Get what? That she’s blue? That people get blue sometimes? I mean, it’s a true statement but why would you cry over it? I guess you have to be depressed or emotionally unstable
@@evanhughes1510 No, you just have to be able to feel something beyond what directly effects you. It’s called empathy. We could all use more of it. As a matter of fact an emotionally well adjusted, empathetic person used to be valued in a civilized society. It’s those who don’t have the ability to empathize who are the “emotionally unstable” ones. Unfortunately I think we have far too many people like that in the world today and they’re being normalized when in the extreme they are actually called sociopaths.
Not everybody is depressed and emotionally unstable. So not everybody will have such a dramatic reaction to this song. It’s one thing to like the song and think it’s a nice song, but to cry over it is a little extreme
@@evanhughes1510 Are you suggesting that a person has to be depressed or “emotionally unstable” in order to empathize with someone who is? If so, I totally disagree. I think empathy is a very under valued human characteristic. The human race would truly benefit from all of us having much more empathy towards each other.
@@evanhughes1510 You must have no emotion to say that, heartless and dead inside are you ? I did not say anything about depression , emotional instability or crying. I said feel SOMETHING, anything.
Blue is a MASTERPIECE album. The song..'RIVER' from the album BLUE is another song that moves me. INCREDIBLE. Love Joni. I've had the pleasure of seeing Joni in concert several times over the years here in Canada. ALWAYS Amazing Moving and Captivating. 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🎼🎶🎵
Daniel, I knew this song would hit you at the core, because you are so sensitive and receptive. I immediately clicked when I saw this reaction. Joni's Blue album will tattoo itself inside your heart and you will treasure it for your whole life. Listen to one song at a time, over and over. Savor each one before moving on to the next. It will be like almost no other musical experience you will ever have.
River is another stunning song by Joni, Daniel you should definitely take a listen especially this time of year as it is a festive song with out being festive (very Joni). Another from Joni's tear factory.
Daniel, I’m a 71YO woman, was an undergrad in Ann Arbor MI when Joni was breaking out as a young, brilliant Canadian singer-songwriter. Every young woman I knew felt she expressed our interior selves. Every young man was in love with her (for context, we were all listening to Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens, The Who, Crosby Stills and Nash, Yes, and, my own groove: Jethro Tull). A few years later, I saw Jackson Browne open for her at the huge concert hall on campus. My boyfriend passed up to her his own hand-turned candlestick and candle, which she set on the grand piano she played during her set. Her importance to my generation cannot be measured. Thank you for hearing that in her music.
This album has been loved by many for a lot of years. My personal favorite albums by Joni are Court and Spark, and Hejira. Joni Mitchell is going to be honored at this year's Kennedy Center Awards.
Those are my two favourites also. Both albums hold together beautifully and contain some of her very best songs. "Amelia" is achingly beautiful, maybe my favourite song of hers, but it's hard to pick a best.
Yes, Daniel. Sit and listen to "Blue" in its awesome entirety. Ms. Mitchell bared her soul on the album. Her friends and fellow artists were astonished at her honesty in the lyrics and music. Read a good biography about her: "Reckless Daughter" by David Yaffe. It fills-in many details that made her who she became, an incomparable vocal artist of many genres, now receiving much-deserved accolades in recognition of her artistry, including one of this year's Kennedy Center honors. I also recommend viewing a number of excellent RUclips videos by Rick Beato regarding her, a dinner he enjoyed with her, the unique complexity of her music and guitar work and chords, etc. As a fellow Canadian I am so proud to be able to praise her incomparable work over the decades. Her discography is highly recommended.
Joni is doing well these days; she's in the news for an Award and her health is improving. To me, her 1970 BBC appearance (that is on YT} is one of the best individual artist concerts ever. And yeah, Blue is a masterpiece. I saw her on tour with Tom Scott and the LA Express. That was an incredible performance with her voice and his sax. >The L.A. Express was an American jazz fusion ensemble. Members of L.A. Express played on several Joni Mitchell albums, namely Court and Spark, The Hissing of Summer Lawns and the live album Miles of Aisles between 1974 and 1975.
Great reaction. It hit you like THAT because poetry is so rare in popular music. Lyrics and haunting music plus THAT voice, it's the stuff that tears are made of.
One of the best songs you can do. I am so proud of you Daniel as I told you because you are human and you have emotions as anyone. And yes I listened to this one twice.
What attracted me to this was a voice and a piano. Need no more. I cried when I was a child hearing this. I cry now. She sings of her love for someone lost in an addiction. I believe that was James Taylor. Don't blame you for being so taken by it!
@@evanhughes1510 She simply said that listening to an emotional song made her cry. Is that really so strange? It seems like a reasonable reaction to me. As she replied to you, music affects different people in different ways. However, *you* went to the extreme of actually telling her that she sounds unstable. In all honesty, *your* reaction to her is much more excessive than her reaction to this song. Why would you literally state that a person sounds *unstable* because a particular song, which is a fairly emotional one, makes that person cry? Just because it doesn't happen to move *you* to tears, anyone who is moved by it in that way is somehow unstable? Is that really a reasonable way of characterizing people?
This was the album that Kris Kristofferson heard and said "Joni, keep something for yourself." She opened a vein for this one. THE landmark album. She set our standards for what an artist is and does.
Another track from this album, Little Green, will also have you in bits. It's about the child Joni gave up for adoption when she was young (though much later in life, they were reunited).
Joni had a beautiful and wonderful way to tap into her inner feelings and express them in poetry set to music. Don't know anyone else who sounded like her.
