Review: Joni Mitchell - Shine

First off, I think it's important to start by saying that Robert Christgau of Rolling Stone magazine is a complete and utter tool. He is a fine example that that magazine has about as much integrity as a child rapist.

So I guess I'm somewhat obliged to comment on the elusive monkey that is on the figurative back of this album, which is "why the hell did she decide to release this on Hear Music?" Your guess is as good as mine. While it is ironic that she's anti-corporation and she decided to release this album on a big corporation, if there's one thing we know about Joni Mitchell is that she flat out doesn't give a damn what people think.

Shine incorporates all of the previous phases of her musical career and mixes it all together. Joni Mitchell has always had eerie sounds that, for some reason, sound incredible, and this album is no exception. Even in Mitchell's early career where she was just doing basic folk, she would hit high notes slightly off-key and then bend her voice to where it was supposed to be, making it sound brilliant. In this album the "eerie sounds" come from the general mash-up of different musical genres; she even makes accordions sound good. Joni also incorporates some modern music like electronic, which works out nicely.

I know some people may be annoyed by the fact that she's protesting things like war and the condition of the global environment, which are issues we're already tired of hearing about from artists like the Rolling Stones and Neil Young, but the thing is that Joni Mitchell does it infinitely better than they do. Joni wouldn't release an album unless she had something to say and it just so happens those topics are some of the things she has to talk about. Joni Mitchell protests these things in a much more subtle and classy way. She never once says the name of a country or political figure. Instead, she uses more subtle terminology to refer to them, in a way that only a linguist like Joni could.

There's the obvious fact that her voice isn't what it used to be, but instead of being arrogant, Joni realizes this and knows the limits that have been brought upon by her aging and decades of cigarette-smoking. But it isn't all bad news. Instead of the angelic and lust-worthy voice she had back in the 70's, she now has a more nurturing, almost motherly tone in her voice which I think is appropriate for the time and the content of her music.

Hey lyrics are as meaningful as they've ever been. I wonder whether she laughs to herself as she writes her lyrics, knowing how badass they are.

The name of the album is overused and generic, but it's important to realize all the others albums she's released in the past. Most of her albums are just named after a specific track in the album. She doesn't really get creative with her album names. "Court and Spark," "Blue," and "For The Roses" are all named after a track in the album, and she typically picks a track with a pretty standard name, so this time she decided to pick "Shine."

Joni is just as powerful as she was in her prime. She's not washed up, she's not old and tired. Her music is just as relevant as it used to be. While her previous album was supposed to be her last album and she's always had an attitude that she's a painter first and a musician second, I hope that we a few more albums to look forward to from her before she goes up to the "great gig in the sky."

Rating: 4/5