Customer Reviews

Joni Mitchell - Refuge of the Roads

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Refuge of the Roads" documents Mitchell's 1983 "Wild Things Run Fast" tour. In support of one of her weakest albums, it's her finest live show. All of the songs from "Wild Things" sound better here, and Mitchell has boldly reimagined some of her older songs--most notably "For Free." A precious-sounding track from "Ladies of the Canyon, " here "For Free" gets a newly-written bridge and a stunning performance. Other highlights are a muscular, rock take on "Banquet" from "For the Roses," and my favourite versions of "Woodstock" and "God Must Be a Boogieman." The video-verite clips filmed in airplanes, limos, hotel rooms, and empty venues are fun, too.

I can't for the life of me understand why most people brush off Joni's "Wild Things Run Fast" album as forgettable. I adore the record and I LOVE this film from the subsequent tour. Joni's voice is in better form here than on "Shadows & Light", I think, and I love how she rocks out with the boys. Speaking of, the band kicks some major ass on tracks like "Wild Things Run Fast", "Banquet", "You Dream Flat Tires" and just about any song that lets them expand the form a bit. The stage antics of the guys singing "God Must Be A Boogie Man" are a riot, as are those shorts! Every song here is wonderful so I'll just list off my favourite performances:

Refuge Of The Roads (it's just a brilliant song every time round)
Sweet Bird Of Youth (lovely performance, the opening footage and keyboard intro sets the tone perfectly)
For Free (my favourite performance of this tune)
Underneat The Streetlight (the footage behind this one is magical, exhilerating)
Woodstock (haunting as always)

Again, every tune on this DVD is phenomenal, the band is great, Joni is brilliant, and the extra footage is quite endearing to watch.

An engrossing if a bit uneven snapshot of Joni Mitchell early in her post-popstar phase. The sound isn't the best, and many of the visuals have a home movie ambience -- probably because that's what they are -- but the artistry is wonderful. Joni's rendition of "Banquet" is intercut with some remarkably apt clips from an old and unidentified (at least to me) film. And her reworking of "For Free" is out of this world and alone is reason enough to buy this DVD. Joni has always seemed much more accessible in live performances than on her beautifully-executed but carefully crafted and controlled albums. Her accessibility and artistry come through loud and clear on this DVD.

...And you get a good idea of the 80's sounding band on this DVD. All the "rockers" have that ham-fisted, 80's show-off session man sound. (The guitarist being the most guilty of Journey/Styx/Starship crimes against humanity.)
I recommend renting, not buying, this DVD for the bliss and inspiration of Sweet Bird of Youth, Refuge of the Roads, For Free and the overlooked Chnese Cafe (best song from the Wild Things album). Sorry, but the home movies grate after a while, and the interspersing of early clips of Joni serve no real purpose.

Someday, someone will compile the best live stuff from this, Shadows and Light, Isle of Wight, 1998 Soundstage, 1960's TV shows and unreleased early 70's performances, and that will be a gem worth any price they charge.

This dvd is amateurish. The band is playing on a stage in a dark setting with a fake audience sounds. Joni in white hair has her worst band trying to be hip in the 80's. In between there are clips from home movies that are dated and filmed poorly. Joni Mitchell's worst period was this decade until she found herself later on "Night Ride Home". She has four official dvd's. This one is a distant fourth. Avoid unless you have a fascination about the "Ice Maiden" trying to pretend to be an eighties rocker. It didn't work.

The film quality and sound were great. The price was extremely reasonable, especially the free shipping that I received after purchasing two DVDs. Joni is THE BEST, and deserving of the highest quality of representation of her art, which Amazon delivered. Only wish there were more DVDs of Joni available. I only have four different ones, that I'm aware of, that are available; with the exception of her appearances at concerts along with other artists. Anyway, thank you Amazon, I was very pleased.

This DVD is a delightful mix of some of Joni's older folk-era songs and songs from her more jazz influenced era. Joni's music embodies the spirit of what some might call the 'hippie days'...the best of times , in my opinion. She will put you 'there'.