Travelogue (Joni Mitchell album)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Ocean Way (Hollywood)
- AIR Lyndhurst (London)
- Record One (Los Angeles)
- Market Street (Santa Monica)
| Travelogue | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 19 November 2002 | |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Genre | Orchestral[1] | |||
| Length | 126:23 | |||
| Label | Nonesuch | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Joni Mitchell chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [3] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A−[4] |
| Robert Christgau |  [5] |
| Rolling Stone | [6] |
| DownBeat | [7] |
Travelogue is the eighteenth studio album by Canadian musician Joni Mitchell. It was released on November 19, 2002, through Nonesuch Records. A double album, it was co-produced by Mitchell and Larry Klein, and consists of re-recordings of songs from Mitchell's back catalogue with orchestral arrangements by Vince Mendoza. At the time of its release, Mitchell announced it would be her last album, though it was later succeeded by Shine in 2007.
The album was not commercially successful and failed to chart, as well as receiving mixed reviews from critics. However, Mendoza won a 2004 Grammy award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) for his arrangement of "Woodstock". As of 2007, the two-disc set had sold 72,000 copies in the US.[8]
JazzTimes reviewer Christopher Louden wrote, "Tough as it is to rationalize, Joni Mitchell’s pack-a-day habit seems only to have enriched that exquisite voice of hers . . . Mitchell’s nicotine-stained throatiness shapes a vaguely melancholy sagacity that is stunningly beautiful".[9]
Thom Jurek gave the album 4.5 stars for AllMusic and called it "a textured and poetic reminiscence, not a reappraisal, of her work ".[10]
DownBeat gave the release 3.5 stars.[7] The review said the album "is like eating high-grade, unsweetened dark chocolate. It's a rich, deep and powerful experience that demands an acquired taste . . . The lady's voice has changed (deepened mostly) but is still a compelling instrument and her deliberate vocal approach yields many fine rewards. Still, this collection is often weighed down by the seriousness of the project and feels mannered when it should be free".[7]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Joni Mitchell, except "Unchained Melody" by Alex North and Hy Zaret.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Otis and Marlena" | 3:52 |
| 2. | "Amelia" | 6:46 |
| 3. | "You Dream Flat Tires" | 3:46 |
| 4. | "Love" | 5:38 |
| 5. | "Woodstock" | 5:54 |
| 6. | "Slouching Towards Bethlehem" (based on a poem by W. B. Yeats) | 7:09 |
| 7. | "Judgement of the Moon and Stars (Ludwig's Tune)" | 5:20 |
| 8. | "The Sire of Sorrow (Job's Sad Song)" | 7:09 |
| 9. | "For the Roses" | 7:28 |
| 10. | "Trouble Child" | 5:02 |
| 11. | "God Must Be a Boogie Man" | 3:56 |
| Total length: | 62:00 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Be Cool" | 5:09 |
| 2. | "Just Like This Train" | 5:04 |
| 3. | "Sex Kills" | 3:57 |
| 4. | "Refuge of the Roads" | 7:56 |
| 5. | "Hejira" | 6:47 |
| 6. | "Chinese Café/Unchained Melody" | 5:41 |
| 7. | "Cherokee Louise" | 6:00 |
| 8. | "The Dawntreader" | 5:38 |
| 9. | "The Last Time I Saw Richard" | 4:58 |
| 10. | "Borderline" | 6:23 |
| 11. | "The Circle Game" | 6:50 |
| Total length: | 64:23 | |
