In one of those weird Random Weekend coincidences, the Random iTunes Fairy has served up a song from Brad Paisley’s sophomore album the day after landing on one from his debut. The odds of a song from 2001’s Part II following yesterday’s selection were 1 in 1,010.
The mischievous Fairy chose to land on the corniest song on that album, and perhaps the corniest song in Paisley’s whole catalog.
Here’s a simple heartbreak track from Brad Paisley’s debut album, 1999’s Who Needs Pictures.
Listening to the song in preparation for this post, my first instinct was to offer it up for one of my favorite musical game shows: Dead or Dumped? Is this song about a man who broke up with his girlfriend/wife, or a man who suffered through her death?
I might have spoken too soon yesterday. I’ve finally arrived at a Joni Mitchell album that even her die-hard fans have a hard time defending.
1979’s Mingus, Mitchell’s 10th studio album, is the culmination of her jazz phase. A collaboration with jazz great Charles Mingus released just after his death, the album features two songs written by Mitchell and four with lyrics by Mitchell and music by Mingus. The other five “rap” tracks include snippets of studio banter.
Joni Mitchell continued her torrid pace in 1977, releasing her ninth album in 10 years. This one was a doozy.
Every major artist seems to have at least one grab bag double album in them, and Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter was Mitchell’s. This hour-long opus features only ten songs, including the 16-minute epic ‘Paprika Plains,’ which ran for the entirety of Side Two.
The record dived even deeper into her fascination with jazz fusion, and features contributions from celebrated jazz musicians, most notably bassist Jaco Pastorius and other members of his band Weather Report.
I’ve seen a lot of fans name 1976’s Hejira, Joni Mitchell’s eighth album, as their favorite of her releases. And I get it. This is a lush, emotional, warm record, brimming with great poetry and beautiful music.
But it’s also a bit of a chore. The nine-song cycle runs over 50 minutes, with multiple tracks topping the six-minute mark. None of the songs have traditional choruses, just four or five (or six) long meandering verses. This album requires you to either pay very close attention or pay no attention at all.
