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Court and Spark (33⅓ #40)

by Sean Nelson

3.10 · rating details · 31 ratings · 11 reviews

Court and Spark isJoni Mitchell's most overt attempt at making a hit record, full ofglossy production, catchy choruses, and even guest stars from everystratum of rock culture, high (Robbie Robertson) and low (Cheech andChong). The record was a smash, reaching number two on the charts inMarch of 1974, spawning three hit singles; Help Me, Free Man in Parisand Raised on Robbe...more

Paperback, 118 pages

Published December 20th 2006 by Continuum

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Aug 12, 2010

Paul rated it

Shelves: awopbopaloobopalopbamboom

Get your sick bag out now.

"The narrator of "People's Parties" feels like a cipher among the beautiful people, but not (necessarily) because she isn't beautiful, too. It's because she can detect the unspoken pain lurking in every exchange, in every fellow traveler standing in the corner thinking he's nobody, and it prevents her from being a good party guest. As the song moves toward its close, the party still presumably raging on, she wishes for "more sense o...more
Get your sick bag out now.

"The narrator of "People's Parties" feels like a cipher among the beautiful people, but not (necessarily) because she isn't beautiful, too. It's because she can detect the unspoken pain lurking in every exchange, in every fellow traveler standing in the corner thinking he's nobody, and it prevents her from being a good party guest. As the song moves toward its close, the party still presumably raging on, she wishes for "more sense of humor / keeping the sadness at bay / throwing the lightness on these things / laughing it all away." The final line expands into a stack of Mitchells singing in tight harmony, and is soon joined by another Joni chorus offering a shrill, teasing counterpoint ("laughing it all, laughing it all, laughing it all"). And as the final word stretches into a long, multi-syllabic sound — "away-ee-hee-ee-ee-heeeee"—the outro takes on the character of a chant, like her wish for increased levity were being pulled taut to reveal what she really wants: to be away. It's telling that she wishes for more sense of humor
rather than, say, the resolve to stay away from the parties in the first place — but she told you when she met you she was crazy. It's not that she wants to belong (the sad fact is that she already does belong); she wants to be able to mask the way she really feels, the better to endure the incredible sadness all around her. The ultimate reveal in this little Altman film — and the real reason why only Altman could direct it — is that while the narrator is spending all her time feeling separate from all the people at this party, she never quite grasps the fact that she is perfectly one of them, and perhaps more poignantly, that the alienation she feels keeping her separate from her counterparts is precisely what unites them all. As the picture fades, to the tune of a dozen Joni Mitchells in an incantatory crisscross, the image of a roomful of prosperous guests, all angels in various stages of falling, all convinced they're alone, no matter how together they are."

It just goes on and on and on like this, its insights all handmedowns and its style the screech on a blackboard in an undergraduate seminar on 1970s rock culture. It depresses me in the same way Court and Spark itself depresses me, which is not in the way Joni intended at all, it being the album which marks the parting of the ways between myself and herself. And also, it's exactly the kind of "rock criticism" I would have written at the age of 22. Somebody stopped me then and I'm forever grateful now.
This 33 1/3 series is so cute like a series of little teeny cute things can be but it's like the bad boy in class with the pretty eyes - one minute he'll be writing a dream of an essay, next minute he'll be in the head's office for posting embarrasing videos of teachers on youtube. The idea that the great variety of albums considered in this series each demand an individual style is obvious and right, but wild eclecticism should not preclude exacting editorial standards. So this is your formal warning - anything even remotely as crap as this Joni Mitchell gobshite here and you'll be all in detention - all of you! And your punishment will be to listen to all those interviews with Joni herself where she denounces in the bitterest terms the rock business and its vile conspiracy to make her extremely rich. (less)

