Joni Mitchell Albums for Listeners Coming from Different Genres

For confessional songwriting, start with “A Case of You.” Mitchell’s dulcimer and James Taylor’s acoustic guitar give her voice room to stretch across the beat. Then try the title track, where the piano lets her leave even more space between phrases.

For pop with a jazz band’s sense of movement, try “Help Me.” The rhythm keeps moving even while her vocal line leans across it. On “Free Man in Paris,” listen for how David Crosby and Graham Nash fill in around her lead without weighing down the chorus.

If you like guitar records that take the long way around, start with “Coyote.” Jaco Pastorius’s fretless bass runs alongside Mitchell’s guitar, making a second melody you can follow while she tells the story. The title track has that same feeling of forward motion at a more reflective pace.

For records that build a song from contrasting textures, begin with “The Jungle Line.” Mitchell sets her Moog synthesizer and acoustic guitar against a recording of Burundian drumming. Then try “Edith and the Kingpin” for a quieter arrangement where electric piano and horns leave a great deal implied.

For the folk-club sound, begin with “Chelsea Morning.” The guitar’s bright top notes leave Mitchell free to pull the melody around. “The Fiddle and the Drum” goes one step further by leaving the guitar out entirely, so you can hear what she does with the melody alone.

If you come from country rock, try “You Turn Me On, I’m a Radio.” Graham Nash’s harmonica and the easy sway of the arrangement make the radio metaphor feel like part of the sound. “Banquet” brings the same songwriter into a starker, piano-led setting.

If you enjoy a piece that fills an entire side of an LP, give “Paprika Plains” its sixteen minutes. The voice and piano give way to a long passage orchestrated by Michael Gibbs. Stay for Wayne Shorter’s soprano saxophone as the band comes back into focus.

For listeners who already know Charles Mingus, start with “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat.” Mitchell puts words to his elegy for Lester Young and brings the story up to a New York night of her own. On “The Dry Cleaner from Des Moines,” the clipped brass parts make a different kind of space for the words.

For live records with room for the band to stretch, start with “Coyote” and listen to what the touring group does with a studio song. Later, the Persuasions join Mitchell on “Why Do Fools Fall in Love,” taking the concert in a doo-wop direction. Both performances were recorded at the Santa Barbara County Bowl in 1979.

If you like the sound of mid-1980s studio pop, start with “Good Friends.” Mitchell and Michael McDonald trade and blend lines over a tight programmed rhythm. Co-producer Thomas Dolby’s Fairlight and synthesizer work is part of the album’s sound, which takes a harsher turn on “Tax Free.”

For torch songs and vocal jazz, start with “You’ve Changed.” Vince Mendoza’s orchestra gives the pauses in Mitchell’s vocal room to hang in the air. The closing title track puts one of her own songs in the same company, with a slower, lower delivery than the Clouds recording.

If you listen for orchestration, play the Hejira and Travelogue versions of “Amelia” back to back. The later recording uses Vince Mendoza’s arrangement to open gaps around the words and give the imagery more time to register. The closing “The Circle Game” shows how differently he can handle a melody you may already know.