1971 was a great year for music. The rise of the singer-songwriter, the shift from singles to albums. There was so much good music released that year, and one of the best of 1971, of any year, was Blue – by Joni Mitchell.
A poet, visual artist, musical prodigy. Joni came from Saskatoon, the Paris of the Canadian prairies, to be at the epicentre of late 60s culture in California’s Laurel Canyon. Joni rose on the folk music boom that, by 1971, contained, perhaps stifled her prodigious talents.
Joni left domestic bliss for a fabled world journey and a late night flight. She hung out with James Taylor, writing songs as if her life depended on it Then, in a Hollywood recording studio, Joni brought them to life, in what remains one of the greatest ever musical acts of creation.
Blue is a miraculous record, full of the joyful sounds of a young woman accepting the challenges and burdens of her talents, honouring them, and going wherever they would take her.
Listen to the story of Joni Mitchell’s Blue.
