Ladies of the Canyon by Joni Mitchell, Album Review

Today we have Joni Mitchell's third studio album Ladies of the Canyon. Released in 1970, the album sold well upon release and was considered her strongest album yet by critics. Many of the songs are played on piano and often the songs include percussion, expanding the musical diversification of the album (her past two albums were mostly just her on guitar). 

Sometimes it takes a new album from an artist to realize the old one's faults. Case in point: the production of Ladies of the Canyon so beautifully captures Mitchell's voice, Clouds sounds crude in comparison. The piano significantly strengthens the album as a whole and the percussion subtlety enriches the guitar work. While I appreciate the diversity of the song subjects, many of the lyrics aren't as interesting or don't explore as much as I'd hoped, although "Morning Morgantown," "Ladies of the Canyon," "Big Yellow Taxi," and "Woodstock" are all top-notch. Three great songs to start the album, three great songs to finish, and a lot of nearly-greats in between. B+