Blue (Joni Mitchell album)

Despite the success of her first three albums and songs like "Woodstock", January 1970 saw Mitchell make a decision to break from performing. In early spring 1970, she set off on a vacation around Europe.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4n5LMaA2xMsC&pg=PA299|title=Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon—And the Journey of a Generation|last=Weller|first=Sheila|date=April 8, 2008|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=9780743491471|language=en|access-date=May 6, 2017|archive-date=May 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210529181724/https://books.google.com/books?id=4n5LMaA2xMsC&pg=PA299|url-status=live}} While on the island of Crete and staying in Matala, she wrote some of the songs that appear on Blue.{{cite book|last1=Haig|first1=Matt|title=Reasons to Stay Alive|date=2015|publisher=Cannongate Books|location=London, U.K.|isbn=9781782116820|page=231|quote=Formentera was also where Joni Mitchell wrote the album Blue.}} This journey was the backdrop for the songs "Carey" and "California"—"Carey" was inspired by her relationship with an American named Cary Raditz, who was the "redneck on a Grecian Isle" in "California".{{Cite web|last=Mossman|first=Kate|date=2021-12-17|title="I didn't want anyone to know it was me": on being Joni Mitchell's "Carey"|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/katemossmaninterview/2021/12/joni-mitchell-carey-california-blue-lyrics-cary-raditz-interview|access-date=2022-01-07|website=New Statesman|language=en-US}} Some of the songs on Blue were inspired by Mitchell's 1968–1970 relationship with Graham Nash.{{Cite web|date=June 3, 2014|title=Joni Mitchell Library – Crown and anchor me or let me sail away...|url=http://jonimitchell.com/library/view.cfm?id=2794|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913190949/http://jonimitchell.com/library/view.cfm?id=2794|archive-date=September 13, 2017|access-date=September 13, 2017|publisher=JoniMitchell.com}} Their relationship was already troubled when she left for Europe, and it was while she was on Formentera that she sent Nash the telegram that let him know that their relationship was over. The songs "My Old Man" and "River"{{Cite news|url=https://flowerandthevine.wordpress.com/2013/05/14/sweet-inspiration-joni-mitchell-and-graham-nash/|title=Sweet Inspiration: Joni Mitchell and Graham Nash|date=May 14, 2013|work=The Flower and the Vine|access-date=September 13, 2017|language=en-US|archive-date=September 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913184206/https://flowerandthevine.wordpress.com/2013/05/14/sweet-inspiration-joni-mitchell-and-graham-nash/|url-status=live}} are thought to be inspired by their relationship.

Another pivotal experience in Mitchell's life that drove the emergence of the album was her relationship with James Taylor.{{Cite news|date=June 20, 2021|title=50 Reasons to Love Joni Mitchell's 'Blue'|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/06/20/arts/music/joni-mitchell-blue.html|access-date=June 20, 2021|issn=0362-4331}} She had begun an intense relationship with Taylor by the summer of 1970, visiting him on the set of the movie Two-Lane Blacktop, the aura of which is referred to in "This Flight Tonight".{{Cite web|url=http://www.girlslikeusthemusic.com/Carole-King-Joni-Mitchell-bio-1969-1972.html|title=Carole King & Joni Mitchell {{!}} 1969 to 1972 Music Biography|website=Girls Like Us – The Music|language=en|access-date=September 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190525110957/http://www.girlslikeusthemusic.com/Carole-King-Joni-Mitchell-bio-1969-1972.html|archive-date=May 25, 2019|url-status=dead}} The songs "Blue" and "All I Want" have specific references to her relationship with Taylor, such as a sweater that she knitted for him at the time and his heroin addiction. During the making of Blue in January 1971, they were still very much in love and involved.{{cite book|last1=Bego|first1=Mark|title=Joni Mitchell|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=18ENXRfNqy8C&pg=PA89|isbn=9781589792210|date=May 26, 2005|publisher=Taylor Trade Publications |access-date=May 7, 2017|archive-date=May 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210529181731/https://books.google.com/books?id=18ENXRfNqy8C&pg=PA89|url-status=live}} By March, Taylor's fame had exploded, causing friction. She was reportedly devastated when he broke off the relationship.{{cite book|last1=Bego|first1=Mark|title=Joni Mitchell|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=llGgRhL_WkoC&pg=PA90|access-date=May 7, 2017|isbn=9781461662020|date=May 26, 2005|publisher=Taylor Trade |archive-date=May 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210529181725/https://books.google.com/books?id=llGgRhL_WkoC&pg=PA90|url-status=live}}

