Joni Mitchell

If, like me, you were slightly obsessed with Joni Mitchell & her music back in the '60s and '70s, two new books will take you back to that special musical time. Will You Take Me as I Am by Michelle Mercer focuses particularly on Joni's breakthrough album, Blue. Mercer interviews some of the young people who hung out with Joni and the real "Carey" in Crete; she discovers the background for the hauntingly beautiful song "River;" and reveals some of biographical sources for my personal favorite, "The Last Time I Saw Richard." Mercer also looks at Joni's other albums from that time & I really enjoyed her analysis and background on my favorite Mitchell album, Hejira (does everyone know that the cover of that album was taken Madison's own Picnic Point??).

Sheila Weller's Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon--and the Journey of a Generation is also a fascinating book. Weller talks about the importance not only of these women's music, but the influence and inspiration they provided to women at that time. I recommend both these titles to music lovers & historians of that period. --Liz