Joni Mitchell to Release Performance Recorded by Jimi Hendrix
On March 19, 1968, Joni Mitchell performed at an Ottawa, Ontario, coffeehouse with a notable guest in the audience: Jimi Hendrix. A newly recovered tape of her two-set performance, which was recorded by Hendrix himself, will be released later this year as part of Joni Mitchell Archives Vol. 2: The Reprise Years (1968-1971). (The first volume was released last fall. )
Earlier that day, Hendrix, who was scheduled to perform at the nearby Capitol Theater, had spoken to Mitchell. "Talked with Joni Mitchell on the phone," he wrote in his diary. "I think I’ll record her tonight with my excellent tape recorder (knock on wood) ... hmmm ... can’t find any wood ... everything’s plastic.”
True to his word, after finishing his own shows, Hendrix brought his reel-to-reel recorder into the Le Hibou Coffee House and set up shop, later writing that Mitchell, whose debut album, Song to a Seagull, came out just a few days later, was a “fantastic girl with heaven words.” Hendrix's tapes were stolen not long afterward and thought to be lost until recently, when they were donated to the Library and Archives of Canada from a private collection and returned to Mitchell.
You can listen to one of the Hendrix-recorded songs, "The Dawntreader," below.
Mitchell recalled the evening when she spoke to Cameron Crowe for the liner notes of Archives Vol. 2: “They came and told me, ‘Jimi Hendrix is here, and he’s at the front door.' I went to meet him. He had a large box. He said to me, ‘My name is Jimi Hendrix. I'm on the same label as you. Reprise Records.’ We were both signed about the same time. He said, ‘I'd like to record your show. Do you mind?’ I said, ‘No, not at all.’ There was a large reel-to-reel tape recorder in the box.
“The stage was only about a foot off the ground," Mitchell noted. "He knelt at edge of the stage, with a microphone, at my feet. All during the show, he kept twisting knobs. He was engineering it. I don't know what he was controlling, volume? He was watching the needles or something, messing with knobs. He beautifully recorded this tape. Of course, I played part of the show to him. He was right below me.”
Joni Mitchell Archives Vol. 2: The Reprise Years (1968-1971) will be released on Oct. 29 and will include a live album from Carnegie Hall in 1969, a recording of her 1969 appearance on The Dick Cavett Show, two BBC sessions from 1970 and more. The full track listing can be found below.
Joni Mitchell, 'Joni Mitchell Archives Vol. 2: The Reprise Years (1968-1971),' Track Listing
Disc One
Joni’s home (late 1967/early 1968)
1. “Midnight Cowboy” – Version one
2. “The Dawntreader” – Demo with vocal overdub
3. “Song To A Seagull”
4. “Midnight Cowboy” – Version two
Jane Lurie’s Apartment, Chelsea, Manhattan, New York City, NY (late 1967/early 1968)
5. “The Way It Is”
6. “Turn Around” – Incomplete
Home Demo, Joni’s home (late 1967/early 1968)
7. “I Had A King” – Demo with piano overdub
8. “Roses Blue” – Demo with peacock harp overdub
9. “The Fiddle And The Drum” – Piano demo
Song To A Seagull Session, Sunset Sound, Hollywood, CA (January 24, 1968)
10. “Jeremy”
11. “Conversation”
12. “Both Sides Now”
13. “The Gift Of The Magi”
Jane Lurie’s Apartment, Chelsea, Manhattan, New York City, NY (early 1968)
14. “It’s Easy”
15. “Another Melody”
Live at Canterbury House, Ann Arbor, MI (March 10, 1968)
16. Introduction
17. “Jeremy”
18. “Songs To Aging Children Come”
Disc Two
Le Hibou Coffee House, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Recorded by Jimi Hendrix (March 19, 1968)
First Set
1. “Night In The City”
2. “Come To The Sunshine”
3. Intro to “The Pirate Of Penance”
4. “The Pirate Of Penance”
