Ten-time Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell will add another collection to her celebrated Archives Series this fall with “The Asylum Albums (1972-1975),” a new boxed set compiling her first four albums for the label.
Rhino and the Joni Mitchell Archives will release newly remastered editions of “For the Roses,” “Court and Spark,” “The Hissing of Summer Lawns,” and the two-record live album “Miles of Aisles” in four-CD, five-LP, and digital editions on September 23, 2022, according to a JMA/Rhino joint press release on July 28, an edit of which follows:
Joni Mitchell was at a turning point 50 years ago. After making four acclaimed albums with Reprise Records, including her 1971 masterpiece “Blue,” she left the label to join the brand-new Asylum Records in 1972. Over the next seven years, Mitchell would record some of the most acclaimed music of her career while changing her musical direction by adding more jazz elements into her songwriting. The evolution culminated in 1979 with “Mingus,” her collaboration with jazz titan Charles Mingus, and her last studio album for Asylum.
Rhino explores the beginning of that prolific era with “The Asylum Albums (1972-1975),” the next installment in the Joni Mitchell Archives series. The collection features “For the Roses” (1972), “Court and Spark” (1974), the double-live “Miles of Aisles” (1974), and “The Hissing of Summer Lawns” (1975). Bernie Grundman recently remastered all four albums for the new box.
“The Asylum Albums (1972-1975)” will be available on September 23 in 4-CD ($49.98) and 5-LP 180-gram vinyl ($124.98, limited edition of 20,000) versions, as well as digitally.
The newly remastered version of “You Turn Me On, I’m a Radio” from “For the Roses” was released July 28 on digital download and streaming services. Click here to listen now.
The set also includes an essay by Mitchell friend and fellow Canadian Neil Young. He writes: “Joni’s music is so deep and transporting. She comes right from the source. There is no mistaking it…’For the Roses,’ ‘Court and Spark,’ ‘Miles of Aisles,’ and ‘The Hissing of Summer Lawns’…are all classics in my book. I listened to every album as it came out. The musicians she played with were always above my abilities. She had grown from folk to jazz and in between, creating a unique kind of sound that I loved to listen to over and over.”
The cover art for “The Asylum Albums (1972-1975)” features an original painting by Mitchell. Fans who pre-order the CD or LP version of the box from JoniMitchell.com will also receive an exclusive, limited-edition 7”x10” of the painting on the cover, while supplies last.
“The Asylum Albums (1972-1975)” follows Mitchell’s musical evolution over the four albums as she embraced more jazz-inspired pieces and moved away from the folk and pop of her early years. It includes essential tracks like her first Top 40 hit, “You Turn Me On, I’m a Radio” (with harmonica by Graham Nash), and her highest-charting (#7) single, “Help Me,” plus favorites like “Free Man in Paris,” “Raised on Robbery,” and “In France They Kiss on Main Street.”
“For the Roses,” released 50 years ago in November 2022, was certified gold and added to the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry in 2007. “Court and Spark” topped the U.S. album chart and was certified double platinum, making it the best-selling album of Mitchell’s career. It was nominated for multiple Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, and won Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist for “Down to You.”
“Miles of Aisles” is a double-live album that spotlights the tour for “Court and Spark.” It reached #2 on the album chart and was certified gold. “The Hissing of Summer Lawns” was also certified gold, peaking at #4 on the album chart and earning a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
The new collection heralds the upcoming release of “Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 3,” slated to arrive in 2023. It will be the third installment in the comprehensive archival series exploring different eras of Mitchell’s celebrated career through unreleased studio and live recordings. “Vol. 3” will focus on recordings from the same timeframe as the albums included in “The Asylum Albums (1972-1975).”
“Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 1: The Early Years (1963-1967)” boxed set won the Best Historical Album Grammy in early 2022.
Mitchell continues to be intimately involved in producing these collections, lending her vision and personal touch to every element of the projects. Future releases in the archive series will arrive in a similar manner, with a boxed set focused on studio albums from a specific era, followed by an official “Archives” release looking at unreleased audio from the same period.
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Joni Mitchell: ‘The Asylum Albums (1972-1975)’ Track Listings
“For the Roses” (1972)
- “Banquet”
- “Cold Blue Steel And Sweet Fire”
- “Barangrill”
- “Lesson In Survival”
- “Let The Wind Carry Me”
- “For The Roses”
- “See You Sometime”
- “Electricity”
- “You Turn Me On, I’m A Radio”
- “Blonde In The Bleachers”
- “Woman Of Heart And Mind”
- “Judgement Of The Moon And Stars (Ludwig’s Tune)”
“Court and Spark” (1974)
- “Court And Spark”
- “Help Me”
- “Free Man In Paris”
- “People’s Parties”
- “Same Situation”
- “Car On A Hill”
- “Down To You”
- “Just Like This Train”
- “Raised On Robbery”
- “Trouble Child”
- “Twisted”
“Miles of Aisles” (1974)
- “You Turn Me On, I’m A Radio”
- “Big Yellow Taxi”
- “Rainy Night House”
- “Woodstock”
- “Cactus Tree”
- “Cold Blue Steel And Sweet Fire”
- “Woman Of Heart And Mind”
- “A Case Of You”
- “Blue”
- “Circle Game”
- “People’s Parties”
- “All I Want”
- “Real Good For Free”
- “Both Sides Now”
- “Carey”
- “The Last Time I Saw Richard”
- “Jericho”
- “Love Or Money”
“The Hissing of Summer Lawns” (1975)
- “In France They Kiss On Main Street”
- “The Jungle Line”
- “Edith And The Kingpin”
- “Don’t Interrupt The Sorrow”
- “Shades Of Scarlett Conquering”
- “The Hissing Of Summer Lawns”
- “The Boho Dance”
- “Harry’s House/Centerpiece”
- “Sweet Bird”
- “Shadows And Light”
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Stephen K. Peeples is a Grammy-nominated multi-media writer-producer and award-winning radio/record-industry veteran raised in Miami and Los Angeles by career newspaper journalists and music lovers. See the “About” page on Peeples’ website. More original stories and exclusive interviews are posted there and on his YouTube channel.
Article: Joni Mitchell Archives, Rhino Box ‘The Asylum Albums (1972-1975)’
Category: News and Reviews
Author: Stephen K. Peeples
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