With New Milton’s Bonfire Night fireworks exploding outside, Forest Arts’ stage lit up with the subtle sound colours of the Joni Mitchell Project.
The jazzy, folk-rock music of Joni Mitchell is distinctive, challenging and difficult to replicate. Sally Barker pulls it off with style, mixing the original sound with imaginative nuances and informative patter.
The vocals feature that swooping contralto with its gritty growls. The guitar chords, with their unusual open tunings, produce that unique Joni sound.
On piano and dulcimer, Glen Hughes provides the contrast and some delicious solos.
The early part of Mitchell’s rich 40-year career is detailed beautifully, the lyrics always original and poetic. The themes range from emotional romanticism in the Court And Spark and Ladies Of The Canyon albums to social comment about musical street buskers in For Free.
The classic 1971 album Blue is explored with care, from the aching California and A Case Of You to the bouncy Carey (complete with audience percussion accompaniment, but lacking the counterpoint harmony).
From the controversial collaboration with jazz giant Charlie Mingus came the swinging Dry Cleaner From Des Moines.
The finale featured Big Yellow Taxi, one of the earliest Green Environment protest songs, with its catchy and memorable melody. Its thoughtful lyrics range from the biting: “They paved paradise, put up a parking lot,” through the prophetic “tree museum”, to the profound “you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone”.
Brendan McCusker
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