What people search:
 | Title : Hits
Author : Joni Mitchell
Release Date : 19961029
Binding : Audio CD
Regular Price : $17.98
Amazon.com Price : $13.05
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Editorial Reviews :
She's only had four bona fide Top-40 American hits, and one was a Miles of Aisles live version of 'Big Yellow Taxi' that's not included here. But after almost 30 years, she's finally delivered a 15-song compilation of her signature songs that will be a CD point-of-departure for casual fans and newcomers well into the new millennium. The companion Misses volume is an intriguing curio that might rather more generously have been marketed as a bonus disc.
Buyer Reviews :
Joni was never a singles artist. Hits have been few and far between, in whatever country you care to name. Yet her albums have always sold well, and some of her songs have become popular. This compilation of her best songs could be called Best of, or Classics, or even Gold, but not Hits. There aren't many of those. Some might have been hits if they had been covered by other artists, as Woodstock and Both sides now. While Joni has a lovely, clear voice, her style of music never fitted the singles market.
The most famous song here is surely Both sides now, which has been covered by many singers since Judy Collins had a hit with it. Legend has it that Joni rang Judy in the small hours one morning and sang it to her, begging her to record. Neither of them were especially well known at the time, but Judy was more widely recognised than Joni. After the song became a big hit (in Britain and America), both quickly established themselves. Judy also covered Chelsea morning, another fine song of Joni's included here.
Woodstock, a song about the pop concert of 1969, was a British number one hit for Matthews southern comfort in 1971. They never had another hit.
Big yellow taxi was Joni's biggest hit by far - it just missed the top ten in Britain, although I must confess I'm not sure if the hit was the original studio version (included here) or a live recording. I know that it was the live version that was a hit in America.
Country singer Gail Davies did a lovely cover of You turn me on I'm a radio, but my favorite song here (apart from Both sides now) is Chinese café, a song which cleverly weaves a segment of Unchained melody into the lyrics. I'd love to hear Joni sing Unchained melody on its own, but I don't actually recall her covering anybody else's songs - and why should she, when she can write such great songs as those here?
Of course, these are generally her best songs. They are not the only ones worth hearing, but this a good place to start a Joni Mitchell collection. Her style changed somewhat over the years, so you can easily decide which other albums to go for after hearing this.
(by petethemusicfan)
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