Joni: The Anthology

by Barney Hoskyns, Barney Hoskyns (Introduction), Barney Hoskyns (Editor)

Overview

Selected by Harper's Bazaar as one of the "Best New Books of 2017 (So Far)"
A Library Journal Fall Editors' Pick

"Nearly 50 years’ worth of critical efforts to solve Mitchell’s mysteries have now been rounded up in Barney Hoskyns’s Joni: The Anthology....what comes through most consistently is a possessive impulse, a desire to really know an artist whose fierce privacy has often seemed at odds with the impression of intimacy conveyed by her music." —The Atlantic

Nine Grammys. More than ten million albums sold. Named one of the greatest singers and songwriters of all time by Rolling Stone. Joni: The Anthology is an essential collection of writings on Joni Mitchell that charts every major moment of the famed troubadour's extraordinary career, as it happened.

From album reviews, incisive commentary, and candid conversations, Joni: The Anthology includes, among other things, a review of Mitchell's first-ever show at LA's Troubadour in June of 1968, a 1978 interview by musician Ben Sidran on jazz great Charles Mingus, a personal reminiscence by Ellen Sander, a confidant of the Los Angeles singer-songwriter community, and a long "director's cut" version of editor Barney Hoskyns' 1994 MOJO interview. A time capsule of an icon, the anthology spans the entirety of Joni's career between 1967-2007, as well as thoughtful commentary on her early years.

In collecting materials long unavailable, rare, or otherwise difficult to find, Joni: The Anthology illuminates the evolution of modern rock journalism while providing an invaluable and accessible guide to appreciating the highs—and the lows—of a twentieth century legend.

“Once I crossed the border, I began to write and my voice changed. I no longer was imitative of the folk style. My voice was then my real voice and with a slight folk influence, but from the first album it was no longer folk music. It was just a girl with a guitar that made it look that way.”—Joni Mitchell, 1994

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250148629
Publisher:	Picador
Publication date:	10/03/2017
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Barney Hoskyns is the cofounder and editorial director of the online rock-journalism library Rock’s Backpages, and author of several books including Hotel California: The True-Life Adventures of Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young, Mitchell, Taylor, Browne, Ronstadt, Geffen, the Eagles, and their Many Friends (2005), Lowside of the Road: A Life of Tom Waits (2009), Small Town Talk: Bob Dylan, The Band, Van Morrison, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Friends in the Wild Years of Woodstock (2016), and Never Enough: A Way through Addiction (2017). A former U.S. correspondent for MOJO, Hoskyns has contributed to Vogue, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, GQ, and Uncut.

Table of Contents

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements
Our Lady of Sorrows: An Introduction by Barney Hoskyns

Part One: Urges for Going (1943–1967)
1. Beginnings (1997) by Nicholas Jennings

Part Two: Our Lady of the Canyon (1968–1972)
1. Joni Mitchell Sings Own Songs in Debut at Troubadour Nitery (1968) by Stephen M. H. Braitman
2. Review of Joni Mitchell (aka Song to a Seagull) (1969) by Paul Williams
3. Joni, the Seagull from Saskatoon (1968) by Karl Dallas
4. Memories of Joni (2012) by Ellen Sander
5. Joni Mitchell (1969) by Uncredited writer
6. Review of Clouds (1969) by Geoffrey Cannon
7. ‘My Personal Life is in a Shambles’ (1970) by Caroline Boucher
8. Joni Still Feels the Pull of the Country (1970) by Jerry Gilbert
9. Review of Show at the Royal Festival Hall, London (1970) by Geoffrey Cannon
10. Joni Mitchell’s New Album Will Mean More to Some Than to Others (1970)
11. ‘Let’s Make Life More Romantic’ (1970) by Jacoba Atlas
12. Glimpses of Joni (1970) by Michael Watts
13. Joni Takes a Break (1971) by Larry LeBlanc
14. Review of Blue (1971) by Geoffrey Cannon
15. Review of Show at the Royal Festival Hall, London (1972) by Michael Watts

Part Three: A Dream to Fly (1972–1977)
1. Review of For The Roses (1972) by Richard Williams
2. Review of Live Show at the Troubadour, Los Angeles (1972) by Steven Rosen
3. Review of Court and Spark (1974) by Loraine Alterman
4. How ‘Free Man in Paris’ Came Along (2004) by Johnny Black
5. Lost Innocence with a Rock’n’Roll Band (1974) by Barbara Charone
6. Review of Show at Avery Fisher Hall, New York City (1974) by Ian Dove
7. Review of Miles of Aisles (1975) by Tom Nolan
8. Review of The Hissing of Summer Lawns (1975) by Michael Watts
9. Review of Show at Nassau Coliseum, Long Island (1976) by Michael Gross
10. Review of Hejira (1976) by Colman Andrews
11. An Evening with Joni Mitchell (2009) by Martin Colyer

