Joni Mitchell Archives Vol 4: Asylum Years (1976-80) Box Set Due With Loads of Extras - Best Classic Bands (2024)

The significant presentation of Joni Mitchell’s vast untapped archives continues with the news of recordings and performances from her innovate period with Asylum Records from 1976-1980. Rhino has announced Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 4: The Asylum Years (1976-1980), a period in which the extraordinary singer-songwriter continued to creatively break ground with her fearless and fluid exploration of jazz. The collection, coming on 6-CDs and 4-LPs (highlights) on October 4, 2024, includes powerful live tracks from her time in Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue during the 1975 and 1976 tour of the U.S., along with previously unissued material from original stereo reels, cassette tapes, CD-Rs, and even a radio broadcast. The CD set is available to pre-order in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here. The LP collection can be pre-order in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here.

From the August 8 announcement: Rather than tread the same path, Mitchell challenged and reinvented her style with a folk fusion like no other. Ascending to an unrivaled sonic peak, this innovative sound took shape across the gold-certified Hejira [1976], the double-LP Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter [1977], her collaboration with Charles Mingus entitled Mingus [1979], and live album Shadows and Light [1980].The latest collection is the logical companion to those remastered studio albums that were reissued on June 21. [Details here.]

Listen to “Intro To Coyote / Coyote” at The Forum, Montreal, December 4, 1975

This GRAMMY-winning series explores Mitchell’s rare recordings — a project guided intimately by her own vision and personal touch. The newest set’s 4-LP edition specifically consists of her personal favorites from the 6-CD version. Each edition includes a book with never-before-seen photos and liner notes comprising a deep dive discussion between Mitchell and longtime friend Cameron Crowe. As part of their candid conversation, she shares intimate anecdotes, memories, and stories from that five-year creative run.

This comprehensive and essential set spans one of the most prolific periods of her storied career. It boasts the live tracks from her time in Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue, pulls back the curtain by showcasing early recordings and alternate takes from the respective sessions for Hejira, Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter, and Mingus, covers the Bread & Roses Festival as well as the Anti-Nuclear Rally. Finally, Vol. 4 chronicles her 1979 tour, even showcasing two tracks from the rehearsals. Tracks include her collaborations with jazz legends Herbie Hanco*ck, Jaco Pastorious, Wayne Shorter and Pat Metheny.

Newly mixed tracks came from multi-track tapes, while a handful of hi-res digital tracks have been sourced from the Bob Dylan Archives. The collection includes performances of such well known songs as “Help Me,” “Free Man in Paris, “Big Yellow Taxi” and “Raised on Robbery.” See the complete track listing below.

Previous editions of Mitchell’s Archives are available here.

This October 19-20, Mitchell will be headlining her own “Joni Jam” at the Hollywood Bowl featuring special guests, her first Los Angeles headlining shows in more than two decades.

Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 4: The Asylum Years (1976-1980)6-CD Track Listing

Disc One:

Rolling Thunder Revue

Live In Niagara Falls
Convention Center, Niagara Falls, NY, November 15, 1975
Recorded by L.A. Johnson & Petur Hliddal

1. Jericho

Live at Harvard Square Theater
Cambridge, MA, November 20, 1975
Recording supervised by Don DeVito; Mixed by Sean Brennan

2. Introduction – Bob Neuwirth
3. Edith and the Kingpin
4. Don’t Interrupt The Sorrow

Live at Music Hall
Boston, MA, November 21, 1975
Recording supervised by Don DeVito; Mixed by Patrick Milligan

5. Introduction – Bob Neuwirth
6. Harry’s House

Live in Bangor
Bangor, ME, November 27, 1975
Recorded by L.A. Johnson & Petur Hliddal

7. A Case of You

Gordon Lightfoot’s House
Toronto, ON, Canada, November 30, 1975
Recorded by L.A. Johnson & Petur Hliddal

8. Woman of Heart and Mind

Live at Montreal Forum
Montreal, QC, Canada, December 4, 1975
Recording supervised by Don DeVito; Mixed by Sean Brennan

9. Introduction – Bob Neuwirth
10. Intro to Coyote
11. Coyote

1976 Tour of the United States
Recorded by Stanley Johnston from PA mixes by Brian Jonathan
(Courtesy of the estate of Stanley Tajima Johnston)

Live in Madison
Dane County Coliseum, Madison, WI, February 29, 1976

12. Help Me

Live at Music Hall
Boston, MA, February 19, 1976

13. Love or Money
14. Free Man in Paris
15. For The Roses
16. Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire
17. Big Yellow Taxi
18. Shades of Scarlett Conquering

Live at Nassau Coliseum
Uniondale, NY, February 20, 1976

19. For Free

Disc Two:

Live at Music Hall
Boston, MA, February 19, 1976

1. Intro to Coyote/Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter
2. Coyote/Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter

