Court And Spark

One thing that The Beatles' Abbey Road isn't normally recognised for is that it drew a line in the sand in terms of the recording process. Almost forty years later, Abbey Road sounds "modern" and The White Album doesn't, even there's only a one year difference between them. It's a simple as that.

So, once that technological bar was set, it's been reasonably easy to discern the "great" works of pop music since then...simply because, once the recording industry had reached that Abbey Road standard (1-2 years in the UK & the USA, often 3-4 years elsewhere), the material stood on its own...and Court And Spark sounds as fresh today as the day it was released.

Of course it would be recorded differently if it were recorded now...but not essentially so...and what we hear is a brave leap from folk (or at best, quiet singer-songwriter rock'n'roll) into jazz. Different timings, different playings...a different fluidity. Lyrically, as well, Joni takes a different stance.

Joni Mitchell Court And Spark

Joni Mitchell: Court And Spark

On Court & Spark, instead of her prior:

I love you
You love me
You do me wrong
I do you wrong

...hedonistic, promiscuous or at least emotionally "casual" thing which she transcribed so accurately on Blue, Joni's in a very different place. Three years on she's in L.A., surrounded by superficial Romance...and she's becoming aware that there's a dangerous current somewhere down there, below, tendrils of lonely Existentialism that might drag her down...

"...Help me, I think I'm falling in love with you
Are you gonna let me go there by myself
That's such a l-o-n-e-l-y thing to do...
Both of us flirtin' around
Flirtin' and flirtin', hurtin', too
We love our lovin'
Not like we love our freedom..."

Help Me

...but that her own strong sense of individuality might be her own downfall...

"...His eyes were the color of the sand and the sea
And the more he talked to me, you know
The more he reached me
But I couldn't let go of L.A
City of the fallen angels..."

Court & Spark

It's hard to understand the effect that Joni's departure to jazz had on the pop world:

some considered her a traitor
some thought she'd gone past the edge of no return
some watched The Brady Bunch, first time round

...but, in hindsight, Tom Scott and band did a remarkably tasteful job, keeping Joni centerstage for this remarkable, fluid album. Their tasteful work helped elevate Joni's toons, the best set of her career, into that so-seldom found space, the space that links pop to jazz.

So, what was all this facilitation for?

Well, Joni had narrowed her search in Life...and as we saw above, Love was now secondary to Freedom...as epitomised in the song she wrote for record-label owner David Geffen (and one-time lover, now gay billionaire)...which could just as easily have been for herself:

"...I was a free man in Paris
I felt unfettered and alive
No-one was calling me up for favors
No-one's future to decide on

You know, I'd go back there tomorrow
But for the work I've taken on
Stoking the star-maker machinery
Behind the popular song..."

Free Man In Paris

...And yet, her conscious choice was wreaking a terrible toll, as documented in the remarkable, journalistic, four-song burst:

People's Parties..."...Photo Beauty gets attention then here eye-paint's running down, she's got a rose in her teeth and a lampshade crown. One minute she's so happy, then she's crying on someone's knee saying: 'Laughing and crying, y'know, it's the same release'..."

The Same Situation..."...Still, I sent up my prayer, wondering who's there to hear. I said: '...Send me somebody who's strong and somewhat sincere...' With the millions of the lost and lonely ones, I called out to be released, caught in my struggle for Higher Achievement and my search for Love that don't seem to cease..."

Down To You..."...You go down to the pick-up station craving warmth and beauty. You settle for less than fascination, a few drinks later, you're not so choosy. When the closing lights strip off the shadows on this strange new flesh you've found, clutching the night to you like a fig-leaf, you hurry...to the blackness...and the blankets...to lay down...an impression...and your lone-li-ness..."

Just Like This Train... "...I used to count lovers like railroad cars, I counted them on my side. Lately I don't count on nuthin', I just let things slide...(&) this jealous lovin's gonna make me c-r-a-z-y, I can't find my goodness, I lost my heart on sour grapes...I lost my heart..."

Joni Mitchell's suicide attempt:

This is no April Fools' story: in the early '70s, singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell was so distraught about breaking off a romance with Jackson Browne that she attempted suicide.

This serious and sad incident happened circa 1972, while Mitchell was composing her album, For The Roses. It's reported by journalist Sheila Weller in her new book, Girls Like Us.

Weller reports that prior to the suicide attempt, Mitchell confided in a friend that the normally placid Browne had struck her.

...One confidante says "...[Joni] took pills. She cut herself up and threw herself against a wall and got completely bloodied glass broke. She vomited up the pills..." The incident, Weller says, is recalled in Mitchell's song, Car On A Hill, the stark number from Joni's watershed album, Court And Spark..."

Sheila Weller: Girls Like Us

"...Weller digs deep into [Joni Mitchell's] complex psychology and provides as close to an understanding of this difficult figure as anyone is likely to ever offer. An unfailingly entertaining read...a riveting story..." Mojo

"...Captivating. A strong amalgam of nostalgia, feminist history, astute insight, beautiful music and irresistible gossip. Weller's grand ambition winds up fulfilled..." Janet Maslin, The New York Times

One of Mitchell's ex-es, Dave Naylor, tells Weller that another Court And Spark song, Same Situation, is about (Warren) Beatty and People's Parties, the song that precedes it, is about Mitchell's brief adventure with Beatty in his life of Shampoo-era, socializing, up on Mulholland Drive with Jack Nicholson and pals.

