"Both Sides, Now" was written by the great Joni Mitchell, and first recorded by Judy Collins for her 1967 album, 'Wildflowers'. It was released as a single in 1968, and became a hit for the Folk star. The song went to #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, and to #3 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart. For her performance on the song, Collins won a Grammy for Best Folk Performance. Mitchell recorded it as part of her 1969 album 'Clouds'. "Both Sides, Now" was such a success for Collins, it became a signature song. Here is a video of Judy performing the song with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops at Boston's Symphony Hall 1976.
You can find Judy Collins' recording of "Both Sides, Now" on 'Wildflowers', as well as on 'The Very Best of Judy Collins', a collection of her greatest hits. You can find 'The Very Best of' on iTunes and Amazon. 'The Very Best of Judy Collins' features so many great songs, including "Suzanne", "Someday Soon", "Chelsea Morning", "Amazing Grace" and "Send In The Clowns". I hope your weekend is going well.
When I did the Joni Mitchell post this week, I had found this video, and knew I wanted to use it. The video features Cæcilie Norby and jazz great Dianne Reeves making extraordinary music with Joni's Both Sides, Now. The weather here has been a bit stormy lately, and I have taken some pictures. Well, Friday night as I was looking at the latest pictures I had taken, it suddenly occurred to me that perhaps I should post the video, and just lay in some photos of clouds...
The video features Reeves and Norby on vocals, and Romero Lubambo and Russell Malone on guitar, and Lars Danielsson on bass. This performance was from the 2004 Jazz Baltica in Salzau, Germany.
I have wrestled with how I would cover the amazing Joni Mitchell on this blog. After all, she had not had nearly the amount of Billboard hits as she should have, a measurement I often use on the blog. But the striking Canadian singer/songwriter has made some of the most interesting and amazing music over the last 40 years. I remember during high school, listening to Joni in the basement of my friend Candace's house. Candace would raid the collection of her sister, Kim, and we'd listen to Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Livingston Taylor, and, of course, Joni Mitchell. I do believe that included a copy of the song Chelsea Morning from the 1969 album Clouds.
There is little more than needs to be said about her iconic song, Both Sides, Now. But a rather interesting side note is while she wrote it, she didn't have the initial success. That was musical powerhouse Judy Collins, who not only released the song first, she took it to #8 on the Billboard Pop chart, and was awarded a Grammy for Best Folk Vocal Performance for her 1968 recording. So, Joni recorded it in 1969, as part of the Clouds album.
In 1970, Joni released the beautiful Ladies of the Canyon album. The song Woodstock was on the album, but was released by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, who scored a #11 on the Billboard Pop chart. But it was also where you can find what might be one of her most popular songs, Big Yellow Taxi. While it was released as a single, it placed well on charts throughout the world, but the weakest in the US. However, a few years later, 1975, a live version of the song would make it to #24 on the Pop charts. In 2003, the Counting Crows would have a hit with the song as well, as part of a soundtrack for the movie Two Weeks Notice. But here is a clip of a performance from the Isle Of Wight Festival in 1970.
Now my final video on this post could be one of my favorite Joni songs of all time. It certainly springs from of of my favorite Joni albums, the 1974 release Court And Spark. For me, the song was intriguing, almost intoxicating, with the use of rhythms and vocal patterns that just made the song so vibrant, so strong. Help Me went to #7 on the US Billboard Hot 100, the only top 10 hit in Joni's career. It went to #1 on the adult contemporary chart. Here is a performance in London in 1974.
For more about Joni Mitchell, check out her official website here. You can, and should, buy her albums where ever music is sold.
