Joni Mitchell- Travelogue

Travelogue

This is probably not a drug related music CD, when comparing to other posts like Floyds, Saucer full or Secrets or Skip Spence Oar. But when mellowed out on pot/wine or anytime your mellow, try this one out.


Travelogue is a 2002 follow-up to "Both Sides Now," released in 2000, and which pioneered Joni's work with a 70-piece symphony orchestra. Unlike the former album, which mostly reworked jazz songs from 1930s and 1940s (but also included a scintillating reworking of the song "Both Sides Now") this CD explores her own work from the 1970s through 1990s. Aside from the 70-piece orchestra, Joni is backed by jazz legends such as Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Kenny Wheeler, drummer Brian Blade, bassist Chuck Berghofer, and organist Billy Preston. Several things are notable about these arrangements: most of them are much slower than the originals, many of been transposed down, some by as much as a fourth or a fifth, and the guitar is entirely absent while the jazz elements of the songs have been enhanced. For the most part this works very well, as Mitchell's now-Smokey voice seems much more comfortable in the lower range than where she used to sing in her early career.

I'm a long time fan who's heard all her recordings. This is the greatest album she's made as of 2013. These are mostly acoustic renditions of previously released songs featuring fantastic orchestral accompaniments. It's not a rockin' record - the tempos are often slow. It's not a good introduction the Joni's work - the tunes and lyrics are harder to assimilate than the original versions. But this album has huge rewards for those who already know the songs and give it their full attention. Her voice is smoky and mature. She phrases so beautifully here. This is a deeply soulful album that can take you away, take you out of yourself, so to speak, if you're open to it. It's the Joni album most suitable for grownups.