A Tribute to Joni Mitchell.
Tributes to widely influential artists can be hugely hit and miss affairs, particularly if the job is taken on by amateurs unworthy of the cause. Thankfully this is no such case, with a wide range of talents being incorporated to sing their favourite Joni songs.
Opening with Sufjan Stevens tackling 'Free Man in Paris', a song with the vigour of the original coupled with Steven' trademark quirks, this collection is off to a rollicking start. Similarly, Bjork stamps her prints all over her take on 'The Boho Dance', with an epic rendition that definitely wouldn't be out of place on one of her own records.
Caetano Veloso's version of 'Dreamland' is a jauntily twee affair, infused with joy and a degree of the beauty found in Joni's own music. Brad Mehldau's lacking effort on 'Don't Interrupt the Sorrow' is a disappointment in terms of both the standard of the artists' featured so far and the fact that it is indistinguishable as a Joni Mitchell song thanks to the bizarre decision to remove the vocals.
Cassandra Wilson fares better with her deep and sultry vocals tackling 'For The Roses'. Then comes the track I felt the most pensive about after glancing at the tracklisting, Prince attempting 'A Case of You'. Personally I'd regard the original as Joni's finest hour and amongst my very favourite songs, so Prince had a mighty job to do. It begins decently with Prince's usual flamboyance held in check, but things worsen to a considerable degree when Prince doing his own backing vocals is introduced. Sarah McLachlan follows with a homage strikingly similar to the original, a blessed relief after hearing Prince's 'interpretation'.
After Annie Lennox fails to create much of a spark on 'Ladies of the Canyon', Emmylou Harris is positively blissful on her sensitive and emotive rendering of 'The Magdalene Laundries'. Elvis Costello adds a nice, slightly jazzy feel to 'Edith and the Kingpin' and K.D Lang croons her way through 'Help Me', and makes the song sound like one that should be floating from the speakers at Starbucks. The finale of this compilation comes from James Taylor, who tackles Joni's Christmas song 'River'. The song has the same simple folk effectiveness of the original and is a suitable ending for the album.
This album has limited appeal in that it is only likely to be of interest to either Joni Mitchell fans or fans of the artists featured here. Most of it works but some of it doesn't, but it serves its purpose as a tribute to a legendary artist, and has some moments of excellence. Overall an enjoyable if not life changing experience, and if it introduces just a few more people to Joni Mitchell than it has succeeded.