Joni Mitchell: Shadows And Light

 

Picture: B-     Sound: B-     Extras: D     Film: B+

 

 

Ask the average fan of popular music to describe Joni Mitchell and they will usually place her as part of the singer/songwriter movement of the sixties and early seventies.  They will often mention hits like “Big Yellow Taxi”, the fact that she wrote an anthem “Woodstock” and associate her with the likes of James Taylor, Crosby, Stills and Nash and Carly Simon - and all that is correct.  However, while Joni Mitchell's lyrics are regularly praised for their beauty and poetry, the general public to often does not realize her accomplishments as a musician, composer and arranger - who is as comfortable with jazz as she is with the folk or pop genres.  Joni is recognized by musicians as one of the most original guitarist of her generation, noted for her innovative tunings (she uses over 50).  Also, she is praised by jazz critics for her ability to compose original pieces as well as arrange other musicians’ works.  Hopefully with the release of Shadows and Light on DVD, a film of her 1979 concert at the Santa Barbra County Bowl, these often over looked aspects of Mitchell's talents will finally be recognized and celebrated by the public.

 

In 1978 Joni befriended jazz legend Charles Mingus.  He recognized Joni as a great artist and musician and asked her to collaborate with him.  The result was Joni's 1979 album Mingus.  Sadly Charles Mingus died before its completion. Joni then went on tour to support the album with a legendary, all star band and that tour is what is captured on Shadows and Light.  The band is a who's who of the jazz fusion scene at the time.  It consisted of Pat Metheny on guitar, Jaco Pastorius on bass, Don Alias on drums, Lyle Mays on keyboards, Michael Brecker on sax and The Persuasions for back up vocals.  It is a testament to Mitchell’s talent that she was sought out by Mingus to work on this material and that she was able to amass this amazing line-up of musicians to record and tour with her.

 

The show includes some excellent versions of pre-Mingus songs like “Coyote”, “Amelia” and “Hejira”.  The band demonstrates why they are top musicians, showing restraint on the more straight ahead pop numbers, then switching gears for some excellent improve on the jazz oriented songs.  Metheny and Brecker both have memorable solos and bass fans will love what Jaco does with Jimmy Hendrix’s “Third Stone from the Sun”.  Mitchell proves on “Dry Cleaner from Des Moines” that, if she wished, she could have had a career as a straight jazz singer.  While all the numbers at this concert are keepers, the highlights of the show are the fresh songs from “Mingus”, including a wonderful rendition of “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat”.   The full set list of the film is as follows:

 

1. In France They Kiss On Main Street

2. Edith And The King Pin

3. Coyote

4. Free Man In Paris

5. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat

6. Jaco’s Solo (The High And The Mighty, Third Stone From The Sun)

7. Dry Cleaner From Des Moines

8. Amelia

9. Hejira

10. Black Crow

11. Furry Sings The Blues

12. Raised On Robbery

13. Why Do Fools Fall In Love

14. Shadows And Light

 

The picture quality of Shadows and Light is good but not great.  I think this is due to the original production value of the film or the print used, rather than a bad transfer to DVD.  This concert film just doesn’t have the beautiful photography of a film like “The Last Waltz”, but it is professionally done and much better than any bootleg concert footage you will find.  The sound is competently done and is featured on the disk in a new 5.1 Dolby Digital AC-3 Audio mix and PCM Stereo.  The only special feature on the disk is a short tour photo diary, so that was a little disappointing.  My biggest complaint about the film is that it too often cuts away from the live performance to show little “music video” like vignettes.  This includes stock footage of coyotes and Amelia Earhart and an ice skating sequence that was particularly hokey.  I found these cuts distracting and uninteresting and I wish the focus would have remanded on the musicians.  However, this may be more of a personal preference, some viewers may enjoy the cuts, and they certainly didn’t keep me from appreciating the music.

 

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed Shadows and Light.  I hope its release on DVD will help revive interest in this underrated period of Joni Mitchell’s career and I hope it introduces her great talent to a whole new generation of fans.  For Joni’s fans who prefer her earlier pure folk music albums or for novice Joni Mitchell fans I would recommend her biography Joni Mitchell – Woman of Heart & Soul – a life story (which is also on DVD and reviewed on this sight) before purchasing this disc, but for hard core Joni fans and lovers of jazz fusion, Shadows and Light is a must have.

 

 

-   Michael DiTullio