Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An absolute marvel, October 6, 2008
Basically, I am addicted to this album.
This doesn't happen to me. I usually put something on and end up taking it off before it's finished, but I have found myself returning to Hejira over and over this year (the same thing happened with 'Court And Spark'). The songwriting (I am a songwriter too, though NOT of her caliber) is impeccable and amazingly picturesque, and the actual SOUND of the album is gorgeous, even sensual. It is my opinion that recorded music never sounded better than it did in the mid '70's, so warm and inviting compared to digital and its precise, metallic 2-dimensional reproduction of sound.
This music goes way beyond folk - it's almost a jazz-folk thing, but ultimately labels do little justice to the beauty of "Amelia" or the insight of "Furry Sings The Blues". I was never that into lyrics before (just regarded them phonetically), but with this album, she showed me how the stories in the songs could make the whole thing more powerful and evocative. The tone of the album is very consistent (unlike Court And Spark at the end....I love Raised On Robbery, but it disrupts what came before it, in my opinion) - relaxing and intelligent. It is the perfect CD for me at this point of my life, apparently. If you have not heard this, do yourself a favor and get acquainted with one of the greatest albums ever made.
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A drive across the country, November 12, 2008
Length:: 2:17 Mins
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3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
(4.5 stars) One of her absolute best albums, January 25, 2008
You want irony? Joni's "jazz" period is as controversial as it can get, but this is one of the most respected albums of her career! Trippin'. Now, it deserves all the respect it gets, too, because it rules! It seems to be a concept album about travel and loneliness ("Hijra" being an Arabic term for "spiritual journey"), which makes sense because it was allegedly written while Joni was traveling cross-country, and she cooks up a lot of really imaginative imagery (the energetic, funky, metaphoric "Black Crow"), using the journey as a metaphor for life, I think. So the lyrics are top-shelf. Would you expect any less? It's Joni Mitchell, you know, and the four character studies ("Coyote"; "Furry Sings the Blues", with Neil Young on harmonica; "Song for Sharon"; "A Strange Boy") all are so well-written that they sound like short stories. And might be her most melodic effort ("Song for Sharon"; title track). Plus the band is unforgettable, particularly Jaco, who really shines on "Coyote", the title track, "A Strange Boy", and "Refuge of the Roads", which also has cool guitar licks. I love the title track, by the way. The lyrics, melody, vocals, bass part, guitar tone and soprano sax solos make it my favorite song on the album, actually. It's long, but entrancing. I really wanted to give this a higher rating, but I do have one little issue with it: no stylistic variety whatsoever. The only song that isn't Steely Dan-type jazz-pop, "Blue Motel Room" (Ooh! Good song!), is pure smokey jazz. But I'm not gonna do too much complaining, and I'll tell you why: She does really good stuff with that formula she's got. On a song-for-song basis, this might be her best album, but I think Blue is better because it has more diversity.
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