Hejira
Joni Mitchell’s Hejira is as smoky cool as its album cover. Written during a solo cross-country car trip from Maine to Los Angeles, it is full of dreamy movement, free-form meditations, and elegant sophistication. Arrangements take on a life of their own and create mysterious atmospheres, most notably on the title track. Because Hejira was primarily written on the road, it leaves out piano and, in turn, highlights Mitchell’s unconventional open guitar tunings and Jaco Pastorius’ harmonic bass. Mitchell sings of personal reflection as well as the lives and journeys reflected in her rear-view mirror. “Amelia” summons the spirit of Amelia Earhart and, “from one solo pilot to another,” touches on feminist struggles. “Furry Sings the Blues” draws from Mitchell’s meeting with blues musician Furry Lewis in Memphis, and features Neil Young on harmonica. The song didn’t fare well with Lewis, however, who didn’t think their conversation would end up on a gold record.
Hejira Catalog Number: Asylum K 53053
Hejira Track Listing:
Side One
1. Coyote – 5:01
2. Amelia – 6:01
3. Furry Sings the Blues – 5:06
4. A Strange Boy – 4:19
5. Hejira – 6:42
Side Two
1. Song for Sharon – 8:37
2. Black Crow – 4:22
3. Blue Motel Room – 5:04
4. Refuge of the Roads – 6:42
Get Hejira on Vinyl:
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Post By: Alan