I first heard this wonderful song (& the album) as a 17 year-old in 1971 and have loved JM ever since... a true Renaissance woman, artist and poet. No-one is better and few were her equals. Thank you Daniel!
About once a year a sit in a quiet dark room and listen to this album start to finish. Tears every time. Yours is the right reaction. Every song on this short album is a mini masterpiece in songwriting and vulnerability.
Daniel I am so glad you found this song so touching. Each of us have our personal favorites, for varying reasons and it is the magic of music. I am not so sure I had heard this Joni Mitchell song before and I thank you for reacting to it. Her vocals were among the best I have heard from Joni.
I completely understand the overwhelming effect this song had on you! I know I felt the exact same way, the first time I heard it. I've told you elsewhere how much this album means to me, but I didn't tell you this: I did not hear this album until the mid-to-late '70s. I think it might have been shortly before her "Don Juan's Reckless Daughter" album came out, which was around Christmas in 1977. For reasons I don't understand for sure, I don't remember what year I first heard it, and in fact, I remember NOTHING ELSE about my first listen EXCEPT for my intense emotional reaction to it! That is usually not the case for me; I have so many strong memories around music, in general, and first times, in general! Of course, I can't wait to watch your reaction to other songs from "Blue", and hopefully, you might eventually react to some of "DJRD". I would especially love for you to take on the title track to that abum! Actually, the entire Side Four of that album, is KILLER stuff! To me, she has no equal! 👏
It just hits you like that, same way with me when I listen to her, I can’t explain it, I feel suddenly overcome with emotion, it’s some primal thing going on there. Even my old grizzled biker friends, my old burned out rock band buddies, all have this reaction. Someone should do a scientific study on this phenomenon. Joni is a very special artist, I love her dearly.
Absolutely, 100%, You expressed exactly how I feel about this album, and Joni in general. Pure beauty of any kind will have this kind of effect on almost anyone! But yes, Joni is one that can "reach" even the hardest of hearts!
This is the first time I have ever commented on this platform, but I am truly grateful for your reaction. BLUE is the BEST record of our time. Joni Mitchell is the greatest singer songwriter of a generation and more. Although she refers to herself as a Painter not musician. Her evolution of music is extraordinary.
Daniel, you experienced Joni Mitchell. She has that effect. She wrote honestly about her personal experiences, including very sad ones, such as the end of relationships, and giving her daughter up for adoption. She is a person of deep feelings, and she gets her feelings across in her vocals. She gets me crying like nobody else. I normally like happy, upbeat music, not sad. But she’s undeniable. Joni is the GOAT.
Great reaction, so glad you went there. You cry because you’re missing something you don’t even have a name for, and the beauty and longing grab your heart and squeeze it. Don’t worry, lots of us cry at these songs. ❤
I am glad to hear your reaction to "Blue." Many find solace in her words, as the pain comes to define people and they feel that it come to be a part of their identity. Clearly, Joni understood this.
Joni is such a complete artist. Songwriter, lyricist, musician, poet, singer, painter. Blue is the first album I heard from her when I was around 14/15 and it stroke me just the way it did to you. I am huge fan since then (1976). Only regret...I never was able to see her live.
I think Rolling Stone ranked this album in their top 5 (maybe top 3) albums of all-time. Listening to Blue is like ripping a scab off an old would and exposing yourself to the hurt and pain. River is just a devastating song, particularly for this time of the year (holiday season), but it is just one of many gems on this record. Daniel, you are such a thoughtful, introspective, and sensitive soul, and your reaction was just so honest and genuine. We really appreciate you. Thank you for being you.
It does it to me too. Straight from her soul to ours. Many of us kid ourselves that we are solid, and on top of it all - but really we're just suppressing a scary, yet often beautiful emotional fragility. Through her honesty, Joni Mitchell seems to "permit" our emotions to come to the surface, reassuring us that it's something we share. Always loved her.
This album, of course, is Joni's masterpiece. Joni also has said it was a difficult album to make as it was very personal. Though a very different style, I think of it as the female "Blood On The Tracks" (another album you should do in its entirety. I think its a good idea to do the whole album. The album all fits together sadness, joy, overcoming. Its all there in the most amazing way. Joni has said the song is to James Taylor, her lover at the time. Of course James struggled with heroin and was pretty bad at relationships during those 70s years. Beautiful lyrics that basically say that she has looked at the hell wont be a part of it, wants to be loved and secure (crown and anchor me) or let go (Ive been to sea before) and here is a song for you Blue (James has really blue eyes). Its more than that though its gorgeous use of imagery and poetic style makes it a perfect description of this subject matter that just hangs in the air like a icicled blue flame from far away. Very tender rendering from Joni, one can hear the pain yet acceptance. The song doesnt have to be about an individual though. It can be about the experience of blueness. Talking to the inner you. Or a relationship. Or just a feeling. Thats what makes a great song. Its universal in nature.
The discovery of this album was life changing. I was already into Dylan and Young, but Joni takes you to another realm of existence. It is really enjoyable to see a young person discover all this great music. Keep em coming!
No shame. I'm 70 years old, and beautiful music effects me that way. Would I have it any other way? No Way. Joni's done that to me for about 50 years. Welcome to music for your emotions.
Joni was my constant companion in those days. She touched my soul and provided a beautiful refuge to find solace for my own depression and struggle. She is the ultimate artist. Gifted and wise beyond her years. Thank you for this. Your candid, open and honest visceral response to this great lady was wonderful. You are a special young man.
