Comments for Mitchell, Joni, Hejira

To fans of Joni and of this album in particular, Joni sings a terriffic version of "Coyote" in the film "The Last Waltz," the documentary of The Band's Thanksgiving Day 1976 concert.

I totally agree with the first review. This is the most amazing and amazingly underrated album you will ever hear. The music is wonderfully restless and moody, Joni''s voice world-wearied and beautiful, but its the lyrics that really make this album. Tracks like Amelia, Hejira, Song For Sharon and Refuge of the Roads are pure poetry set to music. I even printed the title track out and stuck it on my wall, its that wonderful. To quote a libe from that song "You know it never has been easy whether you do or you do not resign. Whether you travel the breadth of extremity or stick to some straighter line." This is the best album ever made, and its sad that in the following years Joni never hit these heights again. 11 out of 10!

I was surprised when I didn`t find "Hejira" already included in the listings for Joni Mitchell--it is widely considered one of her greatest works, if not THE greatest. Joni has said she wrote the songs on a road trip with some friends, and that people who have listened to the album start to finish on road trips of their own have appreciated the flow of the songs` lyrical content. Most definitely, this album is all about a journey. "Hejira" means "to run away, but in bravery." (In what language, I can`t remember.) Running towards your destiny and chasing down fate is the central theme here, and Joni makes beautiful music complemented by haunting lyrics here. "Coyote" should be well known to any listener of FM Adult Contemporary stations; "Song for Sharon" is one of those the-lyrics-for-this-song-could-have-been-a-book Joni numbers (the song clocks in at over eight minutes) and yet not a word of it is unneccessary as Joni sings to a childhood friend, recalling some of their past experiences as well as their childhood dreams, then going on to tell how those things led Joni to adult life. "Black Crow" parallels Joni`s life to that of the bird in the title, telling how she`s "swept down to pick up something shiny," like the title creature. Her metaphors in this song are particularly striking. The title track is full of beautiful poetry and the album`s closing number, "Refuge of the Roads," eloquently sums up the concept of the album. This record reached #3 on Billboard when it was first released in 1976 (I was only five years old then; I`m so glad I discovered it now!) but it surely ranks #1 on many fan`s lists, mine included.