Fox News April 1, 2008:

As if the concentration of journalism is too intense, Joni breaks both style of lyric and music with a rock'n'roll story about a hooker, Raised On Robbery, that's ridiculously out of place.

"...Hey honey-you've got lots of cash
Bring us round a bottle
And we'll have some laughs
Gin's what I'm drinking
I was raised on robbery

I'm a pretty good cook
I'm sitting on my groceries
Come up to my kitchen
I'll show you my best recipe
I try and I try but I can't save a cent
I'm up after midnight cooking
Trying to make my rent
I'm rough but I'm pleasin'
I was raised on robbery..."

Raised On Robbery

Though well-loved and a pre-released single that gained the album some early attention, I think it's not a bad song but a turkey in relation to the album...as is Twisted, an Annie Ross (an artist who Joni had loved since childhood) cover version about a psycho, done as camp jazz with cameos by Cheech & Chong. Eek!

However, sandwiched inbetween those two is the fifth song of that cycle, the best of the lot, Trouble Child:

"...So why does it come as a shock to you to find you really have no-one?
Only a river of changing faces looking for an ocean
They trickle through your leaky plans
Another dream over the dam
And you're lying in some room
Feeling like your right to be Human
Is going over, too...

...Trouble Child
Breaking like the waves at Malibu..."

Trouble Child

There hasn't been another album that I've heard that's anything like Court & Spark. If you don't have it, you should.

Joni Mitchell: Court And Spark

"...Court And Spark remains the Joni M. equivalent to The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band..." Amazon reviewer billy c bowden "Jett"

"...These songs are lush, nuanced and ethereal with dense and evocative melodies gushing over hazy textures. Joni's lyrics, which cast a poetic eye upon love, friendship and independence are smartly and impeccably crafted. The results are often phenomenal..." Amazon reviewer Laszlo Matyas

"...The unifying theme is the search for love and commitment amidst the hectic pace of a Los Angeles swarming with sweet-talkers, hustlers, phonies and 'beautiful people'...This is her masterpiece..." Amazon reviewer Stephen Triesch

"...I'm sorry now that I took so long to buy the re-mastered version of this wonderful album. It sounds so much better than the original CD. All of the instruments have much better definition and the overall sound is about as warm as you can hope a digital transfer can get..." Amazon reviewer Mark Bumgardner

"...If you can't understand why baby boomers complain that music is not what it used to be, pick up Court And Spark to see what they're talking about..." Amazon reviewer eclectictastes

Joni Mitchell on lack of respect for Court And Spark:

Is it true that you once played Dylan a just-finished tape of Court And Spark and he fell asleep?

This is true.

What does this do to your confidence when Bob Dylan falls asleep in the middle of your album?

Let me see, there was Louie Kemp and a girlfriend of his and David Geffen {then president of Elektra/Asylum Records} and Dylan. There was all this fussing over Bobby's project, 'cause he was new to the label, and Court And Spark, which was a big breakthrough for me, was being entirely and almost rudely dismissed. Geffen's excuse was, since I was living in a room in his house at the time, that he had heard it through all of its stages, and it was no longer any surprise to him. Dylan played his album {Planet Waves}, and everybody went, "Oh, wow." I played mine, and everybody talked and Bobby fell asleep. {Laughs} I said, "Wait a minute, you guys, this is some different kind of music for me, check it out." I knew it was good. I think Bobby was just being cute {laughs}. Rolling Stone interview July 1979

For more info, see:

wikipedia Court & Spark

Joni also released a LIVE album culled from the Court And Spark tour, recorded with Tom Scott & The L.A. Express.

Joni Mitchell LIVE: Miles Of Aisles

"...If there (was) one concert...I truly wished I had been at, this must be it. Trust me - this is Mitchell at the peak of her powers. This has everything...(it) is magnificent. Thank you Joni. Amazon reviewer Richard J. Thomas

"...Recorded primarily at the Universal Amphitheatre (circa '74), the album features Joni...backed up by the jazz ensemble, The L.A. Express, featuring horn player Tom Scott..." Amazon reviewer Scott "Degrassi fan"

"...'Joni, you have more flash than Mick Jagger, Richard Nixon and Gomer Pyle combined!', an enthusiastic fan shouts from the crowd...sending Joni & the rest of the audience into a roar of laughter. Moments like this bring a smile to my face every time, especially since I unfortunately never got a chance to catch Joni LIVE..." Amazon reviewer Anthony "unfettered and alive"

"...This music is all from the era I most enjoyed. All of the songs are classic Mitchell. All her creativity, joy, and sometimes loneliness are contained in this body of work. You won't regret it if you are a fan..." Amazon reviewer Igrayne "Avid listener and reader"

"...Of all of the concerts that I have attended in and around LA, this was the one that leaves me with a smile and a tear...It was cold out, that night. This was when there was no roof over the place...Joni turned in a solid performance, along with the backup band. Considering how much she scaled back her LIVE appearances after, it was a privilege to be there. How much better the story would have been, (if I) had I married (the girl) whom I was with..." Amazon reviewer William Schmidt

For more info, see: