I think Wild Things Run Fast is a very significant album in Joni's output.
It's the first studio album after Mingus. Also, according to my admittedly
cursory examination, Don Juan's Reckless Daughter remains the last Joni
Mitchell album to achieve Gold status (someone correct me if I'm wrong). The
'90s albums, which have generally been appreciated by fans and well-received
by the press, have hovered around the 250,000 mark in sales, which is lower
than Brenda's criterion for recouping costs.
It's interesting to read quotes from the executives involved in marketing
Mingus:
About marketing an all-jazz Joni Mitchell album, Elektra/Asylum
Chairman of the Board Joe Smith says this: "She has taken a chunk
out of her career and accomplished something truly monumental.
When we received this album, I got on a conference call and
talked with all our promotion men. If any radio station calls
itself a trendsetter, it must recognize this album and Charles
Mingus.
"I'm also having a contest for my promotion men," he
laughed. "First prize is they get to keep their jobs."
Had Smith, in the course of running the company, ever discussed commercial
direction with Mitchell? "You don't tell Joni Mitchell what to do," he said.
This is all a bunch of old boys' talk: they basically let Joni hang out to
dry, and critics everywhere - whether pop or jazz - fail to acknowledge that
it was Mingus who approached Joni, and not the other way around. She wrote
about the crucifixion of pop celebrities as far back as "For the Roses" -
but was she EVER crucified when she made this album.
In the meantime, Joni released what Stephen Holden of Rolling Stone
recognized as one of the greatest live rock albums of all time, "Shadows and
Light."
By all means, you must have Wild Things Run Fast. For me, it has three great
songs on it: Chinese Cafe, Moon at the Window, and Love.
She's been inclined to bitch about the music industry ever since the release
of Mingus. And I'm inclined to agree with her.
My $0.02,
Roberto
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