One of a kind: The singer Joni Mitchell loved “all phased of”
Something that often gets lost amongst us, as music fans, is that musicians don’t get into the game of making music because they want to be famous or make us happy; sure, that might be part of it, but that’s not the whole reason. People get into making music because they are creative and absolutely love music; as such, throughout their careers, they will experiment with various sounds, and it may not always be to everyone’s taste.
This is why we have so many fans who ask for the old stuff or say they prefer the new stuff on different artists. The fact is that a musician will go through some different phases throughout their life, and their sound will always be a reflection of where their life is at during that moment in time.
You will rarely find a musician where you love every single phase of them throughout their life. For instance, Joni Mitchell has classic albums such as Blue that are beautiful in every sense of the word. A psychic tapestry that plays with melody, lyricism and rhythm most splendidly. On the other hand, records like Dog Eat Dog are so non-conforming that she becomes unrecognisable, and it makes for an unpleasant listening experience.
No doubt there will be several musicians that Mitchell respects but doesn’t like every single iteration of their music either. That being said, there was one artist to whom she seems to have a devotion to, to the point that Mitchell said she is a fan of all phases of her: Billie Holiday.
The world of music owes a lot to Billie Holiday. These days, we are drawn to music that has the power to be emotive, which means vocals have an intense range that artists can explore in exciting ways. Holiday was a pioneer in demonstrating what the voice was capable of. Her aim wasn’t just to be sweet sounding but to explore various tones, mimicking what an instrument can do with her voice. She was improvisational and ambitious, leading people to realise the potential of vocals.
Joni Mitchell doesn’t hold back when it comes to giving Billie Holiday her flowers. “I love Billie Holiday – all phases of her. No one I know could express hurt and loss with such a good-hearted tone – not a trace of self-pity or melodrama in it,” she said. “This was her great gift, and with it, she could make all those beautiful melodic ‘doormat’ sound [written by men for women to sing] sound wise.” When talking about the song ‘Solitude’ specifically, Mitchell adds, “Billie’s voice here is pristine, and again I am delighted by the horn arrangement.”
If musicians didn’t switch up their playing style and lean into how they felt at a particular moment, we wouldn’t get genre-defying music that helps artists develop and music evolve. Though it’s rare for people to like all phases of an artist, those different phases are an absolute necessity.
