Artist: Joni Mitchell Title Of Album: Night Ride Home Year Of Release: 1991 Label: Geffen Records Genre: Jazz, Vocal Quality: Flac Bitrate: Lossless Total Time: 51:43 Min Total Size: 305 Mb Tracklist: 01. Night Ride Home 02. Passion Play (When All The Slaves Are Free) 03. Cherokee Louise 04. The Windfall (Everything For Nothing) 05. Slouching Towards Bethlehem / Based On A Poem By W.B. Yeats 06. Come In From The Cold 07. Nothing Can Be Done 08. The Only Joy In Town 09. Ray's Dad's Cadillac 10. Two Grey Rooms Historically, "Night Ride Home" has been called Joni Mitchell's return to form. It was her first album in the 90's and the aural atmosphere surrounding the songs seemed like a welcome relief from her turgid 80's material. I have been and remain an avid fan; even so, "Dog Eat Dog" and "Chalk Mark in a Rainstorm" are not particularly favorite's of mine. So when "Night Ride Home" appeared it seemed as if Joni (and Larry, of course) had begun to feel that an uncluttered approach to her music was best. And they were right! "Night Ride Home" is just another example of Mitchell's stunning range as songwriter, guitar player and singer. The title track is a lovely ballad, all the more enjoyable since it reflects on a small cherished moment between Joni and Larry. Her reworking of Yeates' "Slouching Toward Bethlehem" is terrific: her plaintive guitar work is surrounded by thunderous percussion and siren wails. It's sense of the coming 'revelation' is ominous. And who -- but Joni Mitchell -- would have the nerve (and good sense) to change Yeates' original text? "Come In From the Cold" offers Joni's slightly middle-aged perspective on romance & relationships. Gone is the doomed folkie from "Blue" which kind of cast her as the "Sarah Bernhardt" of the '70s; now she assumes a more mature and realistic (while not overtly cheery) stance on matters of the heart. Two songs regarding Joni's childhood also appear: "Cherokee Louise" recounts the story of a sexually abused girlfriend while "Ray's Dad's Cadillac" concerns itself with slightly less weighty matters (a la "In France They Kiss On Main Street"). Ironically, despite "Cherokee Louise"'s repugnant theme, Mitchell's guitar work and percussion make the song a toe-tapper. "Night Ride Home" laid the groundwork for Mitchell's next masterpiece, "Turbulent Indigo". It is a fine collection of songs from a true master: strong, vibrant and immensely enjoyable. (amazon) |