Joni's voice is on fire in this album or to be more accurate, it was on fire and then soaked in ice cool vodka that is this album. This has moments of such seductive power in the vocals department. She has subtly changed her pristine voice into a smooth jazz like instrument which matches her guitar playing. Her lyrics are still quite beautiful, descriptive, seamlessly humorous, self aware and just very intelligent. The melodies remind me of her early work while the instrumentation is minimalist and nocturnal. At only nine songs, it's actually a complete sounding record. Track lengths are mostly over 5 minutes, a perfect album to immerse yourself in.
By: Blair23
After the expanded instrumental scale and sonic experimentation of Court and 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 Earhart 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.
A1 Coyote
A2 Amelia
A3 Furry Sings The Blues
Harmonica – Neil Young
A4 A Strange Boy
A5 Hejira
Clarinet – Abe Most
B1 Song For Sharon
Bass – Max Bennett
B2 Black Crow
B3 Blue Motel Room
Bass – Chuck Domanico
B4 Refuge Of The Roads
180 Gram Vinyl, Gatefold. Manufactured in EU.
Printed inner sleeve.
℗ & © 1976 Elektra/Asylum/Nonesuch Records.
Recorded at A&M Studios in Hollywood.
All songs © 1976 Crazy Crow Music (BMI).
Special Thanks Toller Cranston.