Part Four: Singing Clear Notes Without Fear (1978–1988)
1. Joni Mitchell Meets Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter (1978) by Wesley Strick
2. The Underdog Meets Joni Mitchell: Charles Mingus Finds a New Voice (1978) by Ben Sidran
3. Review of Mingus (1979) by Sandy Robertson
4. Review of Shadows and Light (1980) by Ian Penman
5. Review of Wild Things Run Fast (1982) by Dave Zimmer
6. The Dream Girl Wakes Up (1982) by Kristine McKenna
7. Review of Show at Jones Beach Theatre, New York City (1983) by Wayne Robins
8. Review of Dog Eat Dog (1985) by Helen Fitzgerald
9. A Song Near the End of the World (1985) by Adam Sweeting
10. Review of Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm (1988) by J. D. Considine
11. Joni Rocks Again (1988) by Ben Fong-Torres

Part Five: Doomsday Joan (1991–1998)
1. Review of Night Ride Home (1991) by Betty Page
2. Lookin’ Good, Sister (1991) by Mick Brown
3. Review of Turbulent Indigo (1994) by John Milward
4. Conversation (1994) by Barney Hoskyns
5. Review of Show at the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum, Los Angeles (1995) by Todd Everett
6. Review of Hits and Misses (1996) by Susan Whitall
7. Review of Taming the Tiger (1998) by Stuart Maconie
8. The Unfiltered Joni Mitchell (1998) by Dave DiMartino

Part Six: Both Sides, Then (2000–2014)
1. Review of Both Sides Now (2000) by Gerrie Lim
2. Joni Looks at Life (2000) by Fred Goodman
3. Elton John, James Taylor Pay Tribute to Joni Mitchell (2000) by Frank Tortorici
4. Review of Show at the Chronicle Pavilion, Concord, Ca. (2000) by Joel Selvin
5. Review of Travelogue (2002) by Jaan Uhelszki
6. ‘I’m quitting this corrupt cesspool’ (2002) by Dave Simpson
7. Shadows and Light (2014) by Mark Kemp
8. Captive on the Carousel of Time (2007) by Paul Sexton
9. Review of Shine (2007) by Barney Hoskyns
10. How Joni Mitchell Got Her Groove Back (2007) by Robin Eggar

Contributors 292
Index 301

Editorial Reviews

05/22/2017
In this thorough if sometimes repetitious collection of writing about Joni Mitchell, Hoskyns (Small Town Talk) includes album reviews, features, and interviews with the artist that span Mitchell’s career, roughly from 1968 to 2007. The collection opens with a biographical sketch of Mitchell excerpted from Before the Gold Rush, Nicholas Jennings’s history of Canadian music, that tells the well-known story of Mitchell’s move from the prairies of Canada to the folk clubs of New York and her rise to become the leading lady of innovation in folk and jazz. Reviews span her career from her first albums, Song to a Seagull and Clouds (seminal rock critic Paul Williams writes that “Mitchell plays guitar like someone smiling at you”), and her work with jazz musician Tom Scott and the L.A. Express on Miles of Aisles, to her later work, such as Taming the Tiger and Shine. Interviews reveal Mitchell’s wittiness, whimsy, and literariness. As Joel Selvin points out in a review of Mitchell’s 2000 show in Concord, Calif.: “The final four songs pointed to the reasons Mitchell’s fans have followed her wherever she’s gone. She knows the emotional interior of her own songs so well, she can wring them out under any conditions.” Though a few pieces tread the same ground, retelling Mitchell’s biography, for example, this collection will serve as a solid introduction to listeners new to Mitchell. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

06/15/2017
This intriguing anthology captures the essence of award-winning songwriter/performer Joni Mitchell as both individual and artist. Hoskyns (Lowside of the Road: A Life of Tom Waits) meticulously compiles a broad cross-section of writings about Mitchell that appeared over the past several decades (in Rolling Stone, Swank, New Musical Express, New York Times, and others). Commentaries illuminate Mitchell's private life, musical and poetic gifts, challenging road to success, and passion for painting. Detailed reviews of her albums and live concerts offer insight into the components of her signature folk music sound that connected with the spirit of a generation and resonated with audiences and fellow performers alike. There are interviews with Mitchell at various stages of her career, including the previously unpublished "Conversation" with Hoskyns and "The Unfiltered Joni Mitchell" with Mojo magazine's Dave DiMartino—each ably examining many key, complex layers of Mitchell's life and career. This is a distinctive study of the woman who created such enduring songs as "Woodstock," "Chelsea Morning," and "Both Sides Now." The book's concept is singular, and the selection and structuring of the material well done. VERDICT Through the words and varied perceptions of the more than four dozen writers included here, fans and cultural historians will become more clearly acquainted with Mitchell. [See Prepub Alert, 4/24/17.]—Carol J. Binkowski, Bloomfield, NJ

