Joni Mitchell - MISSES |

Personnel includes: Joni Mitchell (vocals, arranger, acoustic guitar, dulcimer, piano, keyboards, percussion, programming); David Baerwald (vocals); James Taylor (guitar, background vocals); Bill Dillon, Michael Landau, Robben Ford (guitar); Abe Most (clarinet); Wayne Shorter (soprano saxophone); Chuck Findley (trumpet); Larry Klein (keyboards, bass, percussion); Joe Sample (keybords); Max Bennett, Jaco Pastorius (bass);
Manu Katche (drums, percussion); Vinnie Colaiuta, John Guerin (drums); Don Alias (congas); Alex Acuna, Michael Fisher, Emil Richards, Bobbye Hall (percussion); Benjamin Orr, Don Henley (background vocals).
Producers include: Joni Mitchell, Larry Klein, Mike Shipley.
All tracks have been digitally remastered using HDCD technology.
Personnel: Joni Mitchell (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, dulcimer, piano, keyboards, percussion, drum programming); David Baerwald (vocals); Michael Landau (guitar, electric guitar); James Taylor (guitar, background vocals); Robben Ford, Bill Dillon (guitar); Abe Most (clarinet); Wayne Shorter (soprano saxophone); Chuck Findley (trumpet); Larry Klein (keyboards, percussion); Joe Sample (keyboards); Manu Katch? (drums, talking drum, percussion); John Guerin, Vinnie Colaiuta (drums); Don Alias (congas); Alex Acu?a & the Unknowns, Alex Acu?a (bata, percussion); Emil Richards, Bobbye Hall (percussion); Don Henley, Benjamin Orr (background vocals).
Audio Mixer: Tony Phillips.
Photographer: Norman Seeff.
Unknown Contributor Role: Michael Fisher.
Arranger: Joni Mitchell.
While HITS, released the same day, concentrates on songs that have entrenched themselves in the public consciousness, MISSES centers on the ones that may have slipped through the cracks over the years, but are just as deserving of your rapt attention. The bulk of this collection is occupied by songs from Mitchell's late '80s and '90s albums, which contained some of her most innovative and adventurous material. It was that very experimentalism that alienated Mitchell from her top-40 fans, which may have been a blessing in disguise. Freed of public expectations, the composer could now explore all the arcane intricacies of her muse.
Mitchell's '90s work, as represented by "Sex Kills" and "Passion Play (When All The Slaves Are Free)," has an overt socio-political context, giving her a more earthly focus than did the personal, abstract concerns of her earlier, better-known work. She addresses environmental issues, class struggle and AIDS without the didacticism that brings down similar efforts by others. The smooth, elegant production Mitchell favored on her later releases left many folk purists cold, but there are endless layers of delicately-arranged harmonic tapestries to be appreciated in late-model Joni. MISSES also features some unjustly obscure tracks from early albums, including "The Arrangement" and "A Case Of You." Whatever period of Mitchell's work you favor, MISSES offers an opportunity to delve deeper into the oeuvre of a complicated and unpredictable artist.

• Format: CD
• Genre: Rock
• Released: 1996-10-29
• Format: CD
• Genre: ROCK
• Released: 1996-10-29