Shadows & Light [Live]

Joni Mitchell | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live
• Label: Elektra / Wea
• ASIN: B000002GXI
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,581 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

MITCHELL JONI SHADOWS & LIGHTS

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars COMPELLING CONCERT, LEGENDARY BAND SUMS UP JONI'S 70s WORK, June 23, 2002

By 

"earthvolunteer" (Atlanta, Ga. USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shadows & Light (Audio CD)

I will always reflect back on "Shadows & Light" with tremendous fondness for two important reasons: it introduced me for the first time to Joni Mitchell's late 70s jazz-oriented body of work and also prepared me for the true greatness which was soon forthcoming from the team of Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays (who play guitars and keyboards respectively on the concert album.)

"Shadows & Light" is a collage of Mitchell's various musical expressions throughout the years: rock, folk and pop ballads blended with her own unique and often quite eccentric style of jazz. The album kicks off brightly with "In France They Kiss on Main Street" with Mitchell packing in the words to this rapidly traveling and lyrically nostalgic pop tune. The crowd is enthusiastic from this very first song, which adds to the excitement and electricity of a very memorable evening at L.A.'s Hollywood Bowl.

From there it is a fascinating journey through the most recent Joni Mitchell works preceding this release...from "The Hissing of Summer Lawns" she performs the mysterious "Edith and the Kingpin" and the beautifully acappella title song with background vocals courtesy of The Persuasions. Mitchell's selections from her then recent collaboration with the late Charles Mingus are the focus of her most hard-core jazz performances including "Goodbye Porkpie Hat", "The Dry Cleaner from Des Moines" and the finger-popping "God Must Be a Boogie Man" which feature the late Jaco Pastorius on bass and Michael Brecker on saxophone.

Most lyrical and haunting though are her beautiful and often ethereal selections from her album "Hejira" including the rolling and humor-laden "Coyote", the melancholy "Furry Sings the Blues" and most notably the absolutely monumental "Amelia"...a confessional tale full of loss and wanderlust with its focus on the life, dreams and death of Amelia Earhart. "Amelia" concludes with a visionary Pat Metheny/Lyle Mays duet, which is a fine early example of the incredibly melodic and prolific work these two composers and instrumentalists produced together in subsequent years (such as on the album "Pat Metheny Group: First Circle").

There are a few old favorites covered on "Shadows & Light": a lively rendition of the old rock and roll classic "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?", and performances of two older Joni Mitchell classics "Free Man in Paris" and the legendary "Woodstock."

While the concert DVD of "Shadows & Light" now appears somewhat dated, the CD of this concert is every bit as entertaining and emotionally charged as it ever was upon its initial release. Truly a unique live classic.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Live Album, June 29, 2006

By 

Music Lover (Rhode Island, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shadows & Light (Audio CD)

Joni had a dream band backing her on this live recording: Jaco Pastorius (killer bass through and through), Pat Metheny (guitar), Michael Breacker (alto sax) and Don Alias (percussion). I own all of Joni's recordings and this one is one of the very best.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Album From a Canadian Artist of All Time... Period, January 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Shadows & Light (Audio CD)

I have to agree with all the other reviewers. This is some of the best work from Joni, Jaco and Pat. Pat and Jaco basically started out together and the unspoken communication between the two artists is very apparent on this recording. Joni picks a number of track that you wouldn't expect to be on this live album. "Coyote" is indeed the highlight of the record, with Jaco covering both the organ, bass and in some instances, guitar parts from the original studio recording. There was a video released of this particular show, if anyone has any information on it, I would be extremely interested. A final thought... the fusion of Jazz and other musical genres was very popular in the seventies, with groups like Weather Report, Mahavisnu Orchestra..etc, Joni creates the ultimate folk/jazz fusion.