When I went up to university in Leeds in 1975 I was placed in a block of student flats on the edge of the university campus. All first year students had to share a twin room and my room mate was a guy called Rich Coleman. Rich was 22 years old whilst I was a mere slip of a thing at 17. He loved music and introduced me to artistes that I might easily have overlooked otherwise. One such artiste was the Canadian born Joni Mitchell. Rich got me to listen to two of her albums, 'Blue' and 'Court and Spark'. The former was far too bleak for my tastes but the latter was a revelation.
For someone in his late teens and full of the angst that goes with the territory, the incisive lyrics of Court and Spark were a revelation. Mitchell's observations were turned into intelligent songs that brought home to me just how powerful lyrics could be. This album is full of songs about the 'search for love that don't seem to cease' as one song says. In an interview she gave a few years later she explained that she would not marry because it would compromise her music and her painting. It seems she has paid a high price for that in emotional terms, but it has benefited the rest of us.
Court and Spark is one of Joni Mitchell's 'commercial' records. Another that springs to mind is Wild Thins Run Fast. The dedicated Mitchell fan probably disapproves of people like me who like these 'frivolous' recordings and tend to ignore the serious stuff. In fact, I've been told as much. Frankly, this smacks of elitism and bothers me because I do think rock music should be accessible to people. We all like to hum a tune or tap our toes, and if there are hidden delights then that's just a bonus. A great example of such music would be John Mellencamp's 'Uh Huh', full of snappy songs with superb arrangements and excellent social comment lyrics.
Court and Spark probably hasn't aged as well as it might have done which is a shame, but perhaps a super-smooth production might well have taken away the music's inherent charm and immediacy. For those who like these things the wacky comedians Cheech and Chong make an appearance on the LP and there's some good guitar playing from James Taylor.