My Top 10 Joni Mitchell Songs
The first time I ever heard Joni Mitchell’s voice, I was 11 years old.
Between the ages of nine and 11 I had lived with two different families and had not settled, before I had finally been put with a family who I liked, who I could relate to.
They owned a big rambling house, lots of kids, a dog, and a huge collection of vinyl.
I had just started to play the guitar and was a quick learner, the minute I picked it up and held it in my arms I knew that it would become a life long friend, and a massive source of comfort to me.
Check out my playlist on Spotify at the end of this post!
There was a big sitting room right at the other end of the house, with a huge fireplace in it that was rarely used and it was here that they kept the vinyl. And what a collection they had! Music as I had never heard it before, not the vacuous tootlings of Duran Duran, or the obvious bad synth, high treble mix, 80s pop that my peers were listening to.
No. Here were real people playing real instruments, telling real stories, confessional, with depth, meaning and a decent amount of bass, and Joni Mitchell was their queen.
One day, in the rambling old house, I heard a voice coming from the far sitting room, this voice seemed all at once so painful and yet so familiar to me that I followed it, like a siren.
I entered the room where the record had been put on and abandoned by its listener. I sat down, barely breathing, I listened to the whole of side A without moving a muscle.
Joni took me on her journey of pain, of longing, of abandonment and loss, but it was also my journey, to have been shunted around between three different families by the age of 11, to miss my mother and father with a longing that almost drove me mad, meant that I already knew what real loss felt like, and here was someone who had found a way to articulate her loss, through her high plaintive bird-like calls and her low vibrato words, she spoke directly to my broken young soul and the message was: ‘As long as you can write it down and sing it out, you will be ok’.
The album in question was, of course: Blue, but here began a lifelong love affair with Joni Mitchell and all her songs and music. I have been a faithful lover and embraced every album, every genre that Joni has moved in and out of, because her work and her words are always so confessional, honest, so powerful.
I’ve been asked to compile a playlist of my top 10 Joni Mitchell songs, not an easy task as she is really a storyteller, a filmmaker, and every song is great in its own complete way, but here are the ones that have spoken to me the most over the past 35 years, the songs that touched the broken heart of that little girl and gave her hope.
Here’s my Top 10 all time favourite Joni tacks. Hear all the songs on my Spotify playlist at the end of this post!
- Little Green. There is a lullabye feel to this song, and a sweet sad hope that she clings to.
- A Case of You. I think this is one of the most painfully honest love songs I have ever heard. It is confessional in the true sense of the word.
- Michael from Mountains. I love the imagery in this song, and it gave me a sense of freedom, a sense that one day I would be able to make my own decisions, and go were I pleased.
- River. This song is a perfect lament, there is such painful longing and regret in it. lamenting the past, longing to be far away ‘I would teach my feet to fly…’
- Edith and The Kingpin. I love the production on this song, it shows Joni’s true artistry and versatility, the way she uses her voice as an additional instrument. It’s also a very original subject to write about.
- Amelia. Here Joni appears to me as a filmmaker, the strange beauty of the lyrical visual landscape she creates is as clear in my mind as anything I have actually seen with my physical eyes.
- Blue Motel Room. This song pretty much speaks for itself, we’ve all been there, the agony and insecurity of love… ‘will you still love me?’ she asks, so honest. I know, Joni… I know.
- Both Sides Now. Here I am referring to her 2000 version of this song. I believe that Joni’s voice matured into this song in such a beautiful way, a few thousand cigarettes deeper and you can hear every single heartbeat of her life in it.
- Woodstock. I love the mystery and beauty of this song, for me and I think for many, it is the anthem of a generation. I love the fact that she couldn’t be at the festival and yet she wrote the anthem for it!
- Night Ride Home. There is a simplicity and a serenity to this song which comforts me, the title itself is a comfort.
