Court and Spark

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Court and Spark
Studio album by
Joni Mitchell
ReleasedJanuary 1, 1974
Recorded1973
StudioA&M Studios, Hollywood[1]
Genre
Length36:58
LabelAsylum
ProducerJoni Mitchell, Henry Lewy
Joni Mitchell chronology
For the Roses
(1972) 		Court and Spark
(1974) 		Miles of Aisles
(1974)

Court and Spark is the sixth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. It was an immediate commercial and critical success—and remains her most successful album. Released in January 1974, it infuses her folk rock style, which she developed throughout her previous five albums, with jazz inflections.

It reached No. 2 in the United States and No. 1 in Canada and eventually received a Double Platinum certification by the RIAA, the highest of Mitchell's career.[5] It also reached the Top 20 in the UK and was voted the best album of the year for 1974 in The Village Voice Pazz & Jop Critics Poll.[6] In 2003 it was listed at #111 in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[7]

History

1973 was the first year since she began recording that Mitchell did not release a new album. Her previous offering, For the Roses, was released in November 1972 to critical and commercial success, and Mitchell decided to spend the whole of the next year writing and recording a new album that revealed her growing interest in new sounds—particularly jazz. During 1973, her stage appearances were fewer than in previous years. She performed in April in a benefit concert at the Sir George Williams University Auditorium and then appeared live again in August, twice at The Corral Club, accompanied by Neil Young.

Mitchell spent most of 1973 in the recording studio creating Court and Spark. Mitchell and producer/engineer Henry Lewy called in a number of top L.A. musicians to perform on the album including members of The Crusaders, Tom Scott's L.A. Express, cameos from Robbie Robertson, David Crosby & Graham Nash and even a twist of comedy from Cheech & Chong.

In December, Asylum Records released a single, her first in over a year, "Raised on Robbery". The single reached No. 65 on the Billboard Singles Chart.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Robert ChristgauA[10]
MusicHound5/5[11]
Pitchfork Media10/10[9]
Paul Roland[14]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[12]
Slant Magazine[13]
Martin C. Strong9/10[14]
Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music[14]

Court and Spark was released in January 1974. Critics and the public enthusiastically embraced the album, and its success was reaffirmed when the follow-up single, "Help Me", was released in March. It received heavy radio airplay and became Mitchell's first and only Top 10 single in the Billboard charts, peaking at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the first week of June, and reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts. Court and Spark went on to be a big seller that year, peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard album charts[15] and staying there for four weeks. The album became the pinnacle of Mitchell's commercial success. The album was kept from the top spot by three No. 1 albums—in order Bob Dylan's Planet Waves, Barbra Streisand's The Way We Were and John Denver's Greatest Hits.[16]

In a July 1979 interview with Cameron Crowe for Rolling Stone, Mitchell recounted an anecdote of when she had played a copy of the then-just completed Court & Spark to Bob Dylan, during which Dylan fell asleep.[17] Mitchell later suggested that Dylan was probably trying to be "cute" in front of label boss David Geffen, who was also present.[17]

Honors

Grammy Awards
Year Nominee / work Award Result
1975 Court and Spark Album of the Year[19] Nominated
"Help Me" Record of the Year[20] Nominated
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance[21] Nominated
"Down to You" (arranger: Joni Mitchell and Tom Scott) Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)[22] Won

Track listing

All tracks are written by Joni Mitchell, except where noted

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Court and Spark"2:46
2."Help Me"3:22
3."Free Man in Paris"3:02
4."People's Parties"2:15
5."The Same Situation"2:57
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Car on a Hill" 3:02
7."Down to You" 5:38
8."Just Like This Train" 4:24
9."Raised on Robbery" 3:06
10."Trouble Child" 4:00
11."Twisted"Annie Ross, Wardell Gray2:21