5. “Conversation”
6. “The Way It Is”
7. Intro to “The Dawntreader”
8. “The Dawntreader”
Second Set
9. “Marcie”
10. Intro to “Nathan La Franeer”
11. “Nathan La Franeer”
12. Intro to “Dr. Junk”
13. “Dr. Junk”
14. Intro to “Michael From Mountains”
15. “Michael From Mountains”
16. “Go Tell The Drummer Man”
17. Intro to “I Don’t Know Where I Stand”
18. “I Don’t Know Where I Stand”
19. Intro to “Sisotowbell Lane”
20. “Sisotowbell Lane”
21. Intro to “Ladies Of The Canyon”
22. “Ladies Of The Canyon”
Studio Session, Western Recorders, Hollywood, CA (May 31, 1968)
23. “Come To The Sunshine”
Jane Lurie’s Apartment, Chelsea, Manhattan, New York City, NY (summer 1968)
24. “My Second Album”
25. “Lambert, Hendricks & Ross”
26. “The Pirate Of Penance”
Top Gear BBC Radio Broadcast, London, England (recorded September 23, 1968)
27. Intro to “Chelsea Morning”
28. “Chelsea Morning” – with the John Cameron Group
29. Intro to “The Gallery”
30. “The Gallery”
31. Intro to “Night In The City”
32. “Night In The City” – with the John Cameron Group
Disc Three
Live at Carnegie Hall, New York City, NY (February 1, 1969)
First Set
1. “Chelsea Morning”
2. A Valentine for Joni
3. “Cactus Tree”
4. “Night In The City”
5. “I Had A King”
6. “Blue Boy”
7. My American Skirt
8. “The Fiddle And The Drum”
9. Spoony’s Wonderful Adventure
10. “That Song About The Midway”
11. “Both Sides Now”
Second Set
12. “Marcie”
13. “Nathan La Franeer”
14. Intro to “The Gallery”
15. “The Gallery”
16. “Hunter”
17. “Morning Morgantown”
18. Intro to “Get Together”
19. “Get Together”
20. Intro to “The Circle Game/Little Green”
21. “The Circle Game/Little Green”
Encore
22. “Michael From Mountains”
Disc Four
Live at Carnegie Hall, New York City, NY (February 1, 1969)
1. Intro to “Urge For Going”
2. “Urge For Going”
Clouds Sessions, A&M Studios, Hollywood, CA (spring 1969)
3. “Conversation”
4. “Blue Boy”
5. “The Priest”
Jane Lurie’s Apartment, Chelsea, Manhattan, New York City, NY (mid 1969)
6. “Jesus”
7. Playing piano and vocalizing
The Dick Cavett Show ABC TV Broadcast, New York City, NY (Recorded August 18, 1969)
8. “Chelsea Morning”
9. “Willy”
10. “For Free”
11. Interview
12. “The Fiddle And The Drum”
Ladies Of The Canyon Demo Session, A&M Studios, Hollywood, CA (late 1969)
13. “Woodstock”
Live at Centennial Auditorium, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada (November 1, 1969)
14. “As I Lie Thinking In My Backyard On August 2nd”
15. “Roses Blue”
16. “Rainy Night House”
Ladies Of The Canyon Sessions, A&M Studios, Hollywood, CA (late 1969)
17. “Ladies Of The Canyon” – with cellos
18. “Blue Boy” – with recorder coda
In Concert BBC TV Broadcast, (recorded September 3, 1970)
19. “All I Want”
Blue Demo Sessions, A&M Studios, Hollywood, CA (September 1970)
20. "A Case Of You”
21. “California”
Disc Five
In Concert BBC Radio Broadcast, Paris Theatre, London England (recorded October 29, 1970)
1. Introduction
2. “That Song About The Midway”
3. Intro to “The Gallery”
4. “The Gallery”
5. “Hunter”
6. Intro to “River”
7. “River”
8. “My Old Man”
9. “The Priest”
10. This is a mountain dulcimer
11. “Carey”
12. “A Case Of You” – with James Taylor
13. Intro to “California” – with James Taylor
14. “California” – with James Taylor
15. Intro to “For Free” – with James Taylor
16. “For Free” – with James Taylor
17. Intro to “The Circle Game” – with James Taylor
18. “The Circle Game” – with James Taylor
19. Intro to “You Can Close Your Eyes” – with James Taylor
20. “You Can Close Your Eyes” – with James Taylor
21. “Both Sides Now”
22. Intro to “Big Yellow Taxi”
23. “Big Yellow Taxi”
Blue Sessions, A&M Studios, Hollywood, CA (late 1970/early 1971)
24. “Hunter”
25. “River” – with French horns
26. “Urge For Going” – with strings