Joni Mitchell-Car On A Hill

car on a hill OFF COURT AND SPARK..THE TRUE MASTERPEICE OF FOLK/ROCK MUSIC OF THE 70S

Category:

Music

Tags:

• joni
• mitchell
• court
• and
• spark
• pop
• rock
• folk

[backgame]

My favorite artist of all time....period. "Court and Spark" is my constant companion. Joni's first nine albums were just about as good as it can get. The only collection that comes close is Pink Floyd (for me, that is).

[DrDreamPhD]

My favorite Joni track. You can see how by 1974 Joni has begun to wander pretty far from folk and even rock, toward jazz and prog rock. I hear soprano sax, trumpet, and flute. I love how the half-note triplets (at 1:00) become a new meter at the trippy choral part and back to triplets and the old meter (at 1:25) into jazz rock. There's the cool ending (2:30) with the electric piano and acoustic guitar harmonics trading off. But best part is 2:05 when she says "sweetness in the dark".

[buggeringon]

when ther s so much sweetness in the dark

[terrybeaton]

Anybody ever wonder what that castle-like building over Joni's shoulder on For The Roses is. It's the Bessbourough Hotel in Saskatoon; Joni spent her youth there. It's very near the Broadway Bridge mentioned in Cerokee Louise. You can google (image) both. In many pictures you will see both landmarks together(their image is rather iconic in Saskatchewan.) I was born in Saskatoon and live three blocks away, about a mile from Joni's old highschool. She still visits the neighbourhood now and then!

[TheKhaibear]

@DrDreamPhD good call.

[TheKhaibear]

Ahhh. Court and Spark' I'm transported back to southern CA in the early 70' where my parents played this all the time. Still one of my favourite Joni albums. Thanks for the post.

[marialena68]

@JasonRB02 -- Love your comment, Jason. I completely agree with your astute assessment of Joni's genius. The word would be "profundity" -- but hey, "profoundness" delivers the same message. You would not believe how many times I have played all of my Joni CD's, and I still have all the LP's from my college days in Berkeley. Still love listening the "Ladies of the Canyon" on Sunday morning while I am making coffee and love listening to "Blue" when I'm feeling, well . . . . a bit blue!

[froggo66]

@DrDreamPhD I share your love for this song ... it might not be my very favorite JM song, but it's in the top 5. But your comment on the "sweetness in the dark" is so perfect. Those few words express and universalize the most personal sense of vulnerability and sensuousness, in such a touching, sweet poetic way. There are a few lines in Hejira's "Song for Sharon" that have the same impact for me. She is such a lyrical genius! Thanks for the breakdown of this song's brilliance, Dr.

[treg1980]

@backgame I agree, although Don Juan's reckless Daughter is a boring uneven mass that could have been better. Only 2 or 3 songs on that album that I really like. Then Joni became lost in the 80's, but returned to her roots with the amazing Night Ride Home album in 1991.

Joni is one of my fave artists as well. She changed my life and the way I look at life, love and everything in between!