Library Journal

2017-06-13
A patchwork collection of writing spanning Joni Mitchell's legendary career.Veteran British music journalist Hoskyns (Lowside of the Road: A Life of Tom Waits, 2009, etc.), co-founder and editorial director of the online library Rock's Backpages, compiles a wide range of journalism about the Canadian-born singer/songwriter, visual artist, and cultural icon. As the editor writes in the introduction, she is "peerless and untouchable as a singer-songwriter of intricate lyrics and swoopingly beautiful melodies." Hoskyns works with a light touch, serving more as a curator than editor (though he includes a couple of his own pieces) in this chronological path through Mitchell's long, respected, but sometimes-bumpy life and career. The pieces run a wide range: reviews of albums and performances, essays and profiles, interviews and features, and even some ad copy. Due to Hoskyns' British roots, the selections show a nice trans-Atlantic bent. However, they are drawn from a somewhat narrow range of publications and feature a roughly 4-to-1 male-to-female ratio of contributors, almost all of whom are white. As with any such anthology, the quality varies. There are some quite excellent contributions and some really lousy ones, but in the aggregate, they provide a strong sense of the artistic, intellectual, and personal development of someone who has always chafed at being branded a folk singer and who grew frustrated with the recording industry and critical reception of much of her work after her late-1960s-to-mid-'70s heyday. Those who choose to read from beginning to end will find a lot of repetition; this is the sort of collection that lends itself to dipping in and out of. The book inevitably creates a desire to hear Mitchell's music and perhaps try to track down some of her artwork, which at the end of the day are the reason the book exists in the first place.

Kirkus Reviews

Selected by Harper's Bazaar as one of the "Best New Books of 2017 (So Far)"
A Library Journal Fall Editors' Pick

"Nearly 50 years’ worth of critical efforts to solve Mitchell’s mysteries have now been rounded up in Barney Hoskyns’s Joni: The Anthology....what comes through most consistently is a possessive impulse, a desire to really know an artist whose fierce privacy has often seemed at odds with the impression of intimacy conveyed by her music." —Jack Hamilton, The Atlantic

"Gemlike...true gold." —O, The Oprah Magazine

"Amazing." —Noisey

"Some might say that the talent and virtuosity of Joni Mitchell are magical, even smacking of wizardry. For those of us who came upon her early works, when strong ­female voices were demanded and treasured, it seems only right to see her as editor Barney Hoskyns does: 'a towering troubadour and sometimes reckless daughter of America’s folk-rock revolution.' We’ve fallen in love with her." —Library Journal

"A fascinating compendium of interviews with a legend, many never read before." —Sheila Weller, author of Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon—And the Journey of a Generation

“Legendary music critic and archivist Barney Hosyns’s JONI: The Anthology is a comprehensive, sensitive compilation.”—Elle

"The least a reader can reasonably expect from the presentation of an anthology collecting criticism of and interviews with a legendary artist is a clear narrative path about the personality in question. Barney Hoskyn’s Joni: The Anthology certainly provides that and much more in this compelling, highly readable, and at times emotionally gripping tale of this singular, idiosyncratic, determined musical and visual artist." —PopMatters

"Joni: The Anthology celebrates the musical pioneer spirit that Mitchell exudes. This book...leaves no stone unturned, especially with early essays when Mitchell was coming onto the scene...One may want to read Joni more like a poetry book, experiencing different emotional beats within its articles." —Edge Media Network

"A must for music lovers." —Booklist

"Just when you think you know Joni Mitchell, you find such rare gems in Joni: the Anthology: 'It’s good to be exposed to politics and what’s going down here [the US], but it does damage to me. Too much of it can cripple me. And if I really let myself think about it - the violence, the sickness, all of it — I think I’d flip out.' Joni Mitchell 1969." —Malka Marom, author of Joni Mitchell: In Her Own Words

"The book inevitably creates a desire to hear Mitchell's music and perhaps try to track down some of her artwork, which at the end of the day are the reason the book exists in the first place." —Kirkus Review

"Thorough...a solid introduction to listeners new to Mitchell." —Publishers Weekly

"Joni: The Anthology invites you to sit in on a photoshoot as Mitchell, dressed in all black, mourns the loss of Bluebird, her stolen Mercedes Benz, which she bought with her first royalty check in 1969; learn why she snubbed the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s invitation for her own induction, or why she chose to not play her hits on that 1998 tour with Bob Dylan and Van Morrison; understand just why her most appreciated compliment from a blind black piano player was that her music was raceless and genderless—a corroboration to why American jazz pianist Charles Mingus invited Mitchell to pen words to his chops on Mingus." —Elmore Magazine

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