Joni Mitchell Blue - Heartbreakingly Beautiful

I have to be honest - I have no recollection of getting this album. I've no idea what inspired me to buy it in the first place. Big Yellow Taxi - Joni's instantly recognisable major hit - is quite frankly one of the worst songs ever. In fact, and this is really going some, in the world of music I can only think of The Manic Street Preachers and Mika that I despise more than that song. Oh, and maybe Elton John (the man, not the music). Even the Counting Crows re-hash makes me nauseous. All of this considered, I am unable to understand why I would ever go out and pick this album up. Maybe because it has always been billed as a classic. Maybe because I looked at the sleeve and saw that Big Yellow Taxi wasn't on it. Maybe I'd hit my head and forgotten who I liked and who I didn't. I can't remember. I'm just glad that I ended up with Blue, one of the most beautiful records that I, or you, are ever likely to hear.

Joni Mitchell was relatively well-known for 'getting around' amongst a circle of male stars back in the day. I'll never forget the laugh that James Taylor got when I saw him back in Manchester a few years ago when, pointing to a picture of Joni and him on the big screen, he said: "and that's Joni - my bitch! In fact, I think she was everybody's bitch." Blue is seemingly a rather troubled-in-love lady pouring her heart out through the medium of song - probably as a result of so many failed relationships with these stars - and it is nothing short of stunning. The opening line of the album, at the start of All I Want, sets the scene: "I am on a lonely road and I am travelling/Looking for something, what can it be/Oh I hate you some, I hate you some." Mitchell's voice is angelic at worst; she hits some notes that are off the scale, accompanied by her exceptional guitar work and subtle piano playing. Lyrically she is brilliant; sometimes brutal, often unwavering in her honesty, but always moving. "I could drink a case of you". Magic. Haven't we all felt that way about somebody before? Absolutely.

I don't want to do a breakdown song by song with Blue. There is something about listening to it as a complete record that is so very special; a sentimental journey from start to finish. I do have to mention River though - a haunting piano/vocal so sublime you'd think the angel Gabriel had penned it. Magnificent.

So, if you're on the brink of killing yourself this may not be for you - or, in a strange way, it may be your saviour. It is very deep, heartfelt, beautiful and in a league of its own. Joni's golden hour in her career, and a lasting statement from a wonderful singer/songwriter. If you're into melodies and words then you just have to own it.