The Asylum Albums (1976-1980) (2024 Remaster) Joni Mitchell

• 1Coyote (2024 Remaster)05:00
• 2Amelia (2024 Remaster)05:59
• 3Furry Sings the Blues (2024 Remaster)05:06
• 4A Strange Boy (2024 Remaster)04:17
• 5Hejira (2024 Remaster)06:44
• 6Song for Sharon (2024 Remaster)08:37
• 7Black Crow (2024 Remaster)04:22
• 8Blue Motel Room (2024 Remaster)05:03
• 9Refuge of the Roads (2024 Remaster)06:40
• 10Overture - Cotton Avenue (2024 Remaster)06:41
• 11Talk to Me (2024 Remaster)03:45
• 12Jericho (2024 Remaster)03:26
• 13Paprika Plains (2024 Remaster)16:21
• 14Otis and Marlena (2024 Remaster)03:57
• 15The Tenth World (2024 Remaster)06:56
• 16Dreamland (2024 Remaster)04:39
• 17Don Juan's Reckless Daughter (2024 Remaster)06:36
• 18Off Night Backstreet (2024 Remaster)03:20
• 19The Silky Veils of Ardor (2024 Remaster)04:04
• 20Happy Birthday 1975 (Rap) [2024 Remaster]00:57
• 21God Must Be a Boogie Man (2024 Remaster)04:35
• 22Funeral (Rap) [2024 Remaster]01:07
• 23A Chair in the Sky (2024 Remaster)06:42
• 24The Wolf That Lives in Lindsey (2024 Remaster)06:35
• 25I's a Muggin' (Rap) [2024 Remaster]00:07
• 26Sweet Sucker Dance (2024 Remaster)08:04
• 27Coin in the Pocket (Rap) [2024 Remaster]00:11
• 28The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines (2024 Remaster)03:22
• 29Lucky (Rap) [2024 Remaster]00:04
• 30Goodbye Pork Pie Hat (2024 Remaster)05:38
• Live at the Santa Barbara County Bowl, September 9, 1979:
• 31Introduction (Live at the Santa Barbara County Bowl, September 9, 1979) [2024 Remaster]01:51
• 32In France They Kiss on Main Street (Live at the Santa Barbara County Bowl, September 9, 1979) [2024 Remaster]04:12
• 33Edith and the Kingpin (Live at the Santa Barbara County Bowl, September 9, 1979) [2024 Remaster]04:10
• 34Coyote (Live at the Santa Barbara County Bowl, September 9, 1979) [2024 Remaster]04:56
• 35Goodbye Pork Pie Hat (Live at the Santa Barbara County Bowl, September 9, 1979) [2024 Remaster]06:05
• 36The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines (Live at the Santa Barbara County Bowl, September 9, 1979) [2024 Remaster]04:33
• 37Amelia (Live at the Santa Barbara County Bowl, September 9, 1979) [2024 Remaster]06:40
• 38Pat's Solo (Live at the Santa Barbara County Bowl, September 9, 1979) [2024 Remaster]03:05
• 39Hejira (Live at the Santa Barbara County Bowl, September 9, 1979) [2024 Remaster]07:44
• 40Black Crow (Live at the Santa Barbara County Bowl, September 9, 1979) [2024 Remaster]03:51
• 41Don's Solo (Live at the Santa Barbara County Bowl, September 9, 1979) [2024 Remaster]03:55
• 42Dreamland (Live at the Santa Barbara County Bowl, September 9, 1979) [2024 Remaster]04:49
• 43Free Man in Paris (Live at the Santa Barbara County Bowl, September 9, 1979) [2024 Remaster]03:22
• 44Band Introduction (Live at the Santa Barbara County Bowl, September 9, 1979) [2024 Remaster]00:49
• 45Furry Sings the Blues (Live at the Santa Barbara County Bowl, September 9, 1979) [2024 Remaster]05:17
• 46Why Do Fools Fall in Love? (Live at the Santa Barbara County Bowl, September 9, 1979) [2024 Remaster]02:45
• 47Shadows and Light (Live at the Santa Barbara County Bowl, September 9, 1979) [2024 Remaster]05:28
• 48God Must Be a Boogie Man (Live at the Santa Barbara County Bowl, September 9, 1979) [2024 Remaster]05:02
• 49Woodstock (Live at the Santa Barbara County Bowl, September 9, 1979) [2024 Remaster]05:12
• Total Runtime03:52:41

Info for The Asylum Albums (1976-1980) (2024 Remaster)

After THE HISSING OF SUMMER Lawns tour, Joni Mitchell retreated to Neil Young’s beach house to recover. Eager to travel but undecided about a destination, Mitchell was unexpectedly invited on a cross-country road trip with friends. It was one of three road trips she took between 1975 and 1976 and the beginning of a period defined by wanderlust, both in her physical travels and musical exploration. This transformative phase is the focal point of THE ASYLUM ALBUMS (1976-1980), the next release in the Joni Mitchell Archives series.