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Aug 18, 2011

Sandy rated it

What a great idea Continuum Publishing has going with its 33 1/3 series: little books dealing with some of the greatest records of the past four decades, each one lovingly written by a different author, and each functioning, in essence, as a 120+-page collection of liner notes for those priceless albums. First on the list, for me, of the 50+ titles in the series so far, was No. 40: Sean Nelson's thoughts on Joni Mitchell's 1974 masterpiece "Court and Spark," surely one of the greatest ...moreWhat a great idea Continuum Publishing has going with its 33 1/3 series: little books dealing with some of the greatest records of the past four decades, each one lovingly written by a different author, and each functioning, in essence, as a 120+-page collection of liner notes for those priceless albums. First on the list, for me, of the 50+ titles in the series so far, was No. 40: Sean Nelson's thoughts on Joni Mitchell's 1974 masterpiece "Court and Spark," surely one of the greatest pop records of its decade, as well as Joni's most commercially successful album to date. It is quite obvious that Mr. Nelson, a Seattle-based writer and musician, is enormously fond of this classic, although he makes it very clear that he is not a member of Joni's "cult of devotees" who follow "wherever Mitchell leads." Rather, his fondness for the Big Mitch's music seemingly extends only up to the mid-'70s. (And this might be as opportune a moment as any to mention that I AM one of those "devotees" that Nelson sniffs at, and believe that Mitchell is not only the greatest Canadian who has ever lived, but also one of the world's foremost living artists, the ultimate nature girl, and a true Renaissance woman, all wrapped up in one yummy package. Anyway, you know where I'M coming from!) But Nelson seems to have done an inordinate amount of thinking about "Court and Spark," and manages to analyze the record's lyrics so deeply as to come up with insights that I'd never even considered before (and I've owned the record since the day of its release in January '74). For instance, Nelson convinces us, in his arguments, that the female character in "Car on a Hill" is most likely different than the one in "People's Parties" and "The Same Situation." He calls attention to the slightest change of inflection in Mitchell's voice at the tail end of "Just Like This Train" and the heartbreak suggested therein; makes us see how "Down To You" (my favorite Mitchell song of all time...and that's saying something!) is the thematic linchpin of the record; and illustrates how the lyrics in "Help Me" build in emotional impact with each verse. These are all items that Ms. Mitchell's legion of fans may have recognized subconsciously, but Nelson, using a method of analysis that mainly deals with the album's words and their message--as opposed to the music itself--really lets those fans appreciate the album anew by bringing these matters to the fore. He writes extremely well--indeed, the style of this "mini monograph" almost suggests a doctoral thesis--and with some humor (I had to laugh out loud when he calls Joni's records after 1975 her "difficult period") and self-deprecation ("What the hell do I know?" he asks at the book's conclusion). He even forestalls the inevitable question of why an author would choose Mitchell's "Court and Spark" to write about, as opposed to, say, 1970's "Ladies of the Canyon," 1971's "Blue" or 1972's "For the Roses" (all of which I prefer, by the way, but that's just me), by convincing us that "Court and Spark" represents a culmination of Mitchell's "musical Freitag's Triangle." His statement that the best Mitchell record "is the one that's playing right now," however, is surely undercut by his later pooh-poohing of the artist's last three decades' worth of work. (And honestly, how many folks out there could pop 1988's "Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm" into their CD player and regard it as the best Joni music ever?!?)

Nelson makes other statements guaranteed to raise the hackles of many a Joni fan. He is largely dismissive of "Ladies of the Canyon," a record that winds up on my turntable more than any of her others ("a wistful piece of hippie utopianism," in Nelson's view), and doesn't even seem to have a high regard for the critical and fan favorite "Hejira" (1976). He calls "Court and Spark"'s "Raised on Robbery" "the least impressive song" on the album, and claims that Joni's band, the L.A. Express, seems to be "condescending to the music" and assuming "a swagger it doesn't earn." (Perhaps Nelson, who admits that he was a child when this album was released, would eat those last words if he could have seen Joni and the L.A. Express blast the roofs off of many venues with this encore finale during the album's tour in 1974!) Worse than the inflammatory comments (I'm kidding, