The good news is that Joni Mitchell is back.
Her new album, ”Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm,” is nicely crafted, containing 10 tracks that chart some familiar Mitchell territory, but which also radiate as much optimism as angst. And in addition to the generous helpings of wry humor and uncompromising candor, ”Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm” also boasts some unlikely guest appearances, in the shape of Billy Idol, Tom Petty, Peter Gabriel and Willie Nelson.
The bad news is that Joni Mitchell may not be back for long. Now somewhere in her mid-40s, and after a 20-year career that has spawned such classic albums as ”Court and Spark,” ”The Hissing of Summer Lawns,
”Hijira” and ”Mingus,” she may be ready to call it a day.
Of course, Mitchell has been fighting an uneasy battle with fame for most of those 20 years, and she has been threatening to retire to her oils and brushes for most of the `80s. But it has been more than five years since she last toured, and with no such plans in the works, she may, indeed, be serious this time.
Serious or not about possible retirement, the singer is in an upbeat frame of mind these days and more than happy to discuss the present, especially when it concerns her latest record.
”I`m very pleased with the way it turned out, and I do feel this album is easier for people to get into than any record I`ve made in a while. It`s accessible,” she adds with a smile, sitting in her manager`s Los Angeles office and looking both stylish and relaxed in a black silk outfit.
”Why that is, I`m not sure, because I don`t view my work and see some records as being `better` or `worse` than others,” Mitchell is quick to emphasize. ”I just see them as a natural fluid progression in my relentless pursuit of perfection, and it`s more a case of correcting what I feel are my mistakes, not necessarily what was criticized by the press or whatever.”
Is the singer referring to the disappointing reaction to her previous album, ”Dog Eat Dog”? ”Right, and a lot of that criticism I just didn`t share,” she shoots back. ”It was definitely perceived of as this largely negative album, and it can be quite brutal to go from the enthusiasm of completing a project to being deluged by all that criticism.
”In fact, a lot of so-called criticism is incredibly irresponsible,”
she adds, warming to her theme. ”Naturally you pay attention to it because you put something out in the world, and you want some feedback. You only learn how the public feels over a period of time, with people coming up to you in restaurants or on the street. But critical reaction you hear instantly, and in the `80s, it`s fashionable to be nasty and ignorant for its own sake, and I find that very depressing and exasperating, like watching your children get beaten up at school by thick-headed bullies.”
”And those wounds and barbs can ruin an artist and make him impotent,”
Mitchell continues. ”The critics nearly killed Miles Davis, and Miles is a tough one, but he finally just had enough and retired from it all. That`s my impression, anyway. No matter what he did, however adventuresome he was, they kept comparing everything to his early work. They just couldn`t get past it.” It seems apparent from such impassioned statements that the singer feels similarly pressured to keep repeating her own musical past, something, however, she refuses to do. ”What`s the point? And they just didn`t get the last album. They wouldn`t give it a fair chance. People always resent it when you leave the familiar behind, just when they`re getting used to it,” she says.
It seems fair to point out that ”Chalk Mark,” ironically enough, does sound far closer to Mitchell`s earlier work, after the hi-tech sounds and textures of her last album. ”Well, it`s true I couldn`t face making another record without seeing some real live musicians on the other side of the glass,” she concedes with a laugh.
Many will also call the result a return to basics and the kind of lean, concentrated songwriting and production values that powered the likes of
”Court and Spark” or ”Don Juan`s Reckless Daughter.” Typically, Mitchell herself doesn`t quite see it that way.
”Perhaps `Chalk` is back to basics in some ways, but it wasn`t so much that I felt I`d gotten away from my roots as it was that employing all the electronic hardware now available is so bloody tedious! It`s an assembly-line job, and while you can get all these incredible sounds and whatever, you invariably sacrifice some of the spontaneity and magic of playing live music. ”I`m sure a lot of people would love to preserve me as this folkie, alone with a guitar, forever singing `Both Sides Now,` ” grimaces the singer, ”but here we are in 1988, and I just cannot resist playing with all these hi-tech toys, either. This is an era of amazing gadgetry, and any composer would be half-dead not to want to experiment and be involved.”