The album was almost released in a somewhat different form. In March 1971, completed masters for the album were ready for production. Originally, there were three old songs that had not found their way onto any of her previous albums. At the last minute, Mitchell decided to remove two of the three so that she could add the new songs "All I Want" and "The Last Time I Saw Richard". "Little Green", composed in 1967, was the only old song that remained. The two songs removed were:

• "Urge for Going" – her first song to achieve commercial success when recorded by country singer George Hamilton IV. It was later released as the B-side of "You Turn Me On, I'm a Radio" and again on her 1996 compilation album, Hits.
• "Hunter (The Good Samaritan)", which was released in 2021 on her EP Blue 50 (Demos & Outtakes).

In 1979, Mitchell reflected, "The Blue album, there's hardly a dishonest note in the vocals. At that period of my life, I had no personal defenses. I felt like a cellophane wrapper on a pack of cigarettes. I felt like I had absolutely no secrets from the world and I couldn't pretend in my life to be strong. Or to be happy. But the advantage of it in the music was that there were no defenses there either."{{cite news |last=Crowe |first=Cameron |author-link=Cameron Crowe |url=http://www.theuncool.com/journalism/rs296-joni-mitchell/ |title=Joni Mitchell |publisher=Rolling Stone |issue=296 |date=July 26, 1979 |work=CameronCrowe.com |access-date=March 9, 2007 |archive-date=March 26, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326094945/http://www.theuncool.com/journalism/rs296-joni-mitchell/ |url-status=live }}

Mitchell continued to use alternate tunings on her guitar to allow easier access to augmented chords and notes in unexpected combinations.{{cite news | last =Fusilli| first =Jim | title =A 65th Birthday Tribute to Joni Mitchell | work =The Wall Street Journal | page =D7 | date =November 4, 2008 }} Due to the stark and bare revelations in the album, when it was first played for Kris Kristofferson he is reported to have commented, "Joni! Keep something to yourself!"[http://music.cbc.ca/#/blogs/2013/6/Exclusive-Joni-Mitchell-talks-to-Jian-Ghomeshi-about-death-hippies-art-and-getting-Banffed The Joni Mitchell Interview – A CBC Music Exclusive] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212163426/http://music.cbc.ca/#/blogs/2013/6/Exclusive-Joni-Mitchell-talks-to-Jian-Ghomeshi-about-death-hippies-art-and-getting-Banffed |date=February 12, 2012 }}, 2013, 0:44:47 minutes

{{Album ratings

| rev1 = About.com

| rev1score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite web |work=folkmusic.about.com |publisher=The New York Times Company |first=Kim |last=Ruehl |title=Joni Mitchell – Blue > Review |url=http://folkmusic.about.com/od/cdreviews/fr/JoniMitchellBlue.htm |access-date=July 10, 2010 |archive-date=September 24, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100924094649/http://folkmusic.about.com/od/cdreviews/fr/JoniMitchellBlue.htm |url-status=live }}

| rev2 = AllMusic

| rev2score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite web |last1=Ankeny |first1=Jason |title=Blue – Joni Mitchell |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/blue-mw0000193531 |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=September 26, 2020 |archive-date=December 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223172319/https://www.allmusic.com/album/blue-mw0000193531 |url-status=live }}

| rev3 = Christgau's Record Guide

| rev3score = A{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|publisher=Ticknor & Fields|isbn=089919026X|chapter=Consumer Guide '70s: M|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=M&bk=70|access-date=March 8, 2019|via=robertchristgau.com|title-link=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|archive-date=June 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170629053222/https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=M&bk=70|url-status=dead}}