Don't feel awkward for crying. This song brings it all to the surface. The whole album is stunning , but Blue is everything. I lived on this album for years.
This is one of my two favorite Joni albums though I love all of her music. This is a perfect album to do a full album reaction to not a single song on the album that you will not love. Thank you so much for listening to this song so you can get the full impact of Joni's talent. Joni writes with so much emotion and great story telling. This song pulls you onto a wave and you drift along with her, it is outstanding how she does this. I find it so sad that so many people do not know her music. I may have made this comment on one of your other Joni reactions, but Joni said "I write music for my sorrow and I paint for my joy." Most of the album covers are her own art and she seems to have a love for painting self portraits, perhaps she pulls herself out and puts herself on her canvas to feel the freedom of a life beyond the one she is living. Joni always struggled with love, it never seemed to work out for her, perhaps it was that music kept her on the move or perhaps she chose music to keep her from ever being tied down. She seemed to long for love but never would hang around long enough to make it a true relationship. She did live with Graham Nash for quite a time, it seemed like that one could have worked but once again, she took leave when love consumed her heart. I love Joni. Rick Beato has a great interview with Joni or maybe it is just commentary on his meeting with her, on one of his youtube channels. Joni is a very complex woman, you really should check out that interview. I know that they decided at the end of the interview that they would meet again as friends though to my knowledge that has not yet happened. Maybe soon, I would love to hear more candid conversation from Joni. Joni really understands the theory of music so she teaches us how her mind works when she writes and she has no need for convention, it is all about delivering the emotional impact that she is feeling while she is composing. Joni no longer sings, she says she has lost her voice but she never really believed she could sing well anyway (can you believe that??!!). Your reaction to this song was perfect, Daniel.
If you would like to try a different take on Joni, she recorded most of her early songs live on "Miles of Ailes" in the early to mid 70s. She is backed by a great band, and let's loose a little bit, as most artists do live. The sound quality is top notch. It's a double album, so it includes most of her hits up to this point. I highly recommend it.
Great reaction Daniel. Can I please take this opportunity just to mention that a musical giant of the '70's decade has sadly died. John Miles - great singer, great songwriter! His biggest hit of course was his song called 'Music' which was a massive worldwide hit at the time and is still played today. Sorry to change the subject, but as he passed away today, I thought it was important to mention him.
Joni has a voice that pierces the soul. She also has an incredible range. That opening phrase shows this. All the coloring in the vocals has also a pureness to it. Shouldnt be possible for a human voice to sound this way. But she does.
The first time I heard this album I was very young. During the course of it I aged ten years. Someone else who felt like me, someone else to connect with. Back then I could sing like her, but I couldn't write like her. Very few people can. It's one of the most important albums of my life, no kidding.
This is one of the most powerful tracks on one of her most powerful albums, good job!! This album brought this tough guy to tears too, so your reaction is normal. The closing track "The Last Time I Saw Richard" is stunning.
Joni’s songs are literally the soundtrack of her life - all of it, and she doesn’t hide anything or hold anything back. I can’t think of another artist who is quite like her in that sense of honesty.
I guess her saying "Blue, I love you" is her way of thanking her depression for waking her up to what is causing her depresssion, and thanking Blue with a song.
I love this song and so appreciated your reaction. I think the song is at least partly about a relationship that is ending. She seems to be asking for a commitment in the first verse--crown and anchor me or let me sail away. The song is also about how we spend our time with things that don't really matter, thinking they will help us get through the hard times of life (acid, booze, and ass.) And at the end she is giving the song itself, a foggy lullaby, as a parting gift to her love. The melody is so beautiful and your response was so right for it. Love the album Blue and really encourage you to listen to Court and Spark album, too.
Your reaction, Daniel, is why you will make a great actor, if you go that way. Your heart is open to emotional empathy. If you pursue another path, it still means you will be a wonderful human being
Thank you. Joni is a major intellect who calls herself a painter. Joni finds ways to express.. period. Sound. sight. and gut truth. Poetry. One of the few that does everything you hear and see on her recordings.Thanks for being vulnerable to it. They never played her stuff on radio back in the day., we listened to her albums in dazed astonishment. as if they were worlds unto themselves. They are. We'd Live with the music and songs till the next one came out. Takes courage to tackle Joni and let folks see what happens to your being.
Thank you for this, Daniel. Blue was the first Joni song I heard when I was 17. My reaction to it was pretty much identical to yours. I fell in love with her and am still awestruck by her musical and lyrical genius 46 years later. Do please listen and respond to more Joni. ❤
It was a Kennedy Center honor. The tributes and the ceremony were held this week at the Kennedy Center in NYC. President and First Lasy Biden attended as is customary except for the years 2017 - 2020 when Donald was either not invited or he turned down the invitations, whatever.
I was turned onto Joni when I was about 11 from my hippy neighbors who were a bit older. I made a tape of their albums and listened to it in bed at night forever. She awakened my soul. ❤
Joni was my childhood songbird that carried you into the story, it strikes the heart....Very sad that Joni never found the true happiness she deserved. .. Dimash has that same effect on me as an adult. His new song sung in Japanese, "Ikinaide" is stunning.
Joni Mitchell is a lyrical genius, but also a genius musician. Check out her live performance "Shadows and Light concert (1980)" with equally amazing jazz guitarist Pat Metheny and bassist Jaco Pistorius. It's like watching Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart jamming with jazz instruments.
I feel the lyric "Blue, I love you..." is the sad joy of learning and seeing new meanings with hopeful realizations. Can I recommend the 1979 live recording of AMELIA with Pat Metheny? It moves me similarly.
