With her folksy ruminations pretty much behind her, Joni Mitchell emerged as a vital singer and songwriter in the early 70s with such hip little sing-alongs like “Big Yellow Taxi.” She also fleshed out her creativity on compelling albums like Blue and Court And Spark. Whereas Blue was more sparse and introspective, Court And Spark was a full-blown production, keenly exhibiting Mitchell’s skill of fusing various pop and jazz styles into one cohesive and highly accessible package. With backing from top-notch luminaries Robbie Robertson, David Crosby, Graham Nash, José Feliciano, Larry Carlton, even Cheech and Chong (?), Mitchell served up some of her most simmering material with precise instrumental flare. The piano lick on the title track is enough to engage most listeners. From there, the album evolves into a potpourri that ceaselessly ebbs and flows.
“Help Me” and “Raised On Robbery” may stand as the most commercial tunes Mitchell has ever recorded. Nevertheless, their potency remains timeless and intact. Cuts like “Free Man In Paris” stretch beyond the usual fare of nominal arrangement; in fact, the song assumes the persona of music mogul David Geffen, who, according to Mitchell, would have loved the idea of escaping the drudgery of “stoking the star maker machinery behind the popular song…” (never mind the fact that Geffen went on to become a billionaire tycoon). Ironically, all three songs were released as singles while the album zoomed up into the Top Ten and hit Number One in March of 1974. Court And Spark would be her only Number One album.
Despite loads of dour musings on the state of her love life (“Same Situation,” “Car On A Hill” and “Down To You”), Mitchell manages to put on a bright smile during the aforementioned “Raised On Robbery,” and becomes practically giddy during the album’s closing number, Ross & Grey’s sprightly “Twisted.” Here is where Mitchell brilliantly scats her way through the verses with a little help from none other than Cheech and Chong. Beyond the obvious humor, the jazzy flavorings of Court And Spark would definitely become more prominent in her music. Experimentation with such a wreath of styles would lead to one of the most diverse bodies of work by any artist of the 20th century. Even today, Joni Mitchell remains one of the most respected female singer/songwriters of her generation. To such legendary admirers as David Crosby, who also happened to produce her first album, “She’s the best singer/songwriter there is, man…”
~ Shawn Perry