| rev4 = Encyclopedia of Popular Music

| rev4score = {{rating|5|5}}{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin|chapter=Mitchell, Joni|title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music|title-link=Encyclopedia of Popular Music|location=London|publisher=Omnibus Press|edition=5th concise|year=2011|isbn=978-0-85712-595-8}}

| rev5 = MusicHound

| rev5score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite book|editor-last1=Graff|editor-first1=Gary|editor-last2=Durchholz|editor-first2=Daniel|year=1999|title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide|location=Farmington Hills, MI|publisher=Visible Ink Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781578590612/page/769 769]|isbn=1-57859-061-2|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781578590612/page/769}}

| rev6 = Pitchfork

| rev6score = 10/10{{cite web |url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/17269-the-studio-albums-1968-1979/ |title=Joni Mitchell: The Studio Albums 1968–1979 | Album Reviews |website=Pitchfork |date=November 9, 2012 |access-date=March 20, 2014 |archive-date=May 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200531091101/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/17269-the-studio-albums-1968-1979/ |url-status=live }}

| rev7 = Rolling Stone

| rev7score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite news|newspaper=Rolling Stone |issue=88 |date=August 5, 1971 |first=Timothy |last=Crouse |author-link=Timothy Crouse |title=Joni Mitchell Blue > Album Review |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/blue-19710805 |access-date=July 26, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020130191343/http://www.rollingstone.com/recordings/review.asp?aid=68956&cf=360|archive-date=January 30, 2002 |url-status=dead }}

| rev8 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide

| rev8score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite book |chapter=Joni Mitchell |pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/547 547–548] |editor1-last=Brackett |editor1-first=Nathan |editor2-last=Hoard |editor1-link=Nathan Brackett |editor2-first=Christian |title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |year=2004 |publisher=Fireside |location=London |isbn=0-7432-0169-8 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lRgtYCC6OUwC&q=rolling%20stone%20joni%20mitchell%20blue&pg=PA547 |access-date=September 8, 2009 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/547 }} Portions posted at {{cite web |website=Rollingstone.com |title=Joni Mitchell > Album Guide |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/joni-mitchell/albumguide|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110731021221/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/joni-mitchell/albumguide|archive-date=July 31, 2011 |url-status=dead |access-date=June 2, 2015 }}

| rev9 = Sputnikmusic

| rev9score = {{rating|5|5}}{{cite web |url=https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/7480/Joni-Mitchell-Blue/ |title=Joni Mitchell – Blue |website=Sputnikmusic |date=June 9, 2006 |access-date=October 4, 2020 |archive-date=October 9, 2015 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20151009174916/http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/7480/Joni-Mitchell-Blue/ |url-status=live }}

}}

Today, Blue is generally regarded by music critics as one of the greatest albums of all time, with Mitchell's songwriting and compositions being frequent areas of praise. In January 2000, The New York Times chose Blue as one of the 25 albums that represented "turning points and pinnacles in 20th-century popular music".{{cite news |title=Critics' Choices; Albums as Mileposts In a Musical Century |author=Jon Pareles |author2=Neil Strauss |author3=Ben Ratliff |author4=Ann Powers |name-list-style=amp|newspaper=The New York Times |date=January 3, 2000 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/03/arts/critics-choices-albums-as-mileposts-in-a-musical-century.html?scp=1&sq=Joni%20Mitchell%20Blue%20Beatles%20Revolver&st=cse |access-date=December 17, 2009 |archive-date=May 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200531091103/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/03/arts/critics-choices-albums-as-mileposts-in-a-musical-century.html?scp=1&sq=Joni+Mitchell+Blue+Beatles+Revolver&st=cse |url-status=live }}

Jason Ankeny of AllMusic describes Blue as "the quintessential confessional singer/songwriter album". Praising the songs as "raw nerves, tales of love and loss etched with stunning complexity", Ankeny concludes writing "Unrivaled in its intensity". The writers of Pitchfork gave the album a perfect 10-out-of-10 rating, calling it "possibly the most gutting break-up album ever made".

