Travelling by Ann Powers review – a dazzling life of Joni Mitchell
![Travelling by Ann Powers review – a dazzling life of Joni Mitchell](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c311d8be7e2fd15a005a8539fde3beb6195d3cb9/0_669_4474_2684/master/4474.jpg?width=460&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=bceacb358ee36a16cf8cbc04cbe592b4)
A sweeping study of Mitchell’s life and work that swerves familiar touchstones to create a vibrant, multi-faceted portrait
She felt like a cellophane wrapper on a packet of cigarettes. Every Joni Mitchell fan has heard this description before; it’s how the mercurial artist summed up her naked emotional state while writing her 1971 album, Blue. “It’s virtually impossible to find an account of Blue from the last 50 years that doesn’t include that quote,” writes music critic and author Ann Powers, whose new study of Mitchell doesn’t have much interest in retreading well-beaten paths. “Resist the rush you get imagining Joni’s pain,” Powers instructs. “Where songs start is not that important.”
Travelling is a sweeping study of Mitchell’s life and work that swerves familiar touchstones to create a vibrant, multifaceted portrait of a music enigma. Powers didn’t interview Mitchell. “In this way, I remain a witness, not a friend,” she writes. Yet there are more than two dozen interviews with the artist’s associates including David Crosby, Judy Collins, recent collaborator Brandi Carlile and Mitchell’s ex-husband Larry Klein. With the exception of Mitchell, the book’s most memorable character might be Powers herself, writing in the first person. She is an authoritative and witty companion as Travelling ranges through Mitchell’s life from Saskatoon in Canada to the hills of Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, with stopovers in the beatnik bars of Coral Gables, Florida, and the roadtrip bars captured in the 1976’s album Hejira.
Continue reading...Date: |
Filter
-
Wired - Tech
T3 Aire 360 Air Styler Blowout Kit Review: Powerful and High-End
One of our favorite hair brands does it again, this time with an all-in-one blowout tool to rival Dyson. -
BBC News - Top stories
Tracy-Ann Oberman to return to EastEnders
The actress has already started filming for the scenes, which will air in autumn. -
Yahoo Sports - Sports
Emma Raducanu delights Wimbledon crowd with dazzling win over Elise Mertens
Emma Raducanu brushed aside Elise Mertens at Wimbledon to reach the third round of a grand slam for the first time since her US Open triumph. -
Yahoo Sports - Sports
Mitchell thanks Kings fans, Sacramento in heartfelt post after trade
Davion Mitchell posted a thankful message to Sacramento and the Kings organization after his trade to the Toronto Raptors. -
The Guardian - World
Alex Mitchell: ‘All Blacks are one of the best sides but they’re not unbeatable’
England scrum-half will start the Test series against New Zealand in a team brimming with confidence and hope. One of Alex Mitchell’s strengths is his calm, unflappable temperament. Very little irritates the England scrum-half, an increasingly ... -
CBS News - Entertainment
Ann Wilson announces cancer diagnosis, postpones Heart tour
Ann Wilson, lead singer of rock band Heart, says she has cancer. -
Financial Times - World
The new normal of office life
As working from home persists, companies are rethinking the role of office space -
ABC News - Sports
Paul Skenes dazzles, Pirates tie club record by pounding seven homers in 14-2 demolition of the Mets
Paul Skenes threw seven strong innings and the Pittsburgh Pirates tied a franchise record by smashing seven home runs in a 14-2 demolition of the New York MetsMLB -
The Wall Street Journal - World
'Raffaella' Review: An Enchanted Elegy
At the Morris Performing Arts Center, this fairytale ballet—commissioned by the Stroik family to honor their late daughter, Raffaella—is a tribute to the young dancer’s life and legacy.
More from The Guardian
-
The Guardian - World
France election 2024 live: political deadlock looms after leftwing alliance wins most seats
Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally fails to take power while no party wins absolute majority; PM Gabriel Attal offers resignation. Full report: France election: surprise win for leftwing alliance keeps Le Pen’s far right from powerExplainer: ... -
The Guardian - World
‘We were so scared’: France’s centrist and leftwing voters breathe sigh of relief
Early election predictions of far-right majority were proved wrong but questions remain over future. A nervous energy rippled through the crowd gathered at Lyon’s Place de la République. As the final polls closed in the most momentous election in ... -
The Guardian - World
New Caledonia: historic win for pro-independence candidate in French elections
Indigenous Kanak Emmanuel Tjibaou becomes first pro-independence candidate to win seat in nearly four decades. See all our French election coverageNew Caledonia has elected a pro-independence Indigenous Kanak candidate to France’s parliament for ...France -
The Guardian - World
France’s progressives keep out the far right, but what could happen next?
While the left-green alliance look set to form the largest bloc, country could face years of political paralysis. French election 2024 – liveThe New Popular Front (NFP), a left-green alliance dominated by Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s radical left Unbowed ... -
The Guardian - World
Temperatures 1.5C above pre-industrial era average for 12 months, data shows
Copernicus Climate Change Service says results a ‘large and continuing shift’ in the climate. The world has baked for 12 consecutive months in temperatures 1.5C (2.7F) greater than their average before the fossil fuel era, new data shows.. ...