irons1965
pfm Member
Big Joni Mitchell fan and Two Grey Rooms is one of the saddest songs ever written....Truly beautiful.'Night Ride Home' would be a good choice to try next - includes one of my very fave Joni tracks (Two Grey Rooms).
Big Joni Mitchell fan and Two Grey Rooms is one of the saddest songs ever written....Truly beautiful.'Night Ride Home' would be a good choice to try next - includes one of my very fave Joni tracks (Two Grey Rooms).
My biggest annoyance is I don’t have a vinyl copy of it despite having sold at least two absolutely mint 1st pressings over the years. So annoying, but I’ll find one eventually.
Don't bother. The 2014 Rhino reissue of Hejira, cut by Chris Bellman, is absolutely superb. Many people think it's the best mastering of the album.
https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/thre...better-than-the-original-asylum-vinyl.684435/
Not sure if it's in the same league but Court and Spark is on Amazon for £11.99. I've just ordered a copy as I've only got a very thin sounding CD - all my other Joni Records are on vinyl so it was an easy call.
Court and Spark [VINYL]: AmazonSmile: Music
I seems rather odd buying vinyl at that price after a run of Tone Poet purchases.
The first review isn’t promising, but at least with Amazon the return process is easy if yours sounds the same...
“Bought this classic Joni record to replace one bought in 1974 that crackles a bit. Shocked to discover the comparatively poor sound quality of the new one. Played side by side, the original shines. The new Rhino Records 'remaster' sounds like it was bootlegged through the wall. It has been returned for a refund”
Odd. I don't have the Bellman cut of Court and Spark, but the Hejira is superb and there are lots of positive reviews about his cut of C&S: https://www.analogplanet.com/content/court-and-spark-revisited-0
Not sure if it's in the same league but Court and Spark is on Amazon for £11.99. I've just ordered a copy as I've only got a very thin sounding CD - all my other Joni Records are on vinyl so it was an easy call.
Court and Spark [VINYL]: AmazonSmile: Music
I seems rather odd buying vinyl at that price after a run of Tone Poet purchases.
Yup, they know they're screwed.I see that seriousness differently. The guy with the glasses in the audience is obviously entranced by her. ( As am I ) The other musicians look both puzzled and defeated. It looks like it is dawning on them that they are witnessing the moment that their own talents are quietly swept aside by a force beyond their comprehension.
From the Hoffman site:
The EU version of Blue is not the Gray/Hoffman cut. And Court/Spark is not the Bellman cut. So watch out, what you are buying - only way is to import these from the US.
https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/thre...-than-the-original-asylum-vinyl.684435/page-2
Both of the live albums - Miles of Aisles and Shadows and Light - are well worth having. Some of the dialogue is very much of its time but the performance are good companions to the studio versions
Miles of Aisles: Amazon.co.uk: Music
Shadows and Light: Amazon.co.uk: Music
From the Hoffman site:
The EU version of Blue is not the Gray/Hoffman cut. And Court/Spark is not the Bellman cut. So watch out, what you are buying - only way is to import these from the US.
https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/thre...-than-the-original-asylum-vinyl.684435/page-2
If my memory serves I seem to be remember reading that somewhere on the Hoffman site with respect to Blue that the masters were not wonderful as they just didn't really know how to deal with Joni's dynamic range.
I need to try and find the interview where he discusses this and link to it. Was interesting. He said the clipping was a big challenge.That makes sense. Every copy of Blue I’ve heard sounds like it has a little mic or desk clipping on the vocal at points to my ears, it just fuzzes/grits up a bit on the peaks, not helped by how raw and dry the voice is. I have a nice UK original (textured gatefold sleeve, A2/B2 matrix) and have always felt that about it, even suspected it may be a bit worn (looks mint), but hearing the Hoffman DCC CD dif little to change my view, let alone the ‘too bright’ HDCD one in the box. It just is what it is.
Blue, to me, sounds rather bright, almost like it was recorded in a bathroom. I still love it though. I just have a bog standard CD, have seen the odd copy on vinyl but it appears that the sound is just compromised at source?That makes sense. Every copy of Blue I’ve heard sounds like it has a little mic or desk clipping on the vocal at points to my ears, it just fuzzes/grits up a bit on the peaks, not helped by how raw and dry the voice is. I have a nice UK original (textured gatefold sleeve, A2/B2 matrix) and have always felt that about it, even suspected it may be a bit worn (looks mint), but hearing the Hoffman DCC CD dif little to change my view, let alone the ‘too bright’ HDCD one in the box. It just is what it is.
I dug For The Roses out last night as I tend to overlook it and go straight for Court, Hissing or the woefully underrated Don Juan’s. I’d forgotten how good it was and how good it sounds (UK A1/B1 1st press), it has a great presence and dynamic to it. Certainly a better sounding record and an interesting transition point between Blue and Court & Spark. She was definitely on a journey through the ‘70s. I don’t really understand the ‘80s ‘rock’ stuff that sounds like a massive backward step to my ears.
I want to find really nice 1st press copies of Hejira, Miles Of Isles and Shadows & Light. That can be a post-lockdown hunt. Those are the gaps to my mind. I’ve detailed my Blue & For The Roses above, Court & Spark and Mingus are also both A1/B1 UK 1st pressings, Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter is a US 1st press (I think, it sounds great whatever it is!) Hissing the Nimbus Supercut, so I’ve got good stuff with a few gaps. I’ve also got the CD box, Turbulent Indigo, and the orchestral one which I forget the name of. Plus Herbie Hancock’s River. I’m mostly there! The live albums are the big gaps, I’ve not even heard them!
Blue, to me, sounds rather bright, almost like it was recorded in a bathroom. I still love it though. I just have a bog standard CD, have seen the odd copy on vinyl but it appears that the sound is just compromised at source?