The new collection showcases Mitchell at her most daring across HEJIRA (1976), DON JUAN’S RECKLESS DAUGHTER (1977), MINGUS (1979), and the live album SHADOWS AND LIGHT (1980). Renowned audio engineer Bernie Grundman remastered all four releases included in this boxed set from the original flat analog master tapes.

During this period, Mitchell boldly declared her move from the “hit department” to the “art department.” Critics were slow to catch up, but her creativity was in overdrive. Instead of session aces, she began recording with jazz virtuosos like Larry Carlton and Pat Metheny (guitar), Michael Brecker (saxophone), Herbie Hancock (keyboard), and Don Alias (percussion), as well as several members of Weather Report, including Jaco Pastorius (bass) and Wayne Shorter (saxophone).

HEJIRA stands out as a testament to Mitchell’s artistic evolution. Its subdued instrumentation, coupled with her introspective lyrics, resulted in timeless tracks like “Coyote” and “Furry Sings The Blues” with Young on harmonica. Mitchell once said: “I suppose a lot of people could have written a lot of my other songs, but I feel the songs on Hejira could only have come from me.”

Her journey continued with DON JUAN’S RECKLESS DAUGHTER, a double album of largely experimental music. It included “Paprika Plains,” a side-long piano piece with orchestral arrangements. It found a receptive audience in musical seekers like Bjork, who said the album’s fearless approach later inspired her music.

Ultimately, Mitchell’s path led to Mingus, her collaboration with jazz titan Charles Mingus, who wrote several songs for the project. Mingus died shortly before the album was complete, and Mitchell dedicated it to him. Four songs by Mingus with lyrics written by Mitchell appeared on the album, including a version of “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat,” Mingus’ tribute to saxophonist Lester Young, and one of his most famous compositions. In the album’s liner notes, Mitchell said she felt fully immersed in jazz for the first time while making the record. “It was as if I had been standing by a river – one toe in the water – feeling it out – and Charlie came by and pushed me in – ‘sink or swim’…”

The final entry in THE ASYLUM ALBUMS (1976-1980) is the double live album Shadows and Light. It was Mitchell’s second live album and her last release with Asylum Records. She recorded it during the tour for Mingus in September 1979 at the Santa Barbara Bowl. Except for the performance of her classic song “Woodstock,” the album focused on songs from her most recent albums, like “Amelia,” “Dreamland,” and “The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines.” The Persuasions, a vocal group popular in the 1960s, also appeared on two songs: the title track and a cover of “Why Do Fools Fall In Love.”

The cover art for THE ASYLUM ALBUMS (1976-1980) includes a portion of one of Mitchell’s original paintings.

“It’s not just the artifact – music and lyrics – that Joni gives us. Her artistry leaves us, ourselves, changed. She has shifted things around inside us. And that’s how artists change the world.” - Meryl Streep

Joni Mitchell

Digitally remastered by Bernie Grundman

Joni Mitchell began as the archetype of the folkie female singer-songwriter, an heir to Joan Baez. But she quickly moved forward, incorporating influences from jazz and the blues. 'Joni Mitchell heard Billie Holiday sing 'Solitude' when she was about nine years old — and she hasn't been the same since,' says Herbie Hancock. Those lessons of emotional vulnerability are evident in her delicate soprano trill, as well as in the undisguised wear of the sultry voice of her later work, punctuated by her jazzy syncopation. 'Joni's got a strange sense of rhythm that's all her own,' Bob Dylan told Rolling Stone. Above all, Mitchell won't be boxed in. 'The way she phrases always serves the lyrics perfectly, and yet her phrasing can be different every time,' Hancock says. 'She's a fighter for freedom.' (Source: Rolling Stone Magazine)

This album contains no booklet.