Joni Mitchell, Painting with Words and Music (1998)

Posted by Pierre Igot in: Music
January 3rd, 2004 • 7:57 am

I only caught the last hour or so of this concert (with far too many commercial breaks!) on Bravo! the other night. Even so, it was a very impressive performance. Joni Mitchell is such a unique artist, neither folk nor pop/rock. She’s her very own music genre.

Few of the songs — except for the fun cover of “Why Do Fools Fall in Love?” — have the immediate accessibility of regular pop songs. But they are all captivating in their own way, be it with their intricate melodies or complex lyrics.

The intimate setting helps showcase the depth of her talents as both songwriter and musician. I was particularly taken by her use of the electric guitar in the introduction of one of the songs (I think it was “Sex Kills”). It almost sounded like Prince’s intro in “Purple Rain” at times (which, in a way, would make sense given her influence on him).

I guess I’ll have to get my own copy of the concert on DVD one of these days. But then, I still have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to exploring the artistic world of Joni Mitchell.


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