Joni Mitchell: For The Roses - Asylum Records UK Pressing - 24/96 rip to redbook

Between the pivotal "Blue" and the exceedingly popular "Court And Spark", Joni Mitchell escaped to her homeland, Canada, away from the pressures and trappings of her career. Emotionally raw from her "blue" period where her privacy crashed with fame, it was there, it is my understanding, where "For The Roses" was born, freed somehow by terra firma. What we have with "For The Roses" is an album of great complexity and simplicity, the isolated artist continuing to grow and change just as the lush vegetation and water around her in the album's magnificent photos would attest.

Rooted in folk-rock, "For The Roses" shows the first ever-so-slight dabblings into the jazz foray where her muse would take her for basically the rest of her career. However, the songs are mostly stripped down, reminiscent of their origins in the wilderness of Canada, rugged. The vulnerability of "Blue" is still there, but there is also the strength of the deep roots of home. Lyrically, "For The Roses" shows signs of further growth and strength, also. From the start, Mitchell had been quite articulate, but this album marks the start of her supreme poetry. The songs tackle subjects from hunger ("Banquet") to drug abuse ("Cold Blue Steel And Sweet Fire"). The title track hauntingly evokes the lonliness of isolation still aware of popularity ("I heard it in the wind last night, it sounded like applause") while understanding and comraderie is sought with another great musician in "Ludwig's Tune". One can hear the stalwartness in emotionally ravaged autobiographical songs such as "Lesson In Survival" and "Let The Wind Carry Me" and "Woman Of Heart And Mind", which really captures what one would sense to be the essence of Joni Mitchell; and, of course, there are the songs about romantic relationships gone awry, "See You Sometime" and "Blonde In The Bleachers", two of my favorites amongst a collection of great songs.

The retreat, precipitated by "Blue", that marked the creation of "For The Roses" garnered Joni Mitchell the renewed strength to create the L.A. jazz-based "Court And Spark". However, "For The Roses" is a great achievement, in and of its own merits, and deserves that recognition.

Side A:
01. Banquet
02. Cold Blue Steel And Sweet Fire
03. Barangrill
04. Lesson In Survival
05. Let The Wind Carry Me
06. For The Roses

Side B:
07. See You Sometime
08. Electricity
09. You Turn Me On I'm A Radio
10. Blonde In The Bleachers
11. Woman Of Heart And Mind
12. Judgement Of The Moon And Stars (Ludwig's Tune)

Essential Equipment used:
Clearaudio Champion 2 turntable & Unify tonearm
Benz Micro L2 cartridge
Extremephono Tonearm cable
USB-2 D/A MKII DAC
(light manual declicking)

Rar pw: banquet