Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 3: The Asylum Years (1972-1975)

by Joni Mitchell

Overview

The third volume in Joni Mitchell's ongoing Archives series covers her especially transformative phase between 1972 and 1975, when she was shedding some of her folk background and venturing into territory simultaneously more accessible and more unprecedented. This fruitful era produced the soul-searching soft rock of 1972's For the Roses, the 1974 pop breakthrough Court and Spark, and 1975's pivot to more experimental, jazz-influenced songwriting on The Hissing of Summer Lawns. As with previous volumes of the series, Archives, Vol. 3: The Asylum Years (1972-1975) offers an exhaustively complete window into Mitchell's creative process from its particular era, this time with 96 tracks that include previously unshared demos, alternate studio versions, live performances from the time, and the like. Impressively, the collection begins with early versions of two For the Roses tunes cut at an impromptu 1971 studio session with David Crosby and Graham Nash. These stripped-down versions of "Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire" and "For the Roses" are even more intimate than the album versions, highlighting the urgency and passion in Mitchell's voice and lyrics. A series of For the Roses demos played on piano are similarly effective, clearing away everything except the rawest components of the songwriting. Amid an abundance of fairly standard concert recordings and alternate versions of album tracks, this volume of Archives includes some of the most interesting Mitchell artifacts of the series up until this point. Among them are especially otherworldly demos of Summer Lawns tracks such as "In France They Kiss on Main Street," most of them with the liquid jazz instrumentation of the album boiled away, leaving just Mitchell's bright acoustic guitars and several layers of self-harmonizing vocals. In addition to some curious collaborations with James Taylor, the compilation includes multiple tracks made with Neil Young and different versions of his backing bands. An especially loose and rambling take on Mitchell's first Top 40 hit, "You Turn Me On, I'm a Radio," plays up the country undercurrents that got smoothed out in its official version, but it's a version of Court and Spark's "Raised on Robbery" recorded during the same sessions that gave birth to Young's depraved masterpiece Tonight's the Night that's especially head-turning. If the Court and Spark version aimed for rip-roaring excitement, this performance peels away all of the polish and production, rocking out in a gloriously unhinged way that transposes the song's inherent fun into a reckless euphoria. Joni Mitchell's powers as a songwriter and creative spirit are unparalleled at every step of her journey, but her output in the '70s was on a higher plane, even for her. Archives, Vol. 3 reflects this with behind-the-scenes material just as storied and worthy as the music that Mitchell was making during one of her finest hours. ~ Fred Thomas

Product Details

Release Date:	10/06/2023
Label:	Elektra / Rhino
UPC:	0603497834310

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Joni Mitchell   Primary Artist,Guitar (Acoustic),Piano,Guitar,Vocals,Clavinet,Dulcimer
Elliot Roberts   Choir/Chorus
David Geffen   Choir/Chorus
Neil Young & the Stray Gators   Featured Artist
Peter Freiberger   Bass
Alejandro Acuna   Shaker
Neil Young & The Santa Monica Flyers   Featured Artist
Jose Feliciano   Guitar,Vocals
Bob Rafkin   Guitar
Neil Young   Vocals,Harmonica,Choir/Chorus,Featured Artist,Guitar (Electric)
Bobbye Hall   Percussion
Ralph Molina   Drums
Max Bennett   Bass,Guitar (Bass)
Nils Lofgren   Piano
Tim Drummond   Bass
Airto   Surdo
Murray McLauchlan   Choir/Chorus
Wilton Felder   Bass,Guitar (Bass)
Tom Scott   Woodwind,Featured Artist
Victor Feldman   Congas,Keyboards,Percussion
L.A. Express   Featured Artist
Roger Kellaway   Piano
Tom Scott & the L.A. Express   Featured Artist
Bud Shank   Flute,Woodwind,Saxophone
David Blue   Choir/Chorus
David Crosby   Vocals (Background)
Gary Mallaber   Drums
Manolo Badrena   Congas
Gayle Levant   Harp
Don Alias   Percussion
Eric Andersen   Choir/Chorus
Chaka Khan   Vocals
Joe Sample   Piano,Keyboards,Piano (Electric)
John Guerin   Drums,Percussion
Robben Ford   Dobro,Guitar,Guitar (Electric)
Jim Gordon   Drums
Jim Hughart   Bass
Milt Holland   Chimes,Percussion
Sneaky Pete Kleinow   Guitar (Steel)
Susan Webb   Vocals (Background)
Billy Talbot   Bass
Bobby Notkoff   Strings
Kenny Buttrey   Drums
Chuck Findley   Horn,Trumpet
Larry Carlton   Guitar,Guitar (Electric)
Stray Gators   Featured Artist
Jackson Browne   Choir/Chorus
James Burton   Guitar
Clarence McDonald   Keyboards
Graham Nash   Harmonica,Tambourine,Vocals (Background)
Ben Keith   Slide Guitar
Russ Kunkel   Drums
James Taylor   Guitar,Vocals
John Barbata   Drums
Wayne Perkins   Guitar

Technical Credits

Bob Stern   Mixing,Engineer
Ellis Sorkin   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Jack Crymes   Assistant
Joni Mitchell   Mixing Engineer,Arranger,Composer,Producer,Recording
Robert Ash   Assistant Engineer
Jerry Capehart   Composer
Neil Young   Producer
Bruce Botnick   Mixing
Henry Lewy   Mixing,Engineer,Mixing Engineer
Doc Storch   Engineer
Patrick Milligan   Mixing,Producer
Annie Ross   Composer
David Briggs   Producer
Steve Katz   Mixing Engineer
Bill Halverson   Engineer
Eddie Cochran   Composer
Don Gooch   Engineer
Bernie Grundman   Mastering Engineer
Ken Caillat   Engineer
Biff Dawes   Assistant
Chuck Berry   Composer
Larry Williams   Composer
Elliot Mazer   Mixing,Engineer
Wardell Gray   Composer