Joni Mitchell
I first heard Joni Mitchell in 1970 when I moved to Vancouver. I was crashing at a friend’s house and sleeping on the living room couch. My friend Hank’s bed room was actually the dining room separated from the living room by a wall of records and the stereo system. Hank was quite the ladies man and always had a girl or two to spend the night with him. This necessitated the playing of records most of the night to help cover the sounds of love-making in the next room. This night she must have needed a little romance so one of Joni’s LP’s was in the stack. Ladies of the Canyon came on just as I was drifting into sleep. It was perfect timing. I lay suspended it the nether world between sleep and consciousness for the entire side and when side one was finished Hank must have got up from his troubles and flipped over for side two. It was magic. The lyrics and harmonies swept me away. I was a diehard Clapton and Hendrix fan. This was totally different. Also I think it was the first time I realized that one could enjoy different genres of music.
Unfortunately Joni never played Vancouver until her Shadows and Light tour. That is where this shot is from. That’s Pat Metheny in the background.
