Joni Mitchell releases “The Asylum Albums (1976-1980)” box set
The release of a box set containing remastered Joni Mitchell albums from the late 1970s has been announced. The box-set, entitled “The Asylum Albums (1976-1980)” will be made available starting next June 21st.
The focal point of the new publication is the transformation phase of the Canadian singer-songwriter after the tour in support of the album “The hissing of summer lawn” in 1975, when he retreated to Neil Young's beach house to recuperate before embarking on a cross-country trip with friends. It was one of three trips Mitchell took between 1975 and 1976 and the beginning of a period characterized by wanderlust, both in his physical travels and musical exploration. During this time, Mitchell boldly declared his transition from “successful department” to the “art department”.
The new collection includes “Hejira” (1976), “Don Juan's Reckless Daughter” (1977), “Mingus“(1979) and the live album”Shadows and Light” (1980). As reported in a press release, all four versions included in this set have been remastered from the original analog master tapes by Bernie Grundman.
“The Asylum Albums (1976-1980)”, with the cover including a portion of one of Mitchell's original paintingswill be available digitally and in various physical formats: as a 5-CD set, a limited edition (5,000 copies) 6-LP version pressed on 180-gram vinyl.
Accompanying this box set is a writing by the Oscar-winning actress Meryl Streep, a lifelong fan of Mitchell's work, who writes: “It's not just the artifact – music and lyrics – that Joni offers us. His art leaves us changed. He changed things within us. And this is how artists change the world.”
The release of “The Asylum Albums (1976-1980)” is anticipated today April 30th by the remastered version of “Coyote” from “Hejira” and lays the foundations for “Joni Mitchell Archives Vol. 4“, the next chapter in the archive series dedicated to exploring the artist's career through previously unreleased studio and live recordings. More details will be announced later this year. The project opened in 2020 and arrived on last year on the third volume dedicated to the period between 1972 and 1975.
Joni Mitchell will perform at the Hollywood Bowl on 19 and 20 October for two shows, his first headlining shows in Los Angeles in more than two decades. On both evenings she will be accompanied by the Joni Jam ensemble.
Tracklist of “The Asylum Albums (1976-1980)“, vinyl version:
Hejira
LP One
Side One
1. “Coyote”
2. “Amelia”
3. “Furry Sings The Blues”
4. “A Strange Boy”
5. “Hejira
Side Two
1. “Song For Sharon”
2. “Black Crow”
3. “Blue Motel Room”
4. “Refuge Of The Road”
Don Juan's Reckless Daughter
LP One
Side One
1. “Overture – Cotton Avenue”
2. “Talk To Me”
3. “Jericho”
Side Two
1. “Paprika Plains”
LP Two
Side One
1. “Otis And Marlena”
2. “The Tenth World”
3. “Dreamland”
Side Two
1. “Don Juan's Reckless Daughter”
2. “Off Night Backstreet”
3. “The Silky Veils Of Ardor”
Mingus
LP One
Side One
1. “Happy Birthday 1975”
2. “God Must Be A Boogie Man”
3. “Funeral” (Rap)
4. “A Chair In The Sky”
5. “The Wolf That Lives In Lindsey”
Side Two
1. “I's A Muggin” (Rap)
2. “Sweet Sucker Dance”
3. “Coin In The Pocket” (Rap)
4. “The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines”
5. “Lucky” (Rap)
6. “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat”
Shadows And Light
LP One
Side One
1.Introduction
2. “In France They Kiss On Main Street”
3. “Edith And The Kingpin”
4. “Coyote”
5. “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat”
Side Two
1. “The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines”
2. “Amelia”
3. Pat's Solo
4. “Hejira”
LP Two
Side One
1. “Black Crow”
2. Don's Solo
3. “Dreamland”
4. “Free Man In Paris”
5.Band Introduction
6. “Furry Sings The Blues”
Side Two
1. “Why Do Fools Fall In Love”
2. “Shadows And Light”
3. “God Must Be A Boogie Man”
4. “Woodstock”