Personnel

  • Joni Mitchell – vocals, including background; acoustic guitar; piano; clavinet on "Down to You", cover painting
  • John Guerin – drums, percussion
  • Wilton Felder – bass on "People's Parties" and "Free Man in Paris"
  • Max Bennett – bass (on all tracks except "Free Man in Paris", "People's Parties" and "Trouble Child")
  • Jim Hughart – bass on "Trouble Child"
  • Milt Holland – chimes on "Court and Spark"
  • Tom Scott – woodwinds, reeds
  • Chuck Findley – trumpet on "Twisted" and "Trouble Child"
  • Joe Sample – electric piano, clavinet on "Raised on Robbery"
  • David Crosby – background vocals on "Free Man in Paris" and "Down to You"
  • Graham Nash – background vocals on "Free Man in Paris"
  • Susan Webb – background vocals on "Down to You"
  • Larry Carlton – electric guitar (on all tracks except "Car on a Hill", "Raised on Robbery" and "Trouble Child")
  • Wayne Perkins – electric guitar on "Car on a Hill"
  • Dennis Budimir – electric guitar on "Trouble Child"
  • Robbie Robertson – electric guitar on "Raised on Robbery"
  • José Feliciano – electric guitar on "Free Man in Paris"
  • Cheech Marin – background voice on "Twisted"
  • Tommy Chong – background voice on "Twisted"
Technical

Charts

References

  1. ^ https://books.google.com.au/books?id=18ENXRfNqy8C&pg=PA124
  2. ^ https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/17269-the-studio-albums-1968-1979/
  3. ^ https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/court-and-spark-19740228
  4. ^ Ankeny, Jason (2011). "The Hissing of Summer Lawns – Joni Mitchell | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved July 19, 2011.
  5. ^ "Gold & Platinum – August 07, 2010". RIAA. Archived from the original on September 2, 2008. Retrieved August 8, 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ a b "The 1974 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll". The Village Voice. January 20, 1975. Retrieved March 21, 2005.
  7. ^ a b Levy, Joe; Steven Van Zandt (2006) [2005]. "111 | Court and Spark – Joni Mitchell". Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (3rd ed.). London: Turnaround. ISBN 1-932958-61-4. OCLC 70672814. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ Ankeny, Jason. Court and Spark at AllMusic. Retrieved July 22, 2005.
  9. ^ "Joni Mitchell: The Studio Albums 1968–1979" at pitchfork.com
  10. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Joni Mitchell > Consumer Guide Reviews". Robert Christgau. Retrieved April 13, 2006.
  11. ^ Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds) (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 769. ISBN 1-57859-061-2. {{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)
  12. ^ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). "Joni Mitchell". The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. London: Fireside. p. 547. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ Walsh, Barry (September 3, 2004). "Joni Mitchell Court and Spark > Review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
  14. ^ a b c "Joni Mitchell Court and Spark". Acclaimed Music. Retrieved March 20, 2014.
  15. ^ Joni Mitchell > Court and Spark > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums at AllMusic
  16. ^ Sharon Mawer. "US number two albums". Freespace.virgin.net. Archived from the original on April 17, 2009. Retrieved August 8, 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ a b Rolling Stone article: "The Rolling Stone Joni Mitchell Interview", by Cameron Crowe. July 26, 1979.
  18. ^ Super Seventies. Court and Spark: Joni Mitchell.. Retrieved February 27, 2009.
  19. ^ "GRAMMYs' Best Albums 1970–1979". grammy.org. Archived from the original on March 4, 2014. Retrieved 2014-04-29. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  20. ^ "Rock On The Net: Grammy Awards: Record of the Year". Retrieved March 20, 2013.
  21. ^ "Rock On The Net: Grammy Awards: Best Pop Solo Performance". Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  22. ^ "Past Winners Search". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
  23. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  24. ^ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 21, No. 7" (PHP). RPM. March 30, 1974. Retrieved April 29, 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  25. ^ "norwegiancharts.com Joni Mitchell – Court and Spark" (ASP). Retrieved April 29, 2014.
  26. ^ "Joni Mitchell > Artists > Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved April 28, 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  27. ^ "Allmusic: Court and Spark : Charts & Awards". allmusic.com. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  28. ^ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1974". RPM. Retrieved October 3, 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  29. ^ "Billboard.BIZ Top Pop Albums of 1974". billboard.biz. Archived from the original on December 31, 2012. Retrieved 2014-04-28. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  30. ^ "American album certifications – Joni Mitchell – Court and Spark". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 22, 2011.

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