Here's what CD Now says about the new album
<A
HREF="http://www.cdnow.com/cgi-bin/mserver/SID=566749897/pagename=/RP/CDN/FIND/album.html/artistid=Mitchell*Joni/itemid=1614646";>Travelogue</A>
2002 CD <A
HREF="http://www.cdnow.com/cgi-bin/mserver/SID=566749897/pagename=/RP/CDN/ACCT/cart.html/widgetid=1693756";>$31.48</A>
November 19, 2002
On Joni Mitchell's 20th album, Travelogue, the high priestess of
singer-songwriters raids her own back catalogue, revisiting songs that she
believes have stood the test of time and her own stylistic transformations,
using the London Symphony Orchestra to accompany her. This is not a nostalgia
trip into the Wayback Machine, bringing back winsome souvenirs like "Big
Yellow Taxi" and "Chelsea Morning." Instead, this collection shows Mitchell
as the self-conscious and restless innovator, picking her way carefully
through the minefields of human relationships, leaving a trail of eloquent
breadcrumbs, as she describes the passing scenery with her evocative and
off-kilter imagery. Back in 1974, Mitchell complained that she felt miscast
singing some of the songs that she wrote as a younger woman, so almost 30
years later it's no surprise that she has abandoned many of her trademark
songs for more sophisticated prescient fare. Included in the two-disc set are
songs like her Dylanesque narrative "Otis and Marlena"; the still topical and
prophetic "Amelia"; and her end-of-the-world tome, "Slouching Toward
Bethlehem." The anthemic "Woodstock" has become a ponderous meditation on the
meaning of life and purpose, as Mitchell, with the help of arranger Vince
Mendoza (who worked with the chanteuse on her 2000 album of standards, <A
HREF="http://www.cdnow.com/cgi-bin/mserver/SID=566749897/pagename=/RP/CDN/FIND/album.html/itemid=1042796";>Both
Sides Now</A>) changes both the emphasis and the pacing of the classic song that
helped define a cultural revolution.Jaan Uhelszki
CDNOW Contributing Writer
