Hejira

Amazon.com essential recording
After the expanded instrumental scale and sonic experimentation of Court & Spark and The Hissing of Summer Lawns, Joni Mitchell reverses that flow for the more intimate, interior music on Hejira, which retracts the arranging style to focus on Mitchell's distinctive acoustic guitar and piano, and the brilliant, lyrical bass fantasias of fretless bass innovator Jaco Pastorius. Known for his furious, sometimes rococo figures beneath the music of Weather Report, Pastorius is tamed by Mitchell's cooler, more deliberate ballads: these meditations coax a far gentler, subdued lyricism from Pastorius, whose intricate bass counterpoints Mitchell's coolly elegant singing, especially on the sublime "Amelia," which transforms the mystery of Amelia Earheart into a parable of both feminism and romantic self-discovery. This isn't Mitchell at her most obviously ambitious, yet the depth of feeling, poetic reach, and musical confidence make this among the finest works in a very fine canon. --Sam Sutherland

Hejira,Joni Mitchell,Elektra / Wea,Folk-Jazz,Folk-Rock,Jazz-Rock,Pop,Popular Music,Rock,Rock/Pop,Singer/Songwriter

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Hejira

Average customer rating: One of her best If William Blake were alive today he would be Joni Mitchell Joni gets spacy. I lose interest. "Like me, she had a dream to fly" One of my favorite albums

Hejira Joni Mitchell Manufacturer: Elektra / Wea ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Jazz | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Contemporary | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Similar Items: The Hissing of Summer Lawns Court and Spark Blue Ladies of the Canyon For the Roses ASIN: B000002GYC Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

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

Amazon.com essential recording

After the expanded instrumental scale and sonic experimentation of Court & Spark and The Hissing of Summer Lawns, Joni Mitchell reverses that flow for the more intimate, interior music on Hejira, which retracts the arranging style to focus on Mitchell's distinctive acoustic guitar and piano, and the brilliant, lyrical bass fantasias of fretless bass innovator Jaco Pastorius. Known for his furious, sometimes rococo figures beneath the music of Weather Report, Pastorius is tamed by Mitchell's cooler, more deliberate ballads: these meditations coax a far gentler, subdued lyricism from Pastorius, whose intricate bass counterpoints Mitchell's coolly elegant singing, especially on the sublime "Amelia," which transforms the mystery of Amelia Earheart into a parable of both feminism and romantic self-discovery. This isn't Mitchell at her most obviously ambitious, yet the depth of feeling, poetic reach, and musical confidence make this among the finest works in a very fine canon. --Sam Sutherland

Customer Reviews:

One of her best.......2007-06-08

The lilting sounds of her electric guitar and Jonis increasingly rich vocals make this one of her 5 star efforts in my book. Every track that you listen to invites a repeat.

If William Blake were alive today he would be Joni Mitchell.......2007-05-04

This disc is, quiet simply, a fully realized work of art. It is a diamond-studded gift to humanity from a Genius at the top of her game. There is not a single misstep. The poetry, the music, the instrumentation and arrangements blend seamlessly with the vocals to create an open doorway into the heart and mind of a fascinating woman. If one chooses to step inside one is profoundly and forever altered by the experience.

Joni gets spacy. I lose interest........2007-04-19

While the poetry is as sumptuous as ever, Hejira doesn't do it for me musically. Jaco Pastorius may be a phenomenal bass player, but here his instrument intrudes where it shouldn't, and Joni seems intent on conjuring up a more obvious darkness than her previous masterpieces. The angel is gone, replaced by a more world-weary and cynical chanteuse. There are a few interesting tracks but they pale compared to what has come before.

"Like me, she had a dream to fly".......2007-04-13

It's hard to say if many accurate reviews of Joni Mitchell's reverent 1976 album of the road Hejira have ever been written. People tend to laud it with bizarre superlatives - "her third 'poetic' album after Clouds and For The Roses!" "Her third masterpiece after Blue and Court and Spark!" "Her second album in her 'difficult' period after The Hissing Of Summer Lawns!" or "The album where it all began to fall apart." I don't think I agree with any of those, and listening to the meditative bass of her guitar in songs like "Amelia," it seems all that can really be said of Hejira and where it fits in Mitchell's canon is that it most certainly is the album in which her voice started to go, and also - and this has to be said - that it rides the borderline of being a little embarassing. Considering "Amelia," (in which Mitchell compares herself to Amelia Earhart), "Coyote (in which Mitchell contrasts herself to a coyote), and "Black Crow" (in which Mitchell compares herself to a crow), it begins to run the risk that Mitchell will pull up next to a gas station somewhere in Nebraska and write a plaintive melody about how she is similar to a squeegee. There's no escaping that, after Hissing of Summer Lawns, what Hejira most proved was that the beloved Mitchell of old was gone for good and that the new Mitchell was more beholden to her odder impulses in a manner that made her suffer melodically. Yet after owning Hejira for a couple of months, I can't get its rapt reverence of the highways out of my mind - her lyrics are at their astonishing best, whether describing walking past a wedding dress in Staten Island ("Song For Sharon") or being hit on by locals in a dive bar ("Coyote" - a favorite, defining lyric of the album from that song: "There's no telling how close to the bone and the skin and the eyes and the lips you can get/ and still feel so alone"). And the songs that truly grasp you right away only suck you in more on further listens - the whimsical "Blue Motel Room" proves Mitchell need not have mentioned, in 1974's "People's Parties," that she wished she had more sense of humor, the songs final verse revolves around a "peace talk, in a neutral cafe," and it charms with plaintive jazz classicism. "Amelia," that song comparing her to Amelia Earhart, is the one that grabs you instantly, and that's due to the awe in the lyrics, and that trademark Mitchell/ Jaco Pastorious guitar and bass interplay that sounds clunkier and slower than on all other records of Mitchell's, and seemingly marks the passing of lines on the highway. The song that brings the record into unforgettable focus, though, is "Refuge of the Roads," the final number in which the elation and freedom of the road turn into a vivid warmth. Mitchell's is often off on the record (How many can remember "A Strange Boy" or "Furry Sings The Blues"? I cannot), but at the point Mitchell arrives at that final "refuge" in "Roads" - the 'u' stretched to ecstatic oblivion - it becomes impossible not to admire and smile at Mitchell's "difficult" idiosyncrasies that made experiments like Hejira possible.

