Maps of Music

Clouds (1969)

Where the lyrics of Clouds take you, and where it was really made.

Mitchell painted the cover herself, and the red flower in the self-portrait is a prairie lily, the provincial flower of Saskatchewan.

Key places

Recorded at A&M Studios (1969)

Recording site A&M Recording Studios — Mitchell recorded Clouds at A&M Studios in Hollywood, with Stephen Stills joining on guitar. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Clouds: second album by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell
• Released May 1, 1969 by Reprise Records
• Follows her debut Song to a Seagull (1968), which brought her considerable exposure
• Mitchell produced most of the album
• Harmonies are subtle and unconventional; songs deal with lovers, among other themes
• Charted at number 22 in Canada and number 31 in the United States
• Certified gold by the RIAA for 500,000 copies shipped in the US

Background

• Mitchell moved to New York City and signed to Reprise Records in 1967
• Her debut was recorded with producer David Crosby
• The debut was a mostly acoustic set; some of its songs were later covered by established singers such as Barbra Streisand
• That exposure gave Mitchell a strong cult following
• Chelsea Morning and Both Sides, Now had already been recorded by other singers when she began this album

Recording

• Recorded at A&M Studios in Hollywood
• Mitchell played acoustic guitar and keyboards
• Stephen Stills joined on guitar
• Mitchell produced all songs except Tin Angel, which Paul A. Rothchild produced
• Henry Lewy worked as engineer

Cover

• The cover artwork is a self-portrait painted by Mitchell
• The red flower is a prairie lily, the provincial flower of Saskatchewan

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ja.wikipedia.org · pt.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

• Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter, born Roberta Joan Anderson in 1943 in Fort Macleod, Alberta.

Formation

• Began singing in Saskatoon nightclubs, then performed in Calgary and Toronto before moving to the United States in 1965.
• Her songs were first recorded by other singers, which helped her sign with Reprise Records.
• Debut album Song to a Seagull was released in 1968.

Career

• Blue (1971) is often cited as one of the greatest albums of all time.
• Court and Spark (1974) moved toward jazz influences and became her best-selling album.
• Collaborated with jazz musicians including Jaco Pastorius, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, and Charles Mingus.
• Won eleven Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.
• Returned to live performance in 2022 at the Newport Folk Festival after a 2015 brain aneurysm.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• The Village Voice (Robert Christgau): said without David Crosby's production Mitchell's voice sounds malnourished
• The Village Voice (Robert Christgau): named three excellent songs, Roses Blue, Both Sides, Now and Chelsea Morning
• The Village Voice (Robert Christgau): judged that Both Sides, Now and Chelsea Morning had been done better elsewhere, particularly Gloria Loring's cover of Chelsea Morning
• Generally well received by music critics

Reappraisal

• AllMusic (David Cleary): called Clouds an essential release and a stark stunner, a great leap forward for Joni Mitchell
• AllMusic (David Cleary): wrote that her vocals are more forthright and assured than on her debut
• Pitchfork (Jessica Hopper): found Mitchell a bit too young and chipper to be singing about disillusionment, yet viewed the album as a landmark
• Rolling Stone: observed an older-and-wiser tone and a much-improved second album after the 1968 debut
• Rolling Stone: ranked Both Sides, Now number 171 on its list of the 500 greatest songs of all time

Records

• Peaked at number 22 on the RPM albums chart in Canada
• Charted at number 31 on the Billboard 200
• RIAA gold certification on August 28, 2001, for 500,000 shipped copies
• Won the Grammy Award for Best Folk Performance for 1969
• Entered the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2020

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Mitchell was originally cast to sing 'Songs to Aging Children Come' in Alice's Restaurant, but declined after royalty talks with the film's producers failed
• For the film, the song was re-recorded by Tigger Outlaw as a solo vocal and guitar piece played during a funeral service
• Mitchell wrote Both Sides, Now after reading Saul Bellow's Henderson the Rain King on a plane
• On July 17, 2022, Mitchell's official YouTube channel released the whole album as a single video
• The cover self-portrait was painted by Mitchell herself

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ja.wikipedia.org

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