Posted February 21, 2005
Joni's at Starbucks:You can now get a slice of Joni at coffee conglomerate Starbucks when you stop in for your Venti Chocolate Brownie frappuccino; two compilation CD's, released last week, both offer interesting insights.
First up, we're invited to "Spend an hour with Joni Mitchell's record collection." The Joni Mitchell Artist's Choice™ CD ($14.95) is a collection of songs Joni cites as being those which have had the most impact on her. Long time fans will find many of the artists they expect to find on this CD, of course, but others who haven't heard Joni talk about her musical influences may be surprised at the contents. In any case, there's a wide variety of fine music to be heard here; Joni even includes one of her own songs, the wonderful "Harlem in Havana." Here's what you'll find on the CD:
The second disk, Songs Chosen By Her Friends & Fellow Musicians, is a collection of Joni's music chosen by a variety of artists. I suppose many of us might have other artists we would have liked to have seen selections from in addition to the ones represented (Wayne Shorter? James Taylor?), but it's still an interesting cross-section of well-known artists, and a satisfying variety of Joni's music. This disk, priced at $12.95, contains the following songs, culled from mostly early to mid-points in her career:
Both CD's are hopefully available at your local Starbucks (I say hopefully because two of the Starbucks I checked didn't have them), or online at their website.