This week’s selection for the Cultural Toolbox was a raw, personal classic from the pop archives – and the choice of our guest Toolbox custodian, Bill Hughes.
With John Fardy away this week we were discussing Bill’s choice - a record that he calls "one of the great pieces of art of the twentieth century" – Joni Mitchell’s 1971 classic album, Blue. A piece of work Bill called "poetry and magnificent music".
Bill started us off with 'Carey'
Romantic loss, regret and the pain of the break-up have provided the inspiration for much of that which fills the archives of pop music history, but perhaps the greatest ever exploration, and expression, of the loss of love rests in the 1971 shelf – with ‘Blue’ a work of intense honesty.
As Mitchell would say of the work: "At that period of my life, I had no persona defences. 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.
"The Blue album, there's hardly a dishonest note in the vocals."
As with any album of such an intimate, autobiographical nature, Blue is forever viewed through the lens of the artist’s own life story. The album came shortly after Mitchell’s break up with Graham Nash, of Crosby, Stills and Nash, and this colours every discussion of the work – including today’s Cultural Toolbox. Not that Mitchell would have had it any other way, with the searing honesty unambiguous becoming the record's soul and strength.
'The Last Time I Saw Richard' was one tracking Bill called "searingly honest"
Shane had to make a confession about Blue - while he was immersed in a lot of the early 70s singer/songwriter pop genre - he found Blue a tough listen to fall for right off the bat. So he rang his brother, his 'sounding board for these things' - and he told Bill about how his brother set him straight on the effort required, and the rewards on offer, when listening to Blue.
Legacy
Mitchell's legacy in rock and pop music is undoubted. Bill told us about Mitchell's induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, when Bono told the crowd that he, and all rock singers worth their salt, owed the Canadian singer a great debt.
Mitchell was named one of Rolling Stone's ‘Immortals’ and ‘Greatest Artists of All Time’ - and the band has said Blue “may be the ultimate break up album” and “Mitchell’s greatest musical achievement”
In recent years Mitchell has lost her full vocal range, her voice dropping two octaves due to her smoking, and in April this year was hospitalised after collapsing in her home. Last month Mitchell's life and career were honoured at an SFJAZZ gala, with her contemporaries performing many of her classic, and celebrating her remarkable career.