When you hear a song which touches your soul, then you just open up to whatever is supposed to come. When the spirit awakens, for whatever reason, as in the case of this song, you know how powerful music, and your own soul/song, can be. Enjoyed your reaction. Thank you. 🙏
Joni Mitchell is a singer songwriter who can channel her life and emotions in her works. She is wonderful. Now that you heard her, you can examine your life from before you heard her and afterwards. In short, you can look "at life from both sides now" (a song that meant different different things to her through out her life).
Glad you intend to do the whole Blue album eventually. If you don’t react to it, you at least need to listen to it for You. And then go down that rabbit hole: so many gorgeous songs. I’m of that age that I got to hear each upon release (I was 14 when the first came out). The combination of her lyrics melodies and voice cuts right through to the heart. Nobody can write a lyric like Joni. A couple of years ago Brandi Carlyle did a concert of the Blue album. She got to meet Joni, who gave approval; Joni came to the show (she hasn’t gone out much the last bunch of years due to illness and other things) and the two became fast friends. Brandi might still be overwhelmed! It might make sense for you to listen to her work chronologically, to see her development... she started near the top and just kept getting better. Hejeira, the 8th of her 19 studio albums, is my favorite, if one can actually have a favorite. Blue is her 4th, and most perfect. So says the world of fans and critics. My second favorite-because Hejeira is just a tad more sophisticated.
Hope you're ok after this !? :) Must admit it was a new song for me, as I only know Big Yellow Taxi and Both Sides Now by this artist. Always an experience to listen to a song like this that is at the opposite end of lots of production and sound ... just the one instrument (be it Piano or Guitar) and the singer. Thanks for sharing with us, best wishes Ian
One of the most talented musicians and singers of the last 50 years. She should have had much more credit that she had, particularly in those early years.
“After the rush when you come back down You're always disappointed Nothing seems to keep you high Drive your bargains Push your papers Win your medals Fuck your strangers Don't it leave you on the empty side” Joni Mitchell
![Reaction to Classical Gas [Mason Williams] | Tommy Emmanuel](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/jLh-1Ehl7OM/mqdefault.jpg)
![Kodak Black - Sharp Vibes [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/oEV0OoLJeIs/mqdefault.jpg)
Joni saved my life. And you, are a remarkable young man... We love you, dude.
Hands down winner- best comment!!!
Yeah.
Well said. Just checked, and was delighted & pleased to find out she is still with us! For some reason thought she had passed away.
Getting emotional listening to this song means you get it.
Get what? That she’s blue? That people get blue sometimes? I mean, it’s a true statement but why would you cry over it? I guess you have to be depressed or emotionally unstable
@@evanhughes1510 No, you just have to be able to feel something beyond what directly effects you. It’s called empathy. We could all use more of it. As a matter of fact an emotionally well adjusted, empathetic person used to be valued in a civilized society. It’s those who don’t have the ability to empathize who are the “emotionally unstable” ones. Unfortunately I think we have far too many people like that in the world today and they’re being normalized when in the extreme they are actually called sociopaths.
@@trucolors9809 Nicely said!
Couldn't have said it better.
@@evanhughes1510 You got destroyed by Tru Colors.
It's okay if you have no words, Daniel.
Joni has plenty.....💙✌
Just friggin' beautiful. How can you listen to this and NOT feel something, Do the whole album, Daniel.
Not everybody is depressed and emotionally unstable. So not everybody will have such a dramatic reaction to this song. It’s one thing to like the song and think it’s a nice song, but to cry over it is a little extreme
@@evanhughes1510 Are you suggesting that a person has to be depressed or “emotionally unstable” in order to empathize with someone who is? If so, I totally disagree. I think empathy is a very under valued human characteristic. The human race would truly benefit from all of us having much more empathy towards each other.
@@evanhughes1510 I'm sorry you've never had a song emotionally hit you.
@@evanhughes1510 so ridiculously patronizing. the emotional police are alive but unwell.
@@evanhughes1510 You must have no emotion to say that, heartless and dead inside are you ? I did not say anything about depression , emotional instability or crying. I said feel SOMETHING, anything.
Blue is a MASTERPIECE album. The song..'RIVER' from the album BLUE is another song that moves me. INCREDIBLE. Love Joni. I've had the pleasure of seeing Joni in concert several times over the years here in Canada. ALWAYS Amazing Moving and Captivating. 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🎼🎶🎵
Yes, Daniel should play River around Christmas. I requested it last year - maybe he'll be able to do it this year...
Daniel, I knew this song would hit you at the core, because you are so sensitive and receptive. I immediately clicked when I saw this reaction. Joni's Blue album will tattoo itself inside your heart and you will treasure it for your whole life. Listen to one song at a time, over and over. Savor each one before moving on to the next. It will be like almost no other musical experience you will ever have.
River is another stunning song by Joni, Daniel you should definitely take a listen especially this time of year as it is a festive song with out being festive (very Joni). Another from Joni's tear factory.
Daniel, I’m a 71YO woman, was an undergrad in Ann Arbor MI when Joni was breaking out as a young, brilliant Canadian singer-songwriter. Every young woman I knew felt she expressed our interior selves. Every young man was in love with her (for context, we were all listening to Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens, The Who, Crosby Stills and Nash, Yes, and, my own groove: Jethro Tull). A few years later, I saw Jackson Browne open for her at the huge concert hall on campus. My boyfriend passed up to her his own hand-turned candlestick and candle, which she set on the grand piano she played during her set. Her importance to my generation cannot be measured. Thank you for hearing that in her music.
