Court and Spark explained

Court and Spark
Type:Album
Artist:Joni Mitchell
Cover:Courtandspark.jpeg
Released:January 17, 1974
Recorded:1973
Studio:A&M, Hollywood[1]
Length:36:58
Label:Asylum
Producer:Joni Mitchell
Prev Title:For the Roses
Prev Year:1972
Next Title:Miles of Aisles
Next Year:1974

Court and Spark is the sixth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. Released in January 1974, it infuses the folk rock style of her previous albums with jazz elements.

It was an immediate commercial and critical success—and remains her most successful album. It reached No. 2 in the United States and No. 1 in Canada and eventually received a double platinum certification by the RIAA, the highest of Mitchell's career.[2] It also reached the Top 20 in the UK and was voted the best album of the year for 1974 in The Village Voice Pazz & Jop Critics Poll.[3] In 2020, it was ranked at number 110 in Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[4]

In 2004, Court and Spark was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[5]

Background

Mitchell did not release a new album in 1973, the first year she had not done so in her professional career. Her previous offering, For the Roses, was released in November 1972 to critical and commercial success, and Mitchell decided to spend the whole of the next year writing and recording a new album that revealed her growing interest in new sounds—particularly jazz. During 1973 her stage appearances were fewer than in previous years. She performed in April in a benefit concert at the Sir George Williams University Auditorium and then appeared live again in August, twice at The Corral Club, accompanied by Neil Young.

Mitchell spent most of 1973 in the recording studio creating Court and Spark. Mitchell and engineer Henry Lewy called in a number of top L.A. musicians to perform on the album including members of the Crusaders, Tom Scott's L.A. Express, cameos from Robbie Robertson, David Crosby and Graham Nash and even a twist of comedy from Cheech & Chong.

Release and reception

On December 1, 1973, Asylum Records released a single, her first in over a year, "Raised on Robbery".[6] The single reached No. 65 on the Billboard Singles Chart in February 1974.[7] In January 1974, Court and Spark was released, and met with widespread critical acclaim and commercial success. Its success was reaffirmed when the follow-up single, "Help Me", was released in March. It received heavy radio airplay and became Mitchell's first and only top 10 Billboard single, peaking at No. 7 on the Hot 100 in the first week of June, and reaching No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.Court and Spark became a big seller that year, peaking at No.2 on the Billboard album chart and staying there for four weeks. The album topped the US Cashbox and Record World charts for one week each.[8] [9]

In a July 1979 interview with Cameron Crowe for Rolling Stone, Mitchell recounted playing the newly completed Court and Spark to Bob Dylan, during which he fell asleep.[10] She later suggested that Dylan was probably trying to be "cute" in front of label boss David Geffen, who was also present.

Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks recalled taking LSD to the album: "I was with my producer, at his house, with a set of speakers that were taller than that fireplace, and I was in a safe place. And I sat there on the floor and listened to that record… That was a pretty dynamic experience."[11]

In 2000 it was voted number 116 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[12]

Honors

Grammy Awards|-| style="width:35px; text-align:center;" rowspan="4"|1975 ||Court and Spark || Album of the Year[18] || |-| rowspan="2"|"Help Me" || Record of the Year[19] || |-| Best Female Pop Vocal Performance[20] || |-| "Down to You" (arranger: Joni Mitchell and Tom Scott) || Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)[21] || |-

Track listing

All tracks are written by Joni Mitchell, except where noted.