One of my favorite albums.......2007-03-13

Of all the albums I have heard over the years this is one of the best. I buy too many btw. Some discuss if earlier or later records by Joni are better. I love Mingus just as much as I love the 1st 3 or 4 albums where she used her amazing early material.

She, as shown in the documentary about her life and work, has always continued growing artistically and continued to take chances and make large changes. That is the sign of a superior artist. Few do it as well as she does.

I love her melodies, sense of rhythm and musical styles! Of course, she started as an amateur dancer and art student before getting into folk music almost by accident. Since then her work defies labels, a very good aspect of it.

I could go into detail about each track of this wonderful masterpiece but more than any one track, I have been touched by the whole, the way one song flows into the next.

Let me just mention that Fury Sings the Blues puts into poetry the injustices which black jazz and blues musicians faced and still face in the music business. A genius like Joni with her great sensitivity goes to the heart of the matter. Don't miss this one!

Average customer rating:

Hejira ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Court & Spark The Smiths The Queen Is Dead ASIN: B000GW88XI Release Date: 2006-10-03

Average customer rating:

Clouds/Blue/Hejira Joni Mitchell Manufacturer: Phantom Sound & Vision ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD ASIN: B000BRHY88 Release Date: 2000-11-21

Average customer rating: 25 miniature gems One of the best Worth buying

Denouement Manufacturer: GSP ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music ASIN: B00004WFBE Release Date: 1994-01-01

Tracks:

1. 3 Dances: Bagatelle
2. 3 Dances: Sarabande
3. 3 Dances: Gigue
4. 8 Dreamscapes:In Sorrow's Wake
5. 8 Dreamscapes: Skeleton
6. 8 Dreamscapes: Hejira
7. 8 Dreamscapes: Pine Cove
8. 8 Dreamscapes: Tufnell Park
9. 8 Dreamscapes: Watercolor
10. 8 Dreamscapes: Quicksilver
11. 8 Dreamscapes: The Current
12. 3 Delineations: Lullaby
13. 3 Delineations: Faire
14. 3 Delineations: Waiting For Dawn
15. 8 Discernments: Willow
16. 8 Discernments: Walking
17. 8 Discernments: Chant
18. 8 Discernments: Spider Dance
19. 8 Discernments: Heath
20. 8 Discernments: Snowflight
21. 8 Discernments: Royal Plum Wedding
22. 8 Discernments: Sherry's Waltz
23. 3 Diagrams: King Lotvin
24. 3 Diagrams: Numen
25. 3 Diagrams: Emergence

Customer Reviews:

25 miniature gems.......2004-07-19

Twenty-five beautiful original miniatures for the guitar. The sheet music books for all of the pieces are available from Guitar Solo Publications.

One of the best.......2003-01-09

If Ralph Towner is not the best composer for guitar these days, this guy is. One of the best classical guitar CDs I have heard, and the pieces are an absolute joy to play (while not being terribly difficult).

Worth buying.......2000-09-19

Now it is reprinted! This, originally 1994 classical guitar solo album of Andrew York is a must for his fans and recommendable for others. Most of the songs are not too hard for an intermediate guitar player, and though you may think they'll be somewhat plain, some of them are really sparkling. In short, they are beautiful and if you can play them by yourself you can appreciate them further. ...and they're not so hard! :)

Average customer rating:

Semi-Blue Manufacturer: Cabezon Music ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Folk | Styles | Music ASIN: B000CAG1M4 Release Date: 2003-07-22

Average customer rating:

Hejira Manufacturer: Hejira ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music ASIN: B000CA801O Release Date: 2005-06-07

Average customer rating:

Hejira Joni Mitchell Manufacturer: Wea/Rhino ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Jazz | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music Rhino Records | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music ASIN: B000HWZ5YW

Average customer rating:

Blue Clouds ,Hejira Joni Mitchell Manufacturer: Musicrama/Koch ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD ASIN: B0000DEO0W Release Date: 2001-04-11

Average customer rating:

Clouds/Blue/Hejira Manufacturer: Phantom Sound & Visi ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Rock | Imports | Stores | Music ASIN: B0000520Y7 Release Date: 2000-11-13

Tracks:

1. All I Want
2. My Old Man
3. Little Green
4. Carey
5. Blue
6. California
7. This Flight Tonight
8. River
9. A Case Of You
10. The Last Time I Saw Richard
11. Tin Angel
12. Chelsea Morning
13. I Don't Know Where I Stand
14. That Song About The Midway
15. Roses Blue
16. The Gallery
17. I Think I Understand
18. Songs To Aging Children Come
19. The Fiddle And The Drum
20. Both Sides, Now
21. Coyote
22. Amelia
23. Furry Sings The Blues
24. A Strange Boy
25. Hejira
26. Song For Sharon
27. Black Crow
28. Blue Motel Room
29. Refuge Of The Roads

Album Description

Three timeless hit albums by arguably the most important and influential female singer/ songwriter, Canadian guitarist/ pianist Joni Mitchell, all boxed up together at a special low price. Contains her first album to break the Billboard top 40, 1969's 'Cl

Album Details

Features: Blue, Clouds & Herjira

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Rap Music

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