This album has been loved by many for a lot of years. My personal favorite albums by Joni are Court and Spark, and Hejira. Joni Mitchell is going to be honored at this year's Kennedy Center Awards.
It's about time!!! SO GLAD to hear this! TY!
The event was Sunday. The ceremony will be broadcast by CBS on Wednesday, December 22.
Those are my two favourites also. Both albums hold together beautifully and contain some of her very best songs. "Amelia" is achingly beautiful, maybe my favourite song of hers, but it's hard to pick a best.
Court and Spark is the best.
Joni was one of a kind, she had several contemporaries, but she was on another level in my opinion.
Joni IS still alive , you know.
@@marezhere5643 i realize that, I was referring specifically to the time period that this and other great albums of hers were released.
Absolutely right.
@@cometogether999 Hey there. What prompted you to use the cover of Kansas's album Masque for your comment "signature"?
@@katesjanice Hi! Big Kansas fan here. Plus, it's a real cool album cover.
Joni tends to have this effect on people. Entire album is a masterpiece.
Rarely have I seen a reaction where the reactor becomes so enveloped, the song itself almost becomes secondary.
Yes, Daniel. Sit and listen to "Blue" in its awesome entirety. Ms. Mitchell bared her soul on the album. Her friends and fellow artists were astonished at her honesty in the lyrics and music. Read a good biography about her: "Reckless Daughter" by David Yaffe. It fills-in many details that made her who she became, an incomparable vocal artist of many genres, now receiving much-deserved accolades in recognition of her artistry, including one of this year's Kennedy Center honors. I also recommend viewing a number of excellent RUclips videos by Rick Beato regarding her, a dinner he enjoyed with her, the unique complexity of her music and guitar work and chords, etc. As a fellow Canadian I am so proud to be able to praise her incomparable work over the decades. Her discography is highly recommended.
Joni is doing well these days; she's in the news for an Award and her health is improving. To me, her 1970 BBC appearance (that is on YT} is one of the best individual artist concerts ever. And yeah, Blue is a masterpiece.
I saw her on tour with Tom Scott and the LA Express. That was an incredible performance with her voice and his sax.
>The L.A. Express was an American jazz fusion ensemble. Members of L.A. Express played on several Joni Mitchell albums, namely Court and Spark, The Hissing of Summer Lawns and the live album Miles of Aisles between 1974 and 1975.
I saw her twice in the UK in 1974, Court and Spark her best record.
I’m so jealous. I only have the album, Miles of Aisles. I’ll probably get over it though ;)
Daniel, your reaction to this is priceless, it's awesome how this song touched you...take care.
Great reaction. It hit you like THAT because poetry is so rare in popular music. Lyrics and haunting music plus THAT voice, it's the stuff that tears are made of.
Daniel, I've been tearing up to Jomi for 5 decades, no explanation necessary.. Her voice is just that beautiful
If you decide to do the whole album, I'm with you all the way. My favorite album of all time.
Her voice goes right to your soul
Just like Bob Dylan, you're now Tangled Up in Blue. Great song off one of the best albums by the greatest songwriter of her generation.
Definitely do the whole album. The whole thing is that good. The emotional impact this song had on you will likely occur with each track.
One of the best songs you can do. I am so proud of you Daniel as I told you because you are human and you have emotions as anyone. And yes I listened to this one twice.
What attracted me to this was a voice and a piano. Need no more. I cried when I was a child hearing this. I cry now. She sings of her love for someone lost in an addiction. I believe that was James Taylor. Don't blame you for being so taken by it!
You sound unstable. What is there to be so taken by this song? It’s just her saying she’s blue.
@@evanhughes1510 It's not being unstable. Music affects people in different ways.
@@evanhughes1510 She simply said that listening to an emotional song made her cry. Is that really so strange? It seems like a reasonable reaction to me. As she replied to you, music affects different people in different ways. However, *you* went to the extreme of actually telling her that she sounds unstable. In all honesty, *your* reaction to her is much more excessive than her reaction to this song. Why would you literally state that a person sounds *unstable* because a particular song, which is a fairly emotional one, makes that person cry? Just because it doesn't happen to move *you* to tears, anyone who is moved by it in that way is somehow unstable? Is that really a reasonable way of characterizing people?
this song isn't about James Taylor, it's about David Blue
@@christianman73 Thanks!
An amazing album, not a bad track on it. Thank you, DS9. I knew this number would touch that wonderful heart of yours.
I grew up with this wonderful music! Thank you Daniel!
This was the album that Kris Kristofferson heard and said "Joni, keep something for yourself." She opened a vein for this one. THE landmark album. She set our standards for what an artist is and does.
Another track from this album, Little Green, will also have you in bits. It's about the child Joni gave up for adoption when she was young (though much later in life, they were reunited).
She's one of honorees at Kennedy Center Honors this year, you'll have to watch the special when it airs, always good performances.
This is stunningly beautiful, indeed.
Joni had a beautiful and wonderful way to tap into her inner feelings and express them in poetry set to music. Don't know anyone else who sounded like her.
I first heard this wonderful song (& the album) as a 17 year-old in 1971 and have loved JM ever since... a true Renaissance woman, artist and poet. No-one is better and few were her equals. Thank you Daniel!
"You gotta keep thinking you can make it through these waves." "Blue, I love you." Songs are indeed like tattoos. My best Daniel.
Being speechless happens with Mitchell’s Blue. Love your genuine and amazed reaction.
