Joni Mitchell - The Studio Albums

There were a number of things I didn't get around to getting in the lp era  and one was gathering a collection of the talented Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell's groundbreaking early albums which together with the Guess Who, Bachman-Turner Overdrive and Neil Young elevated Canadian rock challenging that of Great Britain and the United States.

The Studio Albums 1968-1979, released October 29, 2012 surveys Mitchell's discography from the folk-rock poetry of 1968's Song to a Seagull through to her more exploratory jazz collaboration with Charlies Mingus, 1979's Mingus. 

As a set of albums each is richly rewarding to explore to the keen musicologist interested in seeing an artist and sounds develop rather than just wanting just another set of songs written and performed in the same style.

That was never my thing really.

Each disc is reproduced in gatefold card format replicating the jackets of the original Reprise and Asylum lps of the era and held in cardboard clam type box.

At the rear there is a listing of each album and the tracklisting that aids the process of select a disc or two to play.

When it comes to the mastering the Reprise discs use the more recent HDCD masters that play on regular players and have the Avacado coloured label when the Asylums use plain silver with logo in colour resign.

Recently I got a near mint used edition because such sets are often more rewarding for artists such as Greatest Hits sets that may include well known songs like Woodstock or Big Yellow Taxi.

This set doesn't include her live albums of the period but you can get them separately if you wish.