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Joni Mitchell

From page 83 of Classic Rock Magazine December 2004

Cover of December 2004 issue.

‘Dreamland’

(Nonesuch/WSM) ‘Dreamland’ is in no way the first Joni Mitchell collection, for two compilations ‘Hits’ and ‘Misses’ appeared in 1996; the former featured the hits while the latter included Mitchell’s favourite songs.

So ‘Dreamland’ – compiled by Mitchell herself – is a distillation of these two sets with a couple of notable additions from subsequent albums. Clear? Those additions are orchestral versions of ‘Amelia’ and ‘For The Roses’ from ‘Travelogue’ (2002) and ‘Both Sides Now’ from the album of the same name.

Although it is rare for a full orchestra to mark a significant improvement, the drop in register of Mitchell’s voice ensures that these new versions are in complete contrast to the original takes. Neither better, nor worse, just different, otherwise the selection is pretty much what one would expect.

‘Big Yellow Taxi’ still irritates the hell out of me, but the prescient use of African rhythms on ‘Dreamland’ signifies that La Mitchell was comfortably ahead of the pack in drawing from African music for inspiration.

Still, if your household is a Mitchell-free zone, then ‘Dreamland’ will plug that gap pretty comfortably.

★★★★ ★

Hugh Gregory