ShaZam! That’s Joni! Blue and Court and Spark albums are my favorites. You will cry to Songs To Aging Children (I am one).
The whole album is an absolute masterpiece.
About once a year a sit in a quiet dark room and listen to this album start to finish. Tears every time. Yours is the right reaction. Every song on this short album is a mini masterpiece in songwriting and vulnerability.
I've done that many tunes. It's my therapy.
Well that was quick awesome!!!
I like the related video you put up before this I'm glad you enjoyed and realized the impact she's had on so many.
Daniel I am so glad you found this song so touching. Each of us have our personal favorites, for varying reasons and it is the magic of music. I am not so sure I had heard this Joni Mitchell song before and I thank you for reacting to it. Her vocals were among the best I have heard from Joni.
I completely understand the overwhelming effect this song had on you! I know I felt the exact same way, the first time I heard it.
I've told you elsewhere how much this album means to me, but I didn't tell you this:
I did not hear this album until the mid-to-late '70s. I think it might have been shortly before her "Don Juan's Reckless Daughter" album came out, which was around Christmas in 1977.
For reasons I don't understand for sure, I don't remember what year I first heard it, and in fact, I remember NOTHING ELSE about my first listen EXCEPT for my intense emotional reaction to it! That is usually not the case for me; I have so many strong memories around music, in general, and first times, in general!
Of course, I can't wait to watch your reaction to other songs from "Blue", and hopefully, you might eventually react to some of "DJRD". I would especially love for you to take on the title track to that abum! Actually, the entire Side Four of that album, is KILLER stuff!
To me, she has no equal!
👏
Not for nothing is this recognised as one of the best albums of all time. You have just discovered why in just the first track. Enjoy the rest……….
It just hits you like that, same way with me when I listen to her, I can’t explain it, I feel suddenly overcome with emotion, it’s some primal thing going on there. Even my old grizzled biker friends, my old burned out rock band buddies, all have this reaction. Someone should do a scientific study on this phenomenon. Joni is a very special artist, I love her dearly.
Absolutely, 100%, You expressed exactly how I feel about this album, and Joni in general. Pure beauty of any kind will have this kind of effect on almost anyone! But yes, Joni is one that can "reach" even the hardest of hearts!
@@MissAstorDancer I think it’s even more than the beauty of it. She reaches into the soul, far beyond the conscious mind.
Some things are beyond the ability of science to explain. Lol
@@Amaberean it’s magic.
This is the first time I have ever commented on this platform, but I am truly grateful for your reaction. BLUE is the BEST record of our time. Joni Mitchell is the greatest singer songwriter of a generation and more. Although she refers to herself as a Painter not musician. Her evolution of music is extraordinary.
Daniel, you experienced Joni Mitchell. She has that effect. She wrote honestly about her personal experiences, including very sad ones, such as the end of relationships, and giving her daughter up for adoption. She is a person of deep feelings, and she gets her feelings across in her vocals. She gets me crying like nobody else. I normally like happy, upbeat music, not sad. But she’s undeniable. Joni is the GOAT.
Great reaction, so glad you went there. You cry because you’re missing something you don’t even have a name for, and the beauty and longing grab your heart and squeeze it. Don’t worry, lots of us cry at these songs. ❤
I am glad to hear your reaction to "Blue." Many find solace in her words, as the pain comes to define people and they feel that it come to be a part of their identity. Clearly, Joni understood this.
Joni is such a complete artist. Songwriter, lyricist, musician, poet, singer, painter. Blue is the first album I heard from her when I was around 14/15 and it stroke me just the way it did to you. I am huge fan since then (1976). Only regret...I never was able to see her live.
Pure emotion!! Great reaction!!
There is a reason why she was just honored at the Kennedy Center. She is a Canadian icon.
It's that voice...beautiful.
I think Rolling Stone ranked this album in their top 5 (maybe top 3) albums of all-time. Listening to Blue is like ripping a scab off an old would and exposing yourself to the hurt and pain. River is just a devastating song, particularly for this time of the year (holiday season), but it is just one of many gems on this record. Daniel, you are such a thoughtful, introspective, and sensitive soul, and your reaction was just so honest and genuine. We really appreciate you. Thank you for being you.
This was me the first time I listened to it in 1979. Thanks for helping me relive it. (None of my college roommates "got it" back then.) Enjoy.
She recently was awarded as one of 2021 Kennedy Center honorees. She and Bette Midler. Both thoughtful, honest and very deserving.
It does it to me too. Straight from her soul to ours. Many of us kid ourselves that we are solid, and on top of it all - but really we're just suppressing a scary, yet often beautiful emotional fragility. Through her honesty, Joni Mitchell seems to "permit" our emotions to come to the surface, reassuring us that it's something we share. Always loved her.
This album, of course, is Joni's masterpiece. Joni also has said it was a difficult album to make as it was very personal.
Though a very different style, I think of it as the female "Blood On The Tracks" (another album you should do in its entirety.
I think its a good idea to do the whole album. The album all fits together sadness, joy, overcoming. Its all there in the most amazing way.
Joni has said the song is to James Taylor, her lover at the time. Of course James struggled with heroin and was pretty bad at relationships during those 70s years.
Beautiful lyrics that basically say that she has looked at the hell wont be a part of it, wants to be loved and secure (crown and anchor me) or let go (Ive been to sea before) and here is a song for you Blue (James has really blue eyes).
