MY NORTHERN SKIES

Featured Album | 387

Joni Mitchell | For the Roses | Asylum K 53007 | 1972

For the Roses is perhaps best remembered for the song “You Turn Me On I’m a Radio”, a tongue-in-cheek attempt at a commercial single, something Joni hardly needed at the time. Anyone under the impression that Joni was still a folk singer might have been very much mistaken with the release of this, her fifth studio album, which includes moments of rock and jazz, disparate influences creeping into the mix, certainly on “Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire”, a song that addresses drug addiction, her former boyfriend James Taylor having been a heroin addict. Once again, Joni writes on a highly personal level, notably on the title song, which looks at the struggles between personal freedom and celebrity. Despite Joni’s credentials as a fine guitar player, utilising a myriad of open tunings, the piano comes to the fore in places, notably the album closer “Judgement of the Moon and Stars (Ludwig’s Tune)”, a nod to the influence of Beethoven. Joni is joined by such notable musicians as Tom Scott, Russ Kunkel, James Burton, Graham Nash and Stephen Stills.

Playlist:

No Easy Road – Wishbone Ash (Argus)

Big Barn Bed – Paul McCartney and Wings (Red Rose Speedway )

You Turn Me On I’m a Radio – Joni Mitchell (For the Roses)

Do It – Pink Fairies (Never Never Land)

Dream Weaver – Gary Wright (The Dream Weaver)

Baby Blue – Badfinger (Straight Up)

Flowers of the Forest – Mike Heron (Smiling Men with Bad Reputations)

The End of the Rainbow – Richard & Linda Thompson (I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight)

Cajun Moon – J.J. Cale (Okie)

No 29 Extended Youth – John Entwistle (Smash Your Head Against the Wall)

Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire – Joni Mitchell (For the Roses)