When THE LAST WALTZ came out I had been somehow underrating Joni Mitchell for years and not appreciating her presence and charisma. For whatever reason I couldn't even see why people found her attractive. So her performance wasn't even near my favorite from that documentary/concert film.
Then about a decade after it my daughter away at college in Vermont when I visited made me sit down facing her record player and speakers and she put on Joni's LP BLUE and made me listen to the whole thing and I got it, her unique musical genius. But I still found her unattractive.
Then another two decades later I had a brain operation which changed some of my thinking and taste, including finding myself falling in love with women on film whom I'd previously had no attraction whosoever to, like Meryl Streep, Annette Benning, Mitzi Gaynor....and it turns out: Joni Mitchell.
So I now find this clip from THE LAST WALTZ not only my favorite, but every time I see it I fall in love with Joni Mitchell all over again. Life. What a trip.
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2 comments:
Oh man, you are so right on about Joni. She remains in my list of top ten musicians and will always be there. And, like you I find her amazingly beautiful and sensual. Her discography is huge, varied, and impressive so it is hard to pick out something that shows off all her talents, but fear not -- there is one something that fills the bill: her legendary concert at the Santa Barbara Bowl in September 1979, the "Shadows and Light Concert." Fortunately there is a film of the entire concert, which you can get on DVD. I have the DVD and have watched it many, many times. The band she has backing her is amazing, and shows that she can hold her own with jazz heavy hitters: Pat Metheny, Jaco Pastorius, Michael Brecker to name some of them. The film is wonderful, interspersing video for added effect. For instance the introduction shows great highlights of James Dean in "Rebel Without A Cause," and later on you see archival film of Amelia Earhart during the opening of "Amelia." On the subject of "Amelia," that is truly one of the most beautiful songs Joni has written, and her performance in the Shadows and Light concert is simply stunning. Note that before she performs that number she has taken off her jacket and at that moment she is absolutely one of the most beautiful women on the planet. Fortunately for you and your readers YouTube has a high quality recording of the entire DVD version of the entire concert, which you can find at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1XFbhSMxIM
This is one of the greatest concerts you will ever see. It never gets old.
thanks for the tip tom, definitely will find time to check it out
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