Customer Reviews

Shadows & Light

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I agree with another reviewer that this is a fantastic group. It is a rather strange grouping. Jaco on bass, Pat Metheny on guitar, Lyle Mays on keyboards, Don Alias on drums and percussion, and Michael Brecker on sax. You wouldn't think of these guys on a pop stage. Not that Joni really is pop. Joni soars with these guys underneath. It is also very interesting to hear Pat play in this forum. But to tell the truth, this is an absolute tour de force for Jaco. Hejira and Coyote particularly are given life by Jaco. What a great album. When it first came out it didn't leave my stereo for about 2 months.

Joni's first live album, MILES OF AISLES, was a simple record of great live songs summing up her 1968-1974 work. But SHADOWS AND LIGHT is more like an intricate mosiac wonderfully woven to create an unforgettable concert experience for the listener, from the beautiful audio collage-esque Introduction and foward. One of the main differences is the amazingly delectable jazz band Joni plays with, providing riveting and muscular backups and solos on amazing pieces like "The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines" or "In France They Kiss On Main Street." It features mostly Joni's lesser known masterworks from THE HISSING OF SUMMER LAWNS through her MINGUS eras, except for a dreary and subdued take on "Woodstock" and a brilliant jazz romp take on "Free Man In Paris"...which like many people have pointed out before, particularly takes on a whole new life on this recording, and definitely should have been included on the CD transfer, as well as the wonderful "Black Crow" and Don's Solo, which also got the shaft from the American CD version. (But it's definitely still worth it. The other amazing songs very much make up for the 3 omitted gems.) The greatly collective cover of the classic "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" is fun and wonderful. It also features a beautiful live version of the Charles Mingus classic "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" but with lyrics of course, like the one found on her gorgeous MINGUS tribute album released the year prior to this in 1979 shortly after Charles Mingus passed way. She also pays tribute to another jazz legend, Furry Lewis, on the achingly beautiful "Furry Sings The Blues" from HEJIRA, who passed away the year after this was released. The live version of "Coyote" found on here is so compelling that it was actually also featured on THE LAST WALTZ live compilation by The Band. This is a great listen for Joni fans as well as jazz fans who haven't heard Joni before, since it focuses on her heavily influenced jazz work from 1975-1979. And also, wonderfully congo influenced moments come with the bongo driven "Dreamland" as well as the delightful Don's Solo. On many songs like "Hejira", "Amelia", And "Edith And The Kingpin" Joni's voice is like a sweeping echo through time that is goosebump inducing. And of course Pat's Solo, and the version of the profound title track "Shadows And Light" is equally awe-inspiring. I really love everything about this album. Not only the timeless music, but the overall feel to it. I have a hard time decribing it. You feel like you're actually there standing in front of the stage, dancing along with everyone and the band in joy. All of it's elements blend, the music, the artwork, the packaging, the band, the song selection, to make such a perfect listen! You can hear the passion and drive of Joni and the band. There is not much crowd banter or talking as there was on MILES OF AISLES, because this record is very much focused on the flow of each song and constructing an unbreakable and boundless musical atmosphere that creates hypnotizing dreamscapes and glorious overtures, crescendos, and codas. But the enthusiastic crowd cheering them on in all their glory is enough for me. Oh what I would do just to be standing in that crowd shouting back 'God Must Be A Boogie Man!' at all the right parts along with everyone else in unison. (And of course revelling at the sight of legendary Jaco Pastorius on bass.) It shows what can happen when truly talented musicians join forces to created the universal language of music. Joni live in concert is an unforgettable and spellbinding journey that emerces the soul in joy with each blissful sound. As I said before, I have a difficult time capturing the esscence of this breathtaking gem with merely words. Take a listen and hear for yourself.

This is a real live masterpiece. Some of these live renditions blow the originals right out of the water. Too bad that when transfered to disc,"Black Crow" got cut. It's much more urgent sounding here. The medley of "Amelia" with that beautifull Metheny solo moving into "Hejira" is the centerpice. It never gets old. Earlier on in here career, her voice didn't grab me as much, but from "Court And Spark" through this recording, I feel she was at her peak as a vocalist. A pox on those critics who slammed her for the Mingus project. It was Mingus himself who sought her out to put poetry to his music. What better authority on his work is there than the master? The answer is NONE!

Joni Mitchell is great. In this live album she gives all her prodigious talent and her voice is better than in studio albums. By her side a bounch of the best musicians ever on the same stage (Jako Pastorius, Michael Brecker, Pat Matheny, Don Alias, Lyle Mays). Though every single song is worth the purchase, "The dry cleaner of Des Moines" and "Black crow" are wonderful jewels: this music will never grow old with time.

Quite simply the best versions of some of her best songs. Her band is staggering (Jaco Pastorius! , Pat Methany!, Don Alias! , Michael Brecker! , Lyle Mays!) and they play so well together it's breathtaking. Try to find the vinyl version, which contains some gems the CD cut out (Free Man In Paris, great Don Alias solo...)

This is a tough, tough piece to review. It is easily one of the worst recorded pieces of music I've ever listened to. Joni's voice sounds shot through a lot of it. I don't even really like probably 1/2 the songs here. So why in the hell am I giving it 4 stars?

a) the late, great Jaco Pastorius on "In France they kiss on main street".... this song ALONE is EASILY, EASILY, EASILY worth the entire price of this CD. I used to play bass and I can't even begin to figure out how Jaco supported this tune. Quite possibly the single best electric bass work I've ever heard.

b) the band. Pat Metheny. Lyle Mays. Michael Brecker. Don Alias. Holy cow! Living in the computer produced top 40 (junk) world of today, you need to go back to days when musicians could play their butts off. And on this live CD, they certainly did. Shame 'Free Man in Paris' was cut from the CD, I rather liked it on the vinyl.

c) 'Amelia' is stupid good. Yet another reason to get this work.

A lot of the rest of it doesn't mesh with my tastes, but I still treasure my old vinyl copy (since it has 'Free Man..') and nobody really can play like these dudes. Whether you might like it or not is a tough call. It doesn't sound like other Joni Mitchell. As another reviewer mentions, it doesn't sound like Metheny or the other guys either. But the some of the parts is so bloody good I think if you have read this far you need to gamble the dollars and check it out anyway.

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.