Travelogue

Joni Mitchell: Travelogue

As with Both Sides Now, Joni continues her orchestral experiments, this time reinterpreting a double-album's worth of her own catalogue in 2002. If you've read my Both Sides Now review, you'll understand why I'm not reviewing Travelogue. However, unlike other of her albums which I haven't reviewed, I'm proud to invite you to check Travelogue out at Amazon because I enjoyed it and you may, too.

One thing which I haven't noticed any reviewers mention is Travelogue, the title, itself. While I can't be sure on this, to me, the word "travelogue" immediately conjures Joni of 1976 and the album Hejira. She used that unusual word in the song Amelia, in which she talks to lost aviator, Amelia Earhart, a high-achieving female traveller, like her, who gave up her life for her work.

"...I was driving across the burning desert
When I spotted six jet planes
Leaving six white vapor trails across the bleak terrain
It was the hexagram of the heavens
It was the strings of my guitar
Amelia, it was just a false alarm

The drone of flying engines
Is a song so wild and blue
It scrambles Time and seasons if it gets thru to you
Then your life becomes a travelogue
Of picture-post-card-charms
Amelia, it was just a false alarm..."

Amellia

So, these orchestral arrangements plot only a slightly different path over the exact terrain that Joni mapped out in the burning desert that was her life's travelogue.

Yes, the journey may now be in an air-conditioned cruiser and the journey may be a lot more comfortable but these songs are the caverns, the crevices and yes, the deserts that she travelled through to get where she is today. She sings them in a different voice, with different understanding but she still sings them. Can you hear the difference?

Joni Mitchell: Travelogue

"... Joni Mitchell's TRAVELOGUE is a stunning, superlative work. Capitalizing on the success of her last album, BOTH SIDES NOW, Joni has had 22 of her own pieces arranged for full orchestra by Vince Mendoza. Joni admirers probably need no further urging, so I encourage people who may not be familiar with Ms. Mitchell but love both traditional orchestral / jazz arranging and/or poetry to pick this up...Amazon reviewer Paul Katz

"...I was cleaning up my office and found a radio sampler of this album that had fallen to the bottom of the pile of detritus, and I immediately loaded the sampler onto my I Pod. I have been listening to it nonstop ever since. I've always 'appreciated' Joni Mitchell, though I've never been a rabid fan. That ended when I heard these treatments of her songs. Her voice, a little ragged, but with so much emotion and wisdom. The orchestrations, striking and sometimes strange, but so comforting...I hear something new and thrilling with each listen." Amazon reviewer rabid

"...I'm somewhat of a newbie with (Joni's) material...(so) I took a chance on this double CD with heavily orchestrated versions of assorted Mitchell material and have been totally bowled over by the grace, beauty and artistry evident on every cut. Joni, her orchestrator and all involved should be proud. There is definitely a smart, smoky vibe prevalent and the outcome is truly a marvel..." Amazon reviewer W. Beck

"...So Joni re-worked her songs and has made them different then the originals...and why shouldn't she? Her perspective has changed with age, so she has taken the opportunity to be reflective...and who are we to question her wanting to do so? Yes, it is an album perfect for a rainy Sunday morning...but there is a lot to be said for a great album that brings you relaxation and contentment in a world where things move too fast most of the time..." Amazon reviewer Debra Fitzsimmons