Its more than that though its gorgeous use of imagery and poetic style makes it a perfect description of this subject matter that just hangs in the air like a icicled blue flame from far away. Very tender rendering from Joni, one can hear the pain yet acceptance.
The song doesnt have to be about an individual though. It can be about the experience of blueness. Talking to the inner you. Or a relationship. Or just a feeling. Thats what makes a great song. Its universal in nature.
The discovery of this album was life changing. I was already into Dylan and Young, but Joni takes you to another realm of existence. It is really enjoyable to see a young person discover all this great music. Keep em coming!
No shame. I'm 70 years old, and beautiful music effects me that way. Would I have it any other way? No Way. Joni's done that to me for about 50 years. Welcome to music for your emotions.
That's why everyone loves Joni Mitchell so much she gives her heart and soul into every song she performs way too much of her is exposed
Joni was my constant companion in those days. She touched my soul and provided a beautiful refuge to find solace for my own depression and struggle. She is the ultimate artist. Gifted and wise beyond her years. Thank you for this. Your candid, open and honest visceral response to this great lady was wonderful. You are a special young man.
Welcome to the "in awe of Joni club" ❤
If someone asked me to teach them what the feeling of melancholy is, I’d show them this song. It perfectly encapsulates the feeling of being “blue”.
Don't feel awkward for crying. This song brings it all to the surface. The whole album is stunning , but Blue is everything. I lived on this album for years.
This is one of my two favorite Joni albums though I love all of her music. This is a perfect album to do a full album reaction to not a single song on the album that you will not love. Thank you so much for listening to this song so you can get the full impact of Joni's talent. Joni writes with so much emotion and great story telling. This song pulls you onto a wave and you drift along with her, it is outstanding how she does this. I find it so sad that so many people do not know her music. I may have made this comment on one of your other Joni reactions, but Joni said "I write music for my sorrow and I paint for my joy." Most of the album covers are her own art and she seems to have a love for painting self portraits, perhaps she pulls herself out and puts herself on her canvas to feel the freedom of a life beyond the one she is living. Joni always struggled with love, it never seemed to work out for her, perhaps it was that music kept her on the move or perhaps she chose music to keep her from ever being tied down. She seemed to long for love but never would hang around long enough to make it a true relationship. She did live with Graham Nash for quite a time, it seemed like that one could have worked but once again, she took leave when love consumed her heart. I love Joni. Rick Beato has a great interview with Joni or maybe it is just commentary on his meeting with her, on one of his youtube channels. Joni is a very complex woman, you really should check out that interview. I know that they decided at the end of the interview that they would meet again as friends though to my knowledge that has not yet happened. Maybe soon, I would love to hear more candid conversation from Joni. Joni really understands the theory of music so she teaches us how her mind works when she writes and she has no need for convention, it is all about delivering the emotional impact that she is feeling while she is composing. Joni no longer sings, she says she has lost her voice but she never really believed she could sing well anyway (can you believe that??!!). Your reaction to this song was perfect, Daniel.
Joni Mitchell, Hejira. Enough said. Possibly the greatest song and greatest album ever recorded.
Truth...
Another incredible album.
If you would like to try a different take on Joni, she recorded most of her early songs live on "Miles of Ailes" in the early to mid 70s. She is backed by a great band, and let's loose a little bit, as most artists do live. The sound quality is top notch. It's a double album, so it includes most of her hits up to this point. I highly recommend it.
I love that live album!
Great reaction Daniel. Can I please take this opportunity just to mention that a musical giant of the '70's decade has sadly died. John Miles - great singer, great songwriter! His biggest hit of course was his song called 'Music' which was a massive worldwide hit at the time and is still played today. Sorry to change the subject, but as he passed away today, I thought it was important to mention him.
Daniel, this was so lovely, your reaction made me tear up. Have loved the album since it came out. Thank you so much for sharing this!
Joni has a voice that pierces the soul. She also has an incredible range. That opening phrase shows this. All the coloring in the vocals has also a pureness to it. Shouldnt be possible for a human voice to sound this way. But she does.
Isn't it wonderful to hear this raw, unaltered, beautiful voice?
The first time I heard this album I was very young. During the course of it I aged ten years. Someone else who felt like me, someone else to connect with. Back then I could sing like her, but I couldn't write like her. Very few people can. It's one of the most important albums of my life, no kidding.
This is one of the most powerful tracks on one of her most powerful albums, good job!! This album brought this tough guy to tears too, so your reaction is normal. The closing track "The Last Time I Saw Richard" is stunning.
Joni’s songs are literally the soundtrack of her life - all of it, and she doesn’t hide anything or hold anything back. I can’t think of another artist who is quite like her in that sense of honesty.
When you have all the talent in the world and just want to create art from your soul, this is the result.
I guess her saying "Blue, I love you" is her way of thanking her depression for waking her up to what is causing her depresssion, and thanking Blue with a song.
I love this song and so appreciated your reaction. I think the song is at least partly about a relationship that is ending. She seems to be asking for a commitment in the first verse--crown and anchor me or let me sail away. The song is also about how we spend our time with things that don't really matter, thinking they will help us get through the hard times of life (acid, booze, and ass.) And at the end she is giving the song itself, a foggy lullaby, as a parting gift to her love. The melody is so beautiful and your response was so right for it. Love the album Blue and really encourage you to listen to Court and Spark album, too.
Just read that she wrote the album after putting her baby up for adoption so maybe that is the deeper meaning of the song.
That's the power and the magic of music. The songs that will unlock us, when we don't even know we are locked, will find their way to our ears.
Thank you Daniel, for your reaction to the great Joni Mitchell!!