Blue was included in the 2018 edition of Robert Dimery's book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die{{cite book|first1=Robert|last1=Dimery|first2=Michael|last2=Lydon|title=1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition|date=2018|location=London|publisher=Cassell|isbn=978-1-78840-080-0}} and ranked #18 on Apple Music’s 100 Best Albums list in 2024.

The album was a commercial success. In Canada, the album peaked at number nine on the Canadian RPM Albums Chart. In the United Kingdom, the album peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart and has been certified double platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales over of 600,000 copies in the UK. In the US, the album peaked at number 15 on the Billboard 200 chart. The album was later certified platinum for sales over a million copies. The single "Carey" reached number 93 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In 2021, Blue peaked at number 1 on iTunes, 50 years to the day after its release. It also became the number 1 Audio CD on Amazon.{{Cite web |last=Carras |first=Christi |date=23 June 2021 |title=Joni Mitchell feels all your love for 'Blue': '50 years later, people finally get it' |url=https://news.yahoo.com/joni-mitchell-feels-love-blue-184046616.html |access-date=11 February 2023 |website=news.yahoo.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Friedman |first=Roger |date=21 June 2021 |title=Bravo! Joni Mitchell Landmark Album "Blue" Is Number 1 on iTunes 50 Years After Its Release (Listen to Unreleased Demos Here) |url=https://www.showbiz411.com/2021/06/21/bravo-joni-mitchell-landmark-album-blue-is-number-1-on-itunes-50-years-after-release |access-date=11 February 2023 |website=Showbiz411 |language=en-US}}

All tracks are written by Joni Mitchell.

Side one

1. "All I Want" – 3:34
2. "My Old Man" – 3:34
3. "Little Green" – 3:27
4. "Carey" – 3:02
5. "Blue" – 3:05

Side two

1. "California" – 3:51
2. "This Flight Tonight" – 2:51
3. "River" – 4:04
4. "A Case of You" – 4:22
5. "The Last Time I Saw Richard" – 4:15

According to the liner notes:{{Cite AV media notes|title=Blue|others=Joni Mitchell|year=1971|publisher=Reprise Records|location=US|type=LP liner notes|id=MS 2038}}

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{{col-2}}

• Joni Mitchell – production, Appalachian dulcimer, guitar, piano & vocals
• Henry Lewy – engineer
• Gary Burden – art direction
• Tim Considine – cover photography

{{col-2}}

• James Taylor – guitar ("All I Want", "California", "Carey", "A Case of You")
• Russ Kunkel – drums ("Carey", "California", "A Case of You")
• Stephen Stills – bass and guitar ("Carey")
• Sneaky Pete Kleinow – pedal steel guitar ("California", "This Flight Tonight")

{{col-end}}

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-end}}

{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for Blue}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|type=album|title=Blue|artist=Joni Mitchell|award=Gold|certyear=2003}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=album|title=Blue|artist=Joni Mitchell|award=Platinum|number=2|relyear=1971|id=961-2909-2}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=album|title=Blue|artist=Joni Mitchell|award=Platinum|relyear=1971}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Discogs master|type=album|47744|name=Blue}}
• {{cite news| newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=December 7, 1996 |first=Robert |last=Hilburn |author-link=Robert Hilburn |title=Joni Mitchell looks at both sides now: her hits – and misses}} Posted at {{cite web |work=southcoasttoday.com |title=Joni Mitchell looks at both sides now: her hits – and misses |url=http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19961207/NEWS/312079997&cid=sitesearch |access-date=September 27, 2011 |archive-date=October 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018190858/http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19961207/NEWS/312079997&cid=sitesearch |url-status=dead }} ("All I Want" inspiration is discussed.)

{{Joni Mitchell}}

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Category:Joni Mitchell albums

Category:1971 albums

Category:Reprise Records albums

Category:Albums produced by Joni Mitchell

Category:Albums recorded at A&M Studios

Category:Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients