“Blue” – Joni Mitchell (1971)

Earlier in the year, I celebrated the 50th anniversary of one of my personal favorite albums – Carol King’s “Tapestry”. Joni Mitchell worked musically on that album, and on June 22 of the same year released a new work of her own; called “Blue”, it too has become a work of legend. (James Taylor also worked on both, and his guitar playing is essential to the overall character of some of the tracks on Mitchell’s album.) Taster below, go to Spotify to hear more.

At the NYT, a great interactive celebration of “Blue” with tributes – in the form of personal and varied analysis of each track – from Mitchell’s peers; her contemporaries like Taylor, Judy Collins, Graham Nash, Stephen Stills, and from members of younger generations who have been inspired by her work.