the bar high before and I was disappointed.

RATING: 3/5

"Blue Motel Room":

1 comment:

  1. Joni Mitchell's singing always makes me a little sad, but her lyrics are very pleasant. I thought this album was a good one.

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