Bless your heart, Daniel..you wear it on your sleeve and show so much emotion ❤❤
Your reaction, Daniel, is why you will make a great actor, if you go that way. Your heart is open to emotional empathy. If you pursue another path, it still means you will be a wonderful human being
Thank you. Joni is a major intellect who calls herself a painter. Joni finds ways to express.. period. Sound. sight. and gut truth. Poetry. One of the few that does everything you hear and see on her recordings.Thanks for being vulnerable to it. They never played her stuff on radio back in the day., we listened to her albums in dazed astonishment. as if they were worlds unto themselves. They are. We'd Live with the music and songs till the next one came out. Takes courage to tackle Joni and let folks see what happens to your being.
Thank you for this, Daniel. Blue was the first Joni song I heard when I was 17. My reaction to it was pretty much identical to yours. I fell in love with her and am still awestruck by her musical and lyrical genius 46 years later. Do please listen and respond to more Joni. ❤
So sad about Joni. She had a stroke and lost her ability to sing or walk. She received the medal of honour from Biden this week.
Medal of Honor is military only.
She smoked for 50yrs. That will klll u.
It was a Kennedy Center honor. The tributes and the ceremony were held this week at the Kennedy Center in NYC. President and First Lasy Biden attended as is customary except for the years 2017 - 2020 when Donald was either not invited or he turned down the invitations, whatever.
@@kaydantonio3719 yes I just want to relay the more sad side of the story
@@Hogtownboy1 It is very sad but she’s still alive and as salty as ever. I love her.
@@kaydantonio3719 love her as well.
Still one of my favourit albums ❤️
I was turned onto Joni when I was about 11 from my hippy neighbors who were a bit older. I made a tape of their albums and listened to it in bed at night forever. She awakened my soul. ❤
Joni was my childhood songbird that carried you into the story, it strikes the heart....Very sad that Joni never found the true happiness she deserved. .. Dimash has that same effect on me as an adult. His new song sung in Japanese, "Ikinaide" is stunning.
Amazing reaction my man. I think Blue is also the sea. She did an earlier album called song for a seagull which is also amazing.
Song To A Seagull is her debut album and its an amazing album...been listening to it lately.
@@moonstone1159 each album seemed to have its own art period.
@@Hartlor_Tayley Yes!
Joni Mitchell is a lyrical genius, but also a genius musician. Check out her live performance "Shadows and Light concert (1980)" with equally amazing jazz guitarist Pat Metheny and bassist Jaco Pistorius. It's like watching Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart jamming with jazz instruments.
I feel the lyric "Blue, I love you..." is the sad joy of learning and seeing new meanings with hopeful realizations.
Can I recommend the 1979 live recording of AMELIA with Pat Metheny? It moves me similarly.
Great emotion, Daniel !! Keep playing these great classic songs
Tracy Chapman is another poetic artist. "Fast Car", "Cold Feet"" Give Me Kne Reason ".
You just were taken in by the master of singing songwriter. The folk rock album of the century.
When you hear a song which touches your soul, then you just open up to whatever is supposed to come. When the spirit awakens, for whatever reason, as in the case of this song, you know how powerful music, and your own soul/song, can be. Enjoyed your reaction. Thank you. 🙏
‘Songs are like tattoos”. Such and brilliance in the second line of that song
Beautiful song, beautiful singer, beautiful young man listening
At 66 she is stiill my favourite. Got to see her live in the seveties.Listened to over an over.
If you want more great song writing listen to
"Woman of heart and mind"
"Cold blue steel and sweet fire"
Just two of Joni's many wondrous works.
Joni Mitchell is a singer songwriter who can channel her life and emotions in her works. She is wonderful. Now that you heard her, you can examine your life from before you heard her and afterwards. In short, you can look "at life from both sides now" (a song that meant different different things to her through out her life).
Glad you intend to do the whole Blue album eventually. If you don’t react to it, you at least need to listen to it for You. And then go down that rabbit hole: so many gorgeous songs. I’m of that age that I got to hear each upon release (I was 14 when the first came out). The combination of her lyrics melodies and voice cuts right through to the heart. Nobody can write a lyric like Joni.
A couple of years ago Brandi Carlyle did a concert of the Blue album. She got to meet Joni, who gave approval; Joni came to the show (she hasn’t gone out much the last bunch of years due to illness and other things) and the two became fast friends. Brandi might still be overwhelmed!
It might make sense for you to listen to her work chronologically, to see her development... she started near the top and just kept getting better. Hejeira, the 8th of her 19 studio albums, is my favorite, if one can actually have a favorite. Blue is her 4th, and most perfect. So says the world of fans and critics. My second favorite-because Hejeira is just a tad more sophisticated.
Daniel, hope you buy this album. Please also do "River", powerful, beautiful, sad. Good song for the Christmas season.
Hope you're ok after this !? :) Must admit it was a new song for me, as I only know Big Yellow Taxi and Both Sides Now by this artist.
Always an experience to listen to a song like this that is at the opposite end of lots of production and sound ... just the one instrument (be it Piano or Guitar) and the singer.
Thanks for sharing with us, best wishes Ian
Your sensitivity and pathos make you a very special reviewer indeed.
One of the most talented musicians and singers of the last 50 years. She should have had much more credit that she had, particularly in those early years.
“After the rush when you come back down
You're always disappointed
Nothing seems to keep you high
Drive your bargains
Push your papers
Win your medals
Fuck your strangers
Don't it leave you on the empty side”
Joni Mitchell