10 Highlights From Joni Mitchell’s ‘Archives Vol.4’ Box Set

Travelling (Hejira) (live at Cameron Stadium, Duke University, Durham, NC, 1976)

This delicate and drifting early live version of one of Hejira’s key songs is a fascinating work-in-progress, featuring lyrics that didn’t make it through Mitchell’s rigorous editing process but which are nonetheless revealing. “Travel has me feverish/Travel has my spirit on trial,” Mitchell sings, bringing the song’s vulnerability to the fore. Compare it to the tough, worldly-wise reading from her August 1979 show in Forest Hills, New York City, included on Archives Vol.4’s final disc.

Coyote/Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter (demo)

Two of Mitchell’s standout songs from the period covered on Archives Vol.4 were initially performed as a medley, live and studio versions of which are included in the collection. Together, they form a travelogue inspired by Mitchell’s relationship with playwright Sam Shepherd during the Rolling Thunder Revue. In a series of on-the-road vignettes, Coyote presents the differences between the two lovers, comparing Shepherd to the hunger- and lust-fuelled wild animal of the song’s title. Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter is the other side of the coin: a cooler consideration of the similarities between two “twins of spirit”. Together they form striking proof of the red-hot streak Mitchell was on in the mid-70s.

Black Crow (demo)

The version of Black Crow most familiar to fans is the brooding take released on Hejira, its mood defined by Jaco Pastorius’ lyrical, roaming bass and guitarist Larry Carlton’s stormy soundscape. It’s a treat, then, to hear the song in a stripped-back arrangement. Here Mitchell’s choppy acoustic guitar provides the song’s sense of momentum, backed by an exuberant chorus of scatting backing singers, giving fans a new perspective on the track.

Amelia (demo)

Another fascinating solo work-in-progress take of a Hejira classic. Hearing alternate opening lines – “Take the soap out of the wrapper/And shower off the dust” – is startling after all these years. Some artists hold back when recording demos, but Mitchell’s extraordinary vocal suggests she’s not one of them, delivering an in-the-the-moment performance for the ages.

Save Magic (Paprika Plains embryonic version)

We can thank producer Henry Lewy for this beautiful 12-minute piano piece. Lewy had worked with Mitchell long enough to know when she was on to something, and he had the good sense to record the singer from the control room while she was in full improvisational flow, channelling the melodies that would eventually form Paprika Plains, the centrepiece of Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter.

Sweet Sucker Dance (early alternate version)

A highlight from the first sessions for Mingus, held at Electric Lady Studios, in New York, with the jazz great himself in attendance. It was Mingus who suggested the line-up for the session, including drummer Tony Williams and bassist Stanley Clarke. Also in attendance was Mingus’ peer Gerry Mulligan, whose baritone sax effectively duets with Mitchell on this beautifully languid take on Sweet Sucker Dance. Today, Mitchell admits she prefers this version to the one eventually released on the Mingus album.

A Chair In The Sky (live at Bread And Roses Festival, Greek Theatre, Berkeley, CA, 1978)

Mitchell’s appearance at the Bread And Roses Festival Of Music, in aid of Mimi Fariña’s charity, marked her first in public performances since The Band’s farewell show, The Last Waltz, in November 1976. Archives Vol.4 features the first official release of recordings from her three sets, and they capture Mitchell explaining her shift towards jazzier material, plus a joyful a cappella run through Mingus’ The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines and this gorgeous take on A Chair In The Sky, aided by Herbie Hancock’s playful and sophisticated keyboard runs.

God Must Be A Boogie Man (‘Mingus’ early alternate version)

Following those initial Mingus sessions, Mitchell went back into the studio to cut new versions of the tracks with her own band, including Pastorius, Hancock and all-time great saxophonist Wayne Shorter. An outtake from those sessions, this version of God Must Be A Boogie Man is a revelation – brighter and more sprightly than the spare, dirge-like album version, accentuating the song’s nimble melody and some stellar playing.

Why Do Fools Fall In Love (live at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium, Queens, NY, 1979)

The majority of the final two discs of Archives Vol.4 are given over to a full concert recorded in Queens, New York, in August 1979, with Mitchell backed by the Pat Metheny-led band featured on her 1980 live double album, Shadows And Light. The recordings capture Mitchell and band in bravura form, giving her back catalogue a wildly adventurous jazz-fusion refurb. But for pure, unadulterated joy, it’s hard to beat her storming version of Frankie Lymon And The Teenagers’ Why Do Fools Fall In Love, for which she was joined on stage by New York vocal group The Persuasions.

Purchase ‘Archives Vol.4’ at the official Joni Mitchell store.