Mitchell`s ambivalence about the benefits of high technology in music-making is displayed to good effect in such strong and compelling tracks as
”My Secret Place,” ”Lakota,” ”The Tea Leaf Prophecy” and ”The Beat of Black Wings.” Each successfully combines a highly polished aural sheen with the more intimate resonances of a master songwriter at work. And in the case of ”Lakota,” computerized keyboard programming effectively joins forces with a timeless Indian chant performed by Iron Eyes Cody.
A great believer in the power of coincidence, particularly with regard to the creative process, the singer eagerly details the series of events that led to the completion of the latter track, giving some insights into her own working methods.
”From the moment I first heard the track, I knew it was about Indians, though I don`t know why,” she explains, almost as if discussing another writer`s composition. ”It seemed to write itself in a way that, if you have a mystical bone to your body, almost seemed preordained. There`s a moment when you recognize a theme, you become alert, and then it comes to you.
”Anyhow, I`d built a chant in the background from memories of chants I`d heard as a child, and I wanted an Indian`s approval that these were somewhat authentic,” the singer continues. ”I`m both a romantic and a realist where Indians are concerned-my heart goes out to them, but I didn`t grow up on a reservation so I`m not totally realistic, although I`m well-informed. I`d heard there was going to be a pow-wow in Santa Monica one night, and how I ended up meeting Iron Eyes is a very strange story.
”I was working on the song in a nearby studio, but I just knew I had to go to this pow-wow. That`s unusual in itself, because in all my years in the music business, I`ve never left a session early. And then at that moment, all the machines broke down, so off I went, and the first person I was introduced to at the pow-wow turned out to be Iron Eyes, and naturally I ended up bringing him back to the session to sing the chant.
”The weird thing is that we arrived back really late-I`d promised I`d only be gone an hour-and as we walked in, the machines all magically started up again,” reports Mitchell. ”Of course, I took all this to be a very good omen.”
More mundane, but perhaps no less mysterious to her fans, is the appearance of the likes of Billy Idol and Tom Petty on this album. ”I was well aware that this might confuse a few people,” she says gleefully, ”but I just thought they`d be perfect on those songs.” (Idol and Petty guest on
”Dancin` Clown,” Peter Gabriel appears on ”My Secret Place,” and, more predictably, Willie Nelson and Don Henley show up on other cuts.)
”They were all chosen for the sound of their voices, not shock value,”
maintains the singer.
Sadly, however, there appears to be no likelihood of Mitchell touring her latest collection of songs, let alone the interesting prospect of seeing her onstage with Billy Idol or Tom Petty. ”There`s a lot of pressure for me to do it, but the truth is I just don`t miss the road at all,” she confesses. ”I`d rather go someplace and sit by a lake and paint.”
Painting, it appears, is steadily becoming a more important part of the singer`s life, although she`s quick to stress that ”I don`t think I`m as gifted as I am musically.”
So has this other talent and passion, which for many years has threatened to retire her from the music scene, finally provided her with an ultimatum?
”It`s not just the painting, but I have seriously been thinking about retiring from the music business for quite a while now-and I may as soon as my current record contract runs out,” admits Mitchell. ”And seriously, why not? Nothing really increases my sales-the same old people buy my albums each time, whether I tour or do videos or whatever. Basically I just think I`m getting too old for the grind of touring, and my health is frail.”
At age 9, Mitchell was left ravaged and partially paralyzed by a bout with polio, but to look at the singer today, you`d never know it. She may still be somewhat fragile-looking, but she also exudes an unmistakable toughness of spirit. Mention the fragility and she hoots with laughter.
”You`re probably right-I`ll be one of those frail people who lives to be 102, full of complaints and poking you with a cane,” she says.
”I`m actually looking forward to that, and I already have a cane collection. As soon as I go lame, which is inevitable, I`m gonna start swinging it at people.”