Side one
  1. "Court and Spark" – 2:46
  2. "Help Me" – 3:22
  3. "Free Man in Paris" – 3:02
  4. "People's Parties" – 2:15
  5. "The Same Situation" – 2:57
Side two
  1. "Car on a Hill" – 3:02
  2. "Down to You" – 5:38
  3. "Just Like This Train" – 4:24
  4. "Raised on Robbery" – 3:06
  5. "Trouble Child" – 4:00
  6. "Twisted" (Annie Ross, Wardell Gray) – 2:21

Personnel

Additional personnel

Technical personnel

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (1974)! scope="col"
Position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[22] 34
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[23] 1
US Cash Box Top 100 Albums[24] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (1974)! scope="col"
Position
Canadian Albums Chart[25] 23
US Billboard Pop Albums[26] 13

Certifications

Notes and References

  1. Book: Joni Mitchell . 9781589792210 . Bego . Mark . May 26, 2005. Taylor Trade Publications .
  2. Web site: Gold & Platinum – August 07, 2010 . RIAA . August 8, 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070626051113/http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS . June 26, 2007.
  3. News: . January 20, 1975 . The 1974 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll . March 21, 2005 . PazzJop.
  4. 2020-09-22. The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 2021-10-09. Rolling Stone. en-US.
  5. Web site: GRAMMY HALL OF FAME AWARD . 2023-07-17 . www.grammy.com.
  6. Web site: Joni Mitchell: "Raised On Robbery" (1973) . September 16, 2019 . Progrography . 24 July 2020.
  7. Joni Mitchell . . 24 July 2020.
  8. Web site: RECORD WORLD MAGAZINE: 1942 to 1982. americanradiohistory.com. August 12, 2019.
  9. Web site: CASH BOX MAGAZINE: Music and coin machine magazine 1942 to 1996. www.americanradiohistory.com. August 12, 2019.
  10. Rolling Stone. The Rolling Stone Joni Mitchell Interview. Cameron. Crowe. Cameron Crowe. July 26, 1979.
  11. Sylvie. Simmons. Sylvie Simmons. The Q Interview. Q. May 2008. 262. 112.
  12. Book: All Time Top 1000 Albums. Colin Larkin. Virgin Books. 2000. 3rd. 0-7535-0493-6. 79.
  13. Web site: Gold & Platinum. RIAA.
  14. Book: All Time Top 1000 Albums. Colin Larkin. Colin Larkin (writer). Virgin Books. 2000. 3rd. 0-7535-0493-6. 79.
  15. Book: Levy, Joe. Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Steven Van Zandt. Turnaround. 2006. 1-932958-61-4. 3rd. London. 111 | Court and Spark – Joni Mitchell. 70672814. RS500. March 21, 2005. 2005. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/cort-and-spark-joni-mitchell-19691231. November 4, 2011. https://archive.today/20111104062255/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/cort-and-spark-joni-mitchell-19691231. dead.
  16. 500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. 2012. Rolling Stone. September 19, 2019.
  17. Web site: 1001 Albums you must hear before you die – The 70s. RateYourMusic.com.
  18. Web site: GRAMMYs' Best Albums 1970–1979 . grammy.org . April 29, 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140304111252/http://www.grammy.org/recording-academy/news/grammys-best-albums-0 . March 4, 2014.
  19. Web site: Rock On The Net: Grammy Awards: Record of the Year. March 20, 2013.
  20. Web site: Rock On The Net: Grammy Awards: Best Pop Solo Performance. February 2, 2014.
  21. Web site: Past Winners Search. National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. April 29, 2014.
  22. Book: Kent, David. Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book. St Ives, NSW. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. Kent Music Report.
  23. Top Albums/CDs – Volume 21, No. 7. RPM. PHP. March 30, 1974. April 29, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140429183032/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.4997a&type=1&interval=50&PHPSESSID=c6btf3r8hs459qqt5ln3o3dcv5. April 29, 2014. dead.
  24. Cash Box Top 100 Albums . Cash Box. March 16, 1974. 29. 16 July 2024.
  25. RPM Top 100 Albums of 1974. RPM. October 3, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20140429080444/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.3891&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=c6btf3r8hs459qqt5ln3o3dcv5. April 29, 2014. dead.
  26. Web site: https://archive.today/20121231123035/http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/archivesearch/article_display/855864?imw=Y . Billboard.BIZ Top Pop Albums of 1974 . billboard.biz . December 31, 2012 . April 28, 2014 . dead.

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