Clouds

Joni Mitchell took the reigns for production on this record, and immediately fixed a lot of the issues I had with her debut, the mix is much clearer now and she no longer sounds like she was wearing a mask while singing. I still think a lot of the songs are a bit too similar to one another but the songwriting on this record became tighter and there are so many lyrical highlights, I loved the cheerful “Chelsea Morning” and the honesty in “I Don’t Know Where I Stand”. I adored the imagery and the small changes to each successive chorus in “The Gallery” that made the storytelling of that song so engaging. ‘Fear is like a wilderland/Stepping stones or sinking sand’ in the chorus of “I Think I Understand” is probably my favourite couplet in the whole album, but nothing compares to the pure poetry that is “Both Sides Now”, just so incredibly profound and mature and moving, some of the best lyrics I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. The album, while lacking in variety sonically, is worth checking out just for that song alone.

Absolute Favourite: Both Sides Now
Least Fav: Songs to Aging Children Come