Shadows and Light (Joni Mitchell album)

Shadows and Light is the second live album by Canadian musician Joni Mitchell. It was released in September 1980 through Asylum Records, her last release for the label. It was recorded in September 1979 at the Santa Barbara Bowl in Santa Barbara, California.

For the album, Mitchell was backed by a band of acclaimed jazz and fusion musicians consisting of guitarist Pat Metheny, bassist Jaco Pastorius, drummer Don Alias, keyboardist Lyle Mays, and saxophonist Michael Brecker. Additionally, vocal group the Persuasions appear on the title track and a cover of Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers' "Why Do Fools Fall in Love".

Overview

Shadows and Light was recorded during Mitchell's 1979 summer tour and used equipment of the Record Plant in Sausalito. The recordings of "Furry Sings the Blues", "Dreamland", and "God Must Be a Boogie Man" were taken from PA mix cassette recordings. Much of the material comes from Court and Spark (1974) onward, the only exceptions being "Woodstock" and the cover of "Why Do Fools Fall in Love".

Reception

Commercial performance

Shadows and Light was a moderate commercial success, reaching number 38 on the Billboard 200. "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" was released as a single and peaked at number 102 on the Hot 100.

Critical reception

Reviews for Shadows and Light were positive. Writing for Rolling Stone, Stephen Holden called the album "a surprise and a triumph" and considered it "one of a handful of great live rock albums". Holden praised Mitchell's backing band as "the finest ensemble that [she] has worked with", and called her vocal performance "exhilarating". He went on to list the performances of "Edith and the Kingpin" and the title track as "the record's biggest stunners", feeling that the former's "spare live setting" worked to "uncover a mythic yarn of seduction and corruption" and praised the latter's pairing with "Why Do Fools Fall in Love".

In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Vik Iyengar praised the renditions on the album to be more energetic than their studio counterparts; however, he also felt that many live versions were "not different enough" than the original studio versions. In a piece commemorating the album's 40th anniversary, The Economist called the album "unjustly overlooked" and also highlighted its title track, stating that Mitchell's collaboration with the Persuasions gave the song "a new, organic richness".

Track listing

Notes:

• "Black Crow", "Don's Solo" and "Free Man in Paris" omitted from first CD release.
• "Don's Solo", "Dreamland", "God Must Be a Boogie Man" and "Woodstock" omitted from VHS and DVD.
• VHS and DVD releases feature two extra tracks, "Jaco's Solo" and "Raised on Robbery", and include a different version of "Furry Sings the Blues".

Personnel

Musicians

• Joni Mitchell – electric guitar, vocals
• Pat Metheny – lead guitar
• Jaco Pastorius – electric bass (Fender Jazz)
• Don Alias – drums, percussion
• Lyle Mays – electric piano (Rhodes), synthesizer (Oberheim FVS-1)
• Michael Brecker – saxophones
• The Persuasions – backing vocals on "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" and "Shadows and Light"

Production

• Andy Johns – engineer (recording)
• Bernie Grundman – engineer (mastering)
• Glen Cristensen – art direction, photography
• Joel Bernstein – photography

Charts

References

1. Mingus (Joni Mitchell album)
2. Hejira (album)
3. Shadows and Light
4. Both Sides Now (Joni Mitchell album)
5. The Hissing of Summer Lawns
6. Joni Mitchell Archives
7. Joni Mitchell discography
8. The Asylum Albums (1976–1980)
9. Free Man in Paris
10. Coyote (song)
11. The Asylum Albums (1972–1975)
12. Wild Things Run Fast
13. Raised on Robbery
14. Joni Mitchell
15. Woodstock (song)
16. Don Alias
17. Jaco Pastorius
18. The Last Waltz (soundtrack)
19. Jordan Rakei
20. Hejira (band)