5 keepers
keeper avg .500
Though I have little business trying to criticize one of the most widely acclaimed albums of all-time, let alone one so far outside my personal wheelhouse, I can only say I can see what all the fuss is about. In "All I Want"**** Mitchell uses her dulcimer as a melodic counterpoint for her complex melodies and for punchy, syncopated riffs. Meanwhile, those melodic acoustic guitar riffs on the pleasantly swinging "Cary"**** sure sound like Stephen Stills (well lo and behold he guested on this song) and are a welcome addition. Mitchell's open-tuned guitar riffs in "This Flight Tonight"**** are driving, with an angular, mysterious tonality that Neil Young's "Don't Let It Bring You Down" and "Heart Of Gold" (which came after) had (the song also indirectly influenced Heart's creation of "Barracuda" by way of Nazareth's cover version). It's hard to dislike a song with a narrative as rich as "A Case Of You," except the exact moment the title is sung the melody falls apart, not to recover for a good 30-seconds. On just less than half the album the multi-talented Mitchell sets her axe down and accompanies herself impressively on piano. The best is "My Old Man"****, presenting as a rather ordinary piano ballad except it takes a hard left turn in the "But when he's gone Me and them lonesome blues collide" bridge, building a ridiculous amount of tension until its concluding piano tantrum resolves smoothly into the next verse. In the conventional but pretty piano ballad "River" Mitchell mourns ending her relationship with Graham Nash, in a sadness that makes her wish for a river to escape the "coming on Christmas" and "songs of joy and peace." "The Last Time I Saw Richard"****, an older song about her first marriage, closes the album; unlike in "Case Of You" Mitchell's piano style is well-suited to the meandering narrative.
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