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Reckless Daughter tells the story of Mitchell and also of the fertile, exciting musical time of which she was an integral part, one that had a profound effect that can still be felt today on American music and the industry. "Joni Mitchell may be the most influential female recording artist and composer of the late twentieth century. In Reckless Daughter, the music critic David Yaffe tells the remarkable, heart-wrenching story of how the blond girl with the guitar became a superstar of folk music in the 1960s, a key figure in the Laurel Canyon music scene of the 1970s, and the songwriter who spoke resonantly to, and for, audiences across the country. A Canadian prairie girl, a free-spirited artist, Mitchell never wanted to be a pop star. She was nothing more than "a painter derailed by circumstances," she would explain. And yet, she went on to become a talented self-taught musician and a brilliant bandleader, releasing album after album, each distinctly experimental, challenging, and revealing. Her lyrics captivated listeners with their perceptive language and naked emotion, born out of Mitchell's life, loves, complaints, and prophecies. As an artist whose work deftly balances narrative and musical complexity, she has been admired by such legendary lyricists as Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen and beloved by such groundbreaking jazz musicians as Jaco Pastorius, Wayne Shorter, and Herbie Hancock. Her hits--from "Big Yellow Taxi" to "Both Sides, Now" to "A Case of You"--endure as timeless favorites, and her influence on the generations of singer-songwriters who would follow her, from her devoted fan Prince to Björk, is undeniable. In this intimate biography, drawing on dozens of unprecedented in-person interviews with Mitchell, her childhood friends, and a cast of famous characters, Yaffe reveals the backstory behind the famous songs--from Mitchell's youth in Canada, her bout with polio at age nine, and her early marriage and the child she gave up for adoption, through the love affairs that inspired masterpieces, and up to the present--and shows us why Mitchell has so enthralled her listeners, her lovers, and her friends. Reckless Daughter is the story of an artist and an era that have left an indelible mark on American music."--Jacket.… (more)
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My quibbles: although Yaffe interviewed Joni a couple of times and interviewed a lot of her friends and colleagues, there was still a lot of material recycled from secondary sources. Also, the ending was really, really rushed. After giving minute attention to most of her albums, he barely glanced at her material from the 90s and beyond. Early in the book he makes a huge deal over Joni's giving up a daughter for adoption, but when it came time to write about their reunion, again, it was rushed and superficial. Finally, he devoted a few scant pages to the devastating brain trauma that changed Joni's life permanently. It's not a happy topic but it is hardly unimportant.
Quotes: "I wasn't vulnerable to her complications" - Leonard Cohen
"Joni took this really potent, popular image that had been building for seven or eight years anyway: the California girl, the Beach Boys girl, the beautiful golden girl with the long blond hair parted in the middle, and Joni not only WAS the girl, she was also the Bob Dylan, the Paul Simon, the Lennon-McCartney, writing it. She was the whole package. She was the subject and she was the painter and that was incredibly powerful for people." - Bill Flanagan
By the time Blue was released in 1971, she had survived polio and a bad first marriage. She had given up her daughter for adoption and recently fended off a marriage proposal from Graham Nash. The biography shows an endless flow of lovers that come and go, Mitchell being in control almost all of the times. An overwhelming wealth of clever lyrics, open guitar tunings, and chord progressions led to a steep career move in the music industry and ten revealing albums. Once hot and happening, she collaborated with jazz musicians to stay on par, faced Madonna's reign in the 80's, her guitar-based songs versus full bands playing glam rock, post-punk, and cheesy pop songs.
David Yaffe's work is also open about the drug abuse, chain-smoking, and sexual activities of Miss El Lay. The book's composed of the notes taken at dozens of in-person interviews with Joni Mitchell up to her post-2015 recovery from a brain aneurysm, liner notes, and insights in almost every song written by Joni Mitchell. A peek behind the scenes of the music industry, Friends and former lovers like Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Leonard Cohen, David Crosby, and Larry Klein add to the flavor of this extensive (544 pages) retrospective.
A Poet, able to play and sing her own songs, Joni has long been my favorite singer of the folk era. She transcended this era by dabbling in jazz
Overall, she is definitely a supremely talented woman to be very much admired.