Joni Mitchell - Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 3: Highlights The Asylum Years (1972-1975) (4LP Vinyl)

Latest In GRAMMY-Winning, Multi-Volume Journey Through Joni’s Previously Unmined Archives of Classic Songs, Historical Performances, and 40-Page Book
Featuring Photos & Conversation With Joni & Cameron Crowe Includes Sessions With James Taylor, Neil Young & Tom Scott & the L.A. Express

Come 1972, Joni Mitchell’s singular songwriting talent and poetic gifts were undeniable. Fresh off the back-to-back Platinum-certified releases of 1970’s Ladies of the Canyon and 1971’s Blue — totemic albums whose artfulness and ubiquity would influence generations of songwriters — Mitchell had grown wary of mounting media scrutiny. Everything from her style choices to romantic partners became the subject of far more gossip column inches than were ever dedicated to the lifestyle minutiae of her male counterparts. 

In response, she had pulled back, announcing an early retirement from the stage in 1970 and moving to the quiet expanses of British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast. It was a fruitful change of scenery. Inspired by her proximity to nature and refreshed by the peaceful seclusion, she began constructing the songs that would become For The Roses. This respite thrust Mitchell into a remarkably fertile creative period, yielding a run of albums — 1972’s For The Roses, 1974’s Court And Spark, and 1975’s The Hissing Of Summer Lawns — that would simultaneously expand and refine the scope of her music. Her adventurous, intricate arrangements and growing formidability as a bandleader injected these songs with a clarity of purpose, a potent muscularity, and a sense of possibility — it is among the most exciting eras of a near peerless career.

This era comes into even greater focus on Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 3: The Asylum Years (1972-1975), out October 6, 2023 on Rhino Records. It’s the latest entry in Rhino’s ongoing, GRAMMY-winning series exploring the vast untapped archives of rare Joni Mitchell recordings — a project guided intimately by Mitchell’s own vision and personal touch. Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 3: The Asylum Years (1972-1975) will be available both in a 5CD and a 4LP cut-down version, both with an accompanying book featuring photos and a conversation about this period between Joni Mitchell and longtime friend Cameron Crowe.

Tracklist

LP 1 
Graham Nash David Crosby Session
Wally Heider Studios, Hollywood, CA, Dec. 13, 1971
01. Cold Blue Steel And Sweet Fire

For The Roses Demos
A&M Studios, Hollywood, CA, late 1971/early 1972
02. Like Veils Said Lorraine

For The Roses Early Sessions
Wally Heider Studios, Hollywood, CA, Apr. 16-21, 1972
03. Medley: Bony Moronie/Summertime Blues/You Never Can Tell - with James Taylor    
04. You Turn Me On I’m A Radio - with Neil Young & The Stray Gators
05. See You Sometime (early version with bass & drums)

Live at Carnegie Hall
New York City, NY, Feb. 23, 1972
06. This Flight Tonight
07. Electricity
08. Lesson In Survival
09. Blue
10. Banquet 
11. Intro to For The Roses
12. For The Roses

LP 2
Live at Royal Festival Hall
London, England, May 5, 1972
01. Intro to Judgement Of The Moon And Stars (Ludwig’s Tune)
02. Judgement Of The Moon And Stars (Ludwig’s Tune)

For The Roses Sessions
A&M Studios, Hollywood, CA, Jul-Aug, 1972
03. Blonde In The Bleachers (alternate guitar mix)
04. Barangrill (guitar/vocal mix)
05. Sunrise Raga    [3:41]
06. Twisted (early alternate version) 
 
Court And Spark Demos
A&M Studios, Hollywood, CA, Summer 1973
07. Piano Suite:
a. Down To You
b. Court And Spark
c. Car On A Hill
d. Down To You
08. Help Me 

LP 3
Tonight’s The Night [Neil Young] Session
S.I.R., Hollywood, CA, Aug. 26, 1973
01. Raised On Robbery – with Neil Young & The Santa Monica Flyers

Court And Spark Sessions
A&M Studios, Hollywood, CA, Sep.-Oct., 1973
02. People’s Parties (early alternate take)
03. Trouble child (early alternate take)
04. Car On A Hill (early alternate take)
05. Bonderia

Live at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
Los Angeles, CA, Mar. 3, 1974
06. Introduction
07. Free Man In Paris – with Tom Scott & The L.A. Express
08. The Same Situation – with Tom Scott & The L.A. Express
09. Just Like This Train – with Tom Scott & The L.A. Express

Live at New Victoria Theatre
London, England, Apr. 22, 1974
10. Intro to Jericho
11. Jericho

Live at Wembley Stadium
London, England, Sep. 14, 1974
12. Woman Of Heart And Mind

LP 4
The Hissing Of Summer Lawns Demos
A&M Studios, Hollywood, CA, 1975
01. In France They Kiss On Main Street 
02. Edith And The Kingpin
03. Don’t Interrupt The Sorrow 
04. Harry’s House

The Hissing Of Summer Lawns Sessions
A&M Studios, Hollywood, CA, 1975
05. The Jungle Line (guitar/alternate vocal) 
06. Shades Of Scarlet Conquering (alternate version)
07. The Boho Dance (alternate version) 
08. Dreamland (early alternate band version)