Wild Things Run Fast

Joni Mitchell

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 19, 1991)
• Original Release Date: October 1982
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Geffen Records
• ASIN: B000000OME
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #76,214 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I love all her different sides!, January 27, 2003

By	bethtexas (United States) - See all my reviews

I liked this album from the very first time I heard it.

This is by no means quintessential Joni. Nowhere in this album will you hear the vulnerable optimist who weaves complicated poetry, touching its peak with high notes. That's the Joni Mitchell of BLUE and LADIES OF THE CANYON. This is a different Joni on a different quest. And I make no apologies in being a die-hart Mitchell fan who enjoys this CD every chance she gets.

These are pop/soft-rock songs, all sung in Joni's lower register with a focus, as always, on lyrics. The songs are catchy. They're exactly the upbeat tempo I like to have in my car on the way to work, and they're smoothed out so nicely with a low-riding instrumentation that you can listen to them at the end of the day as well, kick off your shoes, and get into the mellow aspect of these poppy beats.

To me, this album is perfect when I'm in a certain mood. When I need something upbeat, poppy and with flow ... but I'm not in the mood to listen to bland, commercialized lyrics ... this is the perfect mix. I get my catchy songs - but with Joni-quality lyrics!

This is not an example of the folk-song artwork that made her famous. It's something completely different. But I'm not always in the mood for folk music! Sometimes I want to hear something more lively and groovy. So I'm glad Joni made an album for THAT too.

I have a friend who sings the "Be Cool" song on this album every time she gets in a fight with her long-term boyfriend. She said it keeps her from doing something stupid. Personally, I prefer the "Man to man" song because of the mellow beat and the articular lyrics.

You just can't dissuade true Joni Mitchell fans. We want her in all her forms!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars popular?, April 22, 2000

By	chensin (Singapore) - See all my reviews

It was plain that JM wanted WTRF to reverse the tide of popular opinions about her music up to that point. Despite her famous aversion to touring, she commenced a world tour to promote this album in 82. The negative reception of 'Mingus' was plaguing her mind.

Even in a bind, JM wouldnt capitulate to conventional tastes, she couldnt and didnt. However, in an album featuring guset vocals by the then pop king Lional Ritchie, and a half-hearted attempt at reinterpreting a minor rock and roll classic ('You're so Square' by Elvis Presley), one senses a subtle wavering in JM's ideals.

There are tunes of real beauty. 'Chinese Cafe/Unchained Melody' is fabled to be written after a meeting between JM and Carole King after years of separation. The last track I Corinthian is an idealistic and affecting look at love from the point of view of the gospel.

Newcomers to JM's music to look elsewhere. This doeant represent JM's best.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jonis first contemporary rock album : a qualified success, March 20, 2003

By A Customer

For many of us fans, the first phase of Joni Mitchell's illustrious career ended with the release of "Mingus", the final instalment of her three album experiment with jazz. So,when the 80s heralded a new beginning for Joni, some of us were understandably nervous. After all, a change of labels must surely promise more than a superficial makeover. From her folksy beginnings, Joni metamorphised with ease over a space of a decade into an avant garde folk rock singer-songwriter of incomparable stature with an impressive roll call of classic albums ("Blue", "For The Roses", "Court and Spark", "The Hissing Of Summer Lawns", and "Hejira" to name a few). So, what's next ?

"Wild Things Run Fast (WTRF)" is Joni's first record as a contemporary rock artiste....and while it's truly remarkable that she succeeded in reinventing herself musically to stay relevant after her bout of flirtation with jazz left her without a mainstream audience, the results of WTRF are decidedly mixed. Not surprisingly, she comes off best with music that recalls her 70s past and shows her natural development as an artiste and worst when she's at her most self conscious about displaying her new persona.

The gorgeously languid "Chinese Cafe/Unchained Melody", whose poignant lyrics recall her failure as a mother, is a perfect opener. But the mood doesn't last. The title track that follows is an "in-your-face" introduction to the new Joni. Fueled by heavy drums and a growling rock and roll lead guitar, "Wild Things Run Fast" jerks, stops and starts, recalling the power pop of new wave bands. An interesting if not altogether promising glimpse of what lies in store. Thankfully, the album reverts on the next four tracks to the Joni we all know and love. The scatty jazz inflected rhythms that underpin "Ladies Man", "Moon At The Window", "Be Cool" and the mildly reggaefied shuffle of "Solid Love" are all excellent and a natural extension of the Joni she left behind in the 70s. But the most outstanding cut on WTRF is undoubtedly "Man To Man", a beautiful song rivalling her career best compositions. Most of the rest are rock and roll experiments featuring Mike Landau's urgent lead guitar. Most of them are pedestrian or plain don't work. The worst offender is the truly dreadful "Underneath The Street Light", logging a career low for Joni. "You Dream Flat Tires" is at least commercial - it become a jam favourite at concerts. "You're So Square, Baby I Don't Care" is pure throwaway pop and is to Joni what "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" is to Diana Ross. The album however closes on a sublime note with the languid but meditative "Love".

"Wild Things Run Fast", representing the start of Joni's second phase career, is a qualified success. The highs are high enough for us to forgive the lows. Whichever your inclination, this is a "must" for serious fans.