It’s a fitting moment for this collection: Joni Mitchell was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters’ Hall Of Fame in January, and next year will see the 40th anniversary of her debut. A shame, then, that just a little more effort didn’t go into putting together a really fitting tribute.
Many of the tracks are excellent, but all of them could have been: an artist of Mitchell’s scope deserves re-readings that really take her on, rather than polite, sentimental cover versions. Sufjan Stevens gets things off to a good start with his pulsing, brassy version of Free Man In Paris. Bj