Live in Madison
Dane County Coliseum, Madison, WI, February 29, 1976

3. Just Like This Train

Live at Music Hall
Boston, MA, February 19, 1976

4. Shadows and Light
5. In France They Kiss on Main Street

Live at Duke University
Cameron Stadium, Durham, NC, February 7, 1976

6. Traveling (Hejira)

Live at Music Hall
Boston, MA, February 19, 1976

7. Edith and the Kingpin
8. Talk To Me
9. Harry’s House/Centerpiece
10. Intro to Furry Sings the Blues
11. Furry Sings The Blues
12. Trouble Child
13. Rainy Night House

Live at Duke University
Cameron Stadium, Durham, NC, February 7, 1976

14. Don’t Interrupt The Sorrow

Live at Music Hall
Boston, MA, February 19, 1976

15. Raised on Robbery
16. The Jungle Line
17. Twisted

Disc Three:

Hejira Demos
A&M Studios, Hollywood, CA, March 1976
Recorded by Henry Lewy; Mixed by Patrick Milligan

1. Furry Sings The Blues
2. Traveling (Hejira)
3. Dreamland
4. Talk To Me
5. Coyote/Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter
6. Black Crow
7. Amelia
8. Blue Motel Room
9. A Strange Boy

Rolling Thunder Revue
Tarrant County Convention Center, Fort Worth, TX, May 16, 1976
Recording supervised by Don DeVito; Engineered by
Don Meehan; Mixed by Patrick Milligan

10. Black Cow
11. Intro to Song For Sharon
12. Song For Sharon

Hejira Sessions
A&M Studios, Hollywood, CA, Summer 1976
Recorded & Mixed by Henry Lewy

13. Refuge of the Roads (Early Mix with Horns)
14. Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter (Early Rough Mix)

Disc Four:

Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter Sessions
A&M Studios, Hollywood, CA
Recorded & Mixed by Henry Lewy

1. “Save Magic” (Paprika Plains Embryonic Version)
2. Otis and Marlena (Early Rough Mix)

Mingus Sessions
Electric Lady Studios, New York, NY
Recorded & Mixed by Henry Lewy & Jerry Solomon

3. Sweet Sucker Dance (Vocals & Drums Version – Take 5)
4. A Chair in the Sky (Early Alternate Version – Take 6)
5. Sweet Sucker Dance (Early Alternate Version)

Live at Bread & Roses Festival
Greek Theatre, Berkeley, CA, September 2 & 3, 1978
Recorded & Mixed by Henry Lewy

6. Introduction
7. The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines
8. Intro to A Chair In The Sky
9. A Chair In The Sky
10. Intro to Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
11. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
12. Intro to The Wolf That Lives In Lindsey
13. The Wolf That Lives In Lindsey

Mingus Early Alternate Version
Electric Lady Studios, New York, NY and A&M Studios,
Hollywood, CA, 1978 & 1979
Recorded & Mixed by Henry Lewy & Jerry Solomon

14. A Good Suit and A Good Haircut
15. God Must Be A Boogie Man
16. Solo for Old Fat Girl’s Soul
17. The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines

Disc Five:

1. Sue and the Holy River

Mingus Sessions
A&M Studios, Hollywood, CA, 1979
Recorded & Mixed by Henry Lewy

2. The Wolf That Lives In Lindsey

Live at May 6 Coalition Rally Against Nuclear Power
National Mall, Washington, D.C., May 6, 1979

3. Introduction – Graham Nash
4. Big Yellow Taxi

1979 Tour Rehearsals
SIR Rehearsal Studios, Los Angeles, CA
Recorded by Joel Bernstein

5. Jericho
6. Help Me

1979 Tour of the United States

Live at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium
Queens, NY, August 25, 1979
Recorded by Joel Bernstein from PA mix by Ed Wynne

7. Big Yellow Taxi
8. Just Like This Train
9. In France They Kiss On Main Street
10. Coyote
11. Edith and The Kingpin
12. Free Man In Paris
13. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
14. Jaco’s Solo/ Third Stone From The Sun
15. The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines

Disc Six:

1. Amelia
2. Pat’s Solo
3. Hejira
4. Don’s Solo
5. Dreamland
6. Black Crow
7. Furry Sings The Blues
8. Intro to God Must Be A Boogie Man
9. God Must Be A Boogie Man
10. Raised On Robbery
11. Shadows and Light
12. The Last Time I Saw Richard
13. Why Do Fools Fall In Love

Live in Philadelphia
Robin Hood Dell West, Philadelphia, PA, August 28, 1979
Recorded by Joel Bernstein from PA mix by Ed Wynne

14. Woodstock

Live at Greek Theatre
Los Angeles, CA, September 13, 1979
Recorded by Andy Johns & Henry Lewy; Mixed by Patrick Milligan

15. Intro to A Chair In The Sky
16. A Chair In The Sky