The only Joni Mitchell album she listened to out of choice: “There’s no muse to it”
Making an album can be arduous for artists, with many spending years pouring their heart and soul into a single project. Often, the album remains a constant presence in the creator’s mind throughout the entire production process, even when they aren’t in the studio. It’s natural, then, that some, like Joni Mitchell, end up rejecting the work entirely once it’s finished.
Once an album is released into the world, it no longer belongs to the artist responsible for its existence. The lyrics that were penned in the middle of the night on the back of a cigarette packet while emotions were running high are now open for interpretation by anyone. As a result, it is understandable that some choose to close their eyes and move on to their next project without wasting precious time worrying.
In the eyes of millions of fans, classic Mitchell records, such as Blue or Ladies of the Canyon, are faultless albums of the highest artistic calibre. However, rather than marvel at the fruits of her labour, Mitchell, like many other perfectionists in the profession, fixated on minor issues that she wished to change. Therefore, it’s best for her sanity to move on.
Mitchell stayed fiercely loyal to this approach for the first 30 years of her recording career, which served her excellently. However, that changed with the release of Both Sides Now in 2000, when she finally felt inclined to revisit the record and listen to it for leisure purposes.
Both Sides Now is a concept album that allowed Mitchell to flex her creativity differently. The Grammy Award-winning record was structured around re-recordings of her classic tracks, ‘Case Of You’ and ‘Both Sides, Now’. The rest of the album consisted of standards that forged a triumphant masterpiece that tells the story of a relationship from the early honeymoon days before it fell apart. Fittingly, Mitchell’s former husband, Larry Klein, worked alongside her as the co-producer on the record. Their shared experience of love and heartbreak fed into the album’s spirit, making it an extra poignant piece of art.
The album was Mitchell’s vehicle for looking back at the previous century through the lens of contemporary music. Mitchell took on iconic tracks, including ‘At Last’, popularised by Etta James, and the standard ‘Don’t Worry ’bout Me’.
In a Q&A with Rolling Stone, Mitchell explained the thinking behind the record: “There was no point in doing them any other time. It was the end of the century. It was time to reflect on the music that went before. It was good for culture and music to revisit this, because we have gone so far from a melody, you know, and genuine musical ability”.
She added: “You’ve got an appalling amount of mediocrity and amateurishness in the foreground now. Because nobody cares, as long as it sells. It’s not music anymore, it’s just ick. There’s no muse in ick, you know. There’s no muse to it.”
In the album’s liner notes, Klein said Both Sides Now is “a programmatic suite documenting a relationship from initial flirtation through optimistic consummation, metamorphosing into disillusionment, ironic despair, and finally resolving in the philosophical overview of acceptance and the probability of the cycle repeating itself”.
Mitchell was filled with immense pride following the completion of the record. In the same interview, she admitted: “This is the only one that I have listened to after I finished it. Ever.”
Mitchell’s ingenuity on the inventive album won her the Grammy for ‘Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album’, and the titular track was also named ‘Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist’ at the same ceremony. However, all of the awards failed to compete with the accomplishment of Mitchell listening to the album out of her own free will.
Mitchell’s decision to listen to Both Sides Now after its release likely stems from her distance to the material. As most of the record was made up of covers rather than her own songs, she didn’t have painful memories tied to the lyrics and could enjoy the album as a fan. Known for wearing her heart on her sleeve and drawing on autobiographical experiences for inspiration, Mitchell often finds revisiting her work uncomfortable. But with Both Sides Now, that emotional weight was lifted, allowing her to break the habit of a lifetime.
