Song Review: Joni Mitchell - “Traveling (Hejira) [Demo]”
“All right, that felt great,” Joni Mitchell said after laying down a demo of the song that would become “Hejira.”
It sounded even better than great and the recording - now dubbed “Traveling (Hejira) [Demo]” - is the rare demonstration that may someday turn out to be the song’s definitive rendition.
With fully formed melody and lyrics delivered solo and acoustic, the nascent “Hejira” is brighter than the final iteration that titled Mitchell’s 1976 LP. And Mitchell renders it as if she’s aiming for a take - it sparkles flawlessly to the point one has to wonder if she and her in-studio collaborators forgot about it until they started to put together the forthcoming (Oct. 4) Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 4: The Asylum Years (1976-1980).
At this point, it doesn’t really matter. What does matter is that this long-vaulted gem - which follows Mitchell’s Dec. 4, 1975, performance of “Coyote” - is finally out.
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Neil Young debut solo album (1969) artwork cover Roland Diehl / Neil Young Watercolour Portrait by Joni Mitchell, 1969 / Neil Young: The Rolling Stone Interview – Rolling Stone by Cameron Crowe, Aug 1975 / Joni Mitchell and Neil Young at the airport, 1969 / Sugar Mountain - Neil Young / Reckless Daughter: A Portrait of Joni Mitchell by David Yaffe / The Circle Game - Joni Mitchell / Neil Young excerpt from Waging Heavy Peace (2012), photo by Rich Zimmermann, 1973 @meadow-dusk / Joni Mitchell with Neil Young & The Santa Monica Flyers, August 26, 1973 / Review: Neil Young’s ‘Archives II’ Is a Stunning Look Back at His Peak – Rolling Stone, Nov 2020 / Neil Young excerpt from Waging Heavy Peace (2012) / Warner Records’ launch party for Neil Young’s “Tonight’s the Night” ca. June 1975 / Neil being soft with Joni at The Last Waltz following “Furry Sings the Blues” @meadow-dusk /Joni Mitchell and Neil Young, The Last Waltz, Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, California, November 25, 1976./ The Making of The Last Waltz, the Band’s Concert-Film Masterpiece | Vanity Fair /The Last Waltz "Helpless" @joelmccrea / Joni quote / Credit on Hejira album (1976) / Neil Young photo in Rolling Stone, Dec 2021 / Joni Mitchell photo by Anton Corbijn, Chalk Mark in A Rainstorm album (1988) / 'I Stand With Neil Young!' Joni Mitchell, Jan 2022 / Neil Young Interview: Crazy Horse ‘Barn,’ Archives, ‘Harvest’ – Rolling Stone, Dec 2021 / Neil Young and Joni Mitchell at the Grammys, Feb 2012
At the Billy Cowsill Benefit Concert, El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles on September 13, 2004; photo by Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images.
Q: “After playing huge stadiums and arenas, what’s it like to play coffee shops?”
Peter Tork: “Oh it’s just the same. Or I should say, the trade-off is a fair trade-off. There’s something lost and something gained, as Joni Mitchell said, in living every day. The intimacy makes up for the noise. It’s a little difficult for me to play for one person, for some reason, but a couple of dozen people in a room and I’m a happy camper.” - The News and Observer, September 13, 2004
Song Review: Joni Mitchell with Neil Young & The Stray Gators - “You Turn Me On I’m a Radio”
With Neil Young & The Stray Gators behind her, Joni Mitchell on April 28, 1972, recorded what might be the definitive version of “You Turn Me On I’m a Radio.”
And she then left it in the vault for 51 long years.
Wobbly and obviously stoned, this rendition reveals the difference between a song recorded for airplay and one recorded for the musicians’ own joy. With Young on electric guitar and harmonica and Mitchell singing wordlessly over his mournful bleats, this previously unreleased treasure falls in the latter category.
It’s not perfect. Yet it’s absolutely perfect.
“Radio” follows “Help Me” (Demo) and “Like Veils Said Lorraine” ahead of the Oct. 6 arrival of Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 3: The Asylum Years (1972-1975).
Grade card: Joni Mitchell with Neil Young & The Stray Gators - “You Turn Me On I’m a Radio” - A+
Do you have any recommendations for getting into Joni Mitchell? asking the expert over here for any tips on where to begin with her ✨
calling me a joni expert really is high praise i appreciate it lmfao i have a best of joni playlist that i recently updated when her stuff got re-added to spotify which you can listen to here; i have to go through all the archive and live stuff which i didn't include on this first pass (i'm going to put it all in chronological recording order for those who like to listen in order) but here's my personal faves from her discography!
In 2011, Ian and Mickey struggle with conflicting desires as their relationship grows. When the universe decides to drop them in 2024, their older selves balance the task of setting them on the right path while grappling with their history.
Spoiler alert: it all works out in the end.
Part 1: Tears and Fears and Feeling Proud
hey yall! my time travel fic is done! Ill be posting part two and some art next week, so stay tuned!
fun fact! I was going to name this story landslide after the fleetwood mac song that makes me cry every damn time, but then i saw joni mitchells discography was back on spotify and bitch, the lilith fair ass girls are so back