Don't be blue ... there's more Joni Mitchell reviews for you ... Blue Manchu Overall Album Score: 9.4 out of 10 Yay! It's another great Joni Mitchell album! ... I really haven't listened to the lady much at all before writing these reviews, and I am quite glad that she did do something to rival that fantastic debut album. ... These songs are even much more easily digestible than they were on A Song for a Seagull, because they're more succinct-sounding and have normal melodies. So, put this on your list as another Mitchell album you must listen to! At any rate, it's much better than Ladies of the Canyon, which seemed kind of distant sometimes. She takes her organic pop sound of that album and puts it to better use here! ... And Mitchell is as personable as she ever was! Most (if not all) of these songs use merely an acoustic guitar or a piano, and Mitchell's voice (there's an occasional bongo drum or overdub). But this is another and perhaps more convincing proof that you don't need fancy production to make a great album! She only needs very limited resources! (Well, she does have rich songwriting resources and a great voice, but ... yay!) My favorite song on here is "River," because I like the imagery that it allots me. I can imagine that you'd ask other people, and they had an equal chance of telling you that they like any other track on this album the best! That's what kind of album this is... Quite lovely. I highly recommend this. Overall Album Score: 9.4 out of 10 (Among Mitchell's best albums, Blue contains very gorgeous hippie-folk tunes that were designed to enrich your SOUL!!!!!!!!!! ... and she succeeds. My soul is already growing cornstalks twice the height of Charles Barkley.) Average Song Score: 9.1 (Very beautiful songs from beginning to end.) Album Tilt: 9.5 (It might not be *that* enjoyable throughout, but this is one of those albums that will keep on giving the more you listen to it. Simply put, this needs to go in your collection!!) Artist Rating: 9.5 (She's really great.) Track Reviews All I Want 9/10 A very, very nice, simple, and mightily tuneful folk-pop tune! It's only Mitchell's voice and her acoustic guitar, but it is verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry good. It's as if adding another instrument to the mix would have detracted from the whole thing! Very nice song. My Old Man 10/10 ...Of course, I'm a guy who takes better to the piano than to the acoustic guitar! Perhaps that's why I enjoy this song even more than "All I Want," even though it doesn't have the superior melody! ... At any rate, I think this song taps into that magical realm that I felt encompassed Song to a Seagull, except this melody is slightly better. ... A great song! JONI MITCHELL IS AWESOME!!! And her voice remains lovely. Little Green 8.5/10 It's just Mitchell and her acoustic guitar again singing a very low-key (and only slightly boring) song that is just BEAUTIFUL!!! The melody is very nice (though not deathly catchy) and she's sounding as sincere and personable as ever. Carey 9.5/10 Yay! Joni's being a happy hippie again! ... Pleasantly upbeat (with colorful lyrics) features Mitchell brightly singing with her acoustic guitar (and a light rhythm section and some overdubs) a fetching melody and ... yes ... hippies are so nice when they're happy. Mmmmm! Blue 9.5/10 Well, this song isn't exactly upbeat ... yet, it's harrowingly gorgeous with great piano, nice singing and a melody that just might pierce into you. (And good lyrics, too ... did I ever mention that Mitchell was a great lyricist! She's got to be if she's expected to be the mother of all singer-songwriter peoples, you know.) This is truly gorgeous. California 9/10 A nice tribute to California, and Mitchell being sweet-happy to come home to it! (But I thought she was Canadian! ... I guess I'd get kinda sick of hokey too, eh?) It's another melodic song ... quite happy and luverly. This Flight Tonight 8/10 Eh, not that great this time. Yeah, it's just Mitchell, her guitar, and you, but ... she doesn't quite tap into that magical realm this time! It's probably because the melody isn't anything that wants to push itself into my soul. ... This is merely OK for Joni Mitchell (...for anyone else, this would have been "good" ... if you're wanting to know that)! River 10/10 Jingle Bells??? NO! It's "River" by Joni Mitchell ... it just sounds like "Jingle Bells" at the very beginning of this. And maybe it was supposed to! She mentions reindeer early on in the lyrics! ... Well, this is yet another utterly lovely song from Mitchell. Just a GORGEOUS melody and this time, the song very easily taps into my soul and takes me to magical places ... oooooooh babyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy... (It's also on the piano. Yay!) A Case of You 9/10 Hah! I knew you were from Canada! ... CANADIANS ARE ... the inventors of curling. Or as I like to think of it: Much more boring than hurling on ice. It's another slow-paced song with the acoustic guitar. It has a very lovely nostalgic aura about it. And like every single other song on here, it's utterly lovely. The Last Time I Saw Richard 8.5/10 ...This isn't "Richard the Lionhearted" you're talking about, are you? If that's the case, you're older than I thought! ... It's not the most lovely song to end the album with, but ... HECK, IT'S QUITE LOVELY ALL THE SAME! Mitchell gives a very nice, dramatic performance ... she sounds as if her heart's in this and all that good stuff. Nice melody. ... Bye, Richard. Joni Mitchell wants YOURR COMMENTSSSSS ABOUTR HEROHE ABUEMRL here!

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