115: Joni Mitchell - Court and Spark (1974)
“[Joni Mitchell] didn't care about having hits. She made the songs she wanted to make and if radio was going to move in her direction then I think she was fine with that, but I don't think she was out for hit singles.”
Everyone knows by now that Joni Mitchell is one of the most profoundly gifted and driven musicians of the 20th century, and it’s long past time we came back to her here on Discord & Rhyme. Court and Spark is Amanda’s favorite Joni album, and it marks the sweet spot where Mitchell balanced her desire to push boundaries with the need for accessibility. The result is a set of brilliant songs that sound simple enough on the surface, but are secretly full of strange and interesting details. We spent a very happy couple of hours analyzing her brilliant lyrics, deciphering the weird and complicated musical arrangements, and marveling at Joni Mitchell’s genius.
Miscellany
During the “Help Me” discussion, we neglected to mention that Prince included a brief sample of it in “The Ballad of Dorothy Parker” from his album The Sign of the Times. Prince was an outspoken superfan of Joni, and frequently performed “A Case of You” in his live shows.
For more information about People’s Park, the entry for the title track on Joni Mitchell’s official website features a very informative history. The park is actually still making news to this day, as the subject of a very heated debate over UC Berkeley’s plans to use the site for student housing.
We didn’t mention that David Crosby and Graham Nash provided backing vocals on a couple of tracks (see credits below); put a pin in that, we’ll come back to those guys soon.
Stephin Merritt is also technically a member of the Discord & Rhyme Two-Timers Club, between our episodes on Wasps’ Nests by the 6ths and 69 Love Songs by the Magnetic Fields.
And if you want to continue getting technical, thanks to the Wilburys episode we’ve also covered George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, and Tom Petty more than once. Plus that Paul McCartney solo album in addition to the Beatles.
The version of “Twisted” that plays during the credits is Wardell Gray’s original instrumental that Annie Ross later set lyrics to, making this the second episode in as many months to feature someone singing a saxophone solo.
Regrettably, none of the songs on this album were covered by Nazareth. Several of them were covered by other artists, though, and they are mostly bad.
Other links
Reviews of Court and Spark collected in the Joni Mitchell Library (jonimitchell.com)
“‘Help Me’ by Joni Mitchell” (Strong Songs)
Tips for guitarists playing Joni songs on acoustic guitar (jonimitchell.com)
Joni Mitchell performs “Just Like This Train” on Letterman in 1996 (YouTube)
“Here’s why Joni Mitchell’s performance at the Newport Folk Festival is so incredible” (NPR)
Girls Like Us by Sheila Weller (Amazon affiliate link)
Reckless Daughter: A Portrait of Joni Mitchell by David Yaffe (Amazon affiliate link)
Discord and Rhyme Episode 11: Joni Mitchell - Blue (1971) (discordpod.com)
John McFerrin's reviews of Joni Mitchell (johnmcferrinmusicreviews.org)
Discord & Rhyme Roll Call
Amanda Rodgers (host)
John McFerrin (moderator)
Rich Bunnell
Ben Marlin
Court and Spark tracklist
Court and Spark
Help Me
Free Man in Paris
People’s Parties
The Same Situation
Car on a Hill
Down to You
Just Like This Train
Raised on Robbery
Trouble Child
Twisted
Other clips used
Joni Mitchell:
Blue (from Miles of Aisles)
Urge for Going
You Turn Me On, I'm a Radio
A Case of You
Free Man in Paris (live)
Just Like This Train (live at Newport)
Morning Morgantown
Coyote
Let the Wind Carry Me
Shades of Scarlett Conquering
Others:
King Crimson - The Court of the Crimson King
Peter Hammill - Easy to Slip Away
Nine Inch Nails - Closer
The Beatles - Blue Jay Way
The Beach Boys - Let's Go Away For a While
The Andrews Sisters - Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy
Alain Goraguer - Le Bracelet
Johann Sebastian Bach - The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Prelude No. 1 in C Major (Ralph Kirkpatrick, clavichord)
The Left Banke - Let Go of You Girl
Stevie Wonder - Superstition (isolated clavinet)
The Band - Up on Cripple Creek
Annie Ross - Twisted
Kelsey Grammer - Tossed Salads and Scrambled Eggs
Nick Drake - Hazey Jane I
Wardell Gray - Twisted
Neil Diamond - Free Man in Paris
Band/album personnel
Lead vocals, acoustic guitar - Joni Mitchell
Drums and percussion - John Guerin
Bass - Max Bennett (on Trouble Child), Jim Hughart (on People's Parties and Free Man In Paris), Wilton Felder
Chimes (on Court and Spark) - Milt Holland
Woodwinds & reeds - Tom Scott
Trumpet (on Twisted and Trouble Child) - Chuck Findley
Piano - Joni Mitchell
Electric Piano - Joe Sample
Clavinet (on Down To You) - Joni Mitchell
Background voices - Joni Mitchell, David Crosby and Graham Nash (on Free Man In Paris), Susan Webb and David Crosby (on Down To You), Cheech and Chong (on Twisted)
Electric Guitar - Wayne Perkins (on Car On A Hill), Dennis Budimir (on Trouble Child), Robbie Robertson (on Raised on Robbery), Jose Feliciano and Larry Carlton (on Free Man in Paris), Larry Carlton on all others
Credits
“Discord & Rhyme (theme),” composed by the Other Leading Brand, contains elements of:
Duran Duran - Hungry Like the Wolf
Amon Düül II - Dehypnotized Toothpaste
The Dukes of Stratosphear - What in the World?? ...
Faith No More - Midlife Crisis
Herbie Hancock - Hornets
Kraftwerk - Autobahn
Talking Heads - Seen and Not Seen
Joni Mitchell - Help Me (this episode only)
You can buy or stream Court and Spark and other albums by Joni Mitchell at jonimitchell.com, your local record store, or the usual suspects such as Apple Music, YouTube, and Amazon (but not Spotify). Follow Discord & Rhyme on Twitter @DiscordPod for news, updates, and other random stuff. Editing is by Amanda Rodgers, and special thanks to our own Mike DeFabio, the Other Leading Brand, for production and original music. See you next album, and keep as cool as you can.