Today we have Joni Mitchell's sixth studio album Court and Spark. Released in 1974, the album, which includes significant musical backing, marks a significant musical departure for Mitchell, who mostly performed alone or with little instrumental backing previously. It is often considered one of her best albums and it topped the Village Voice's best albums poll, Pazz and Jop, for 1974.
Because Court and Spark avoids the gloom of Blue and is more charming than For the Roses, I was worried when this didn't immediately strike me as being fantastic, much less better than either. It was obvious songs like "Help Me," "Free Man in Paris," and "Raised on Robbery" flourished in the pop environment, but--maybe because it was juxtaposed with the modesty of her two previous albums--Court and Spark was difficult to accept and I leaned on my initial dislike of "Twisted," which has grown on me but remains the weakest track, as justification for my misgivings for the whole album. But like Blue, every song became immensely rich musically with time and, like For the Roses, I came to fully appreciate Mitchell's understated swagger on lesser songs "The Same Situation," "Down to You," and "Just Like This Train” after reading Mitchell's lyrics, which have continued to be second to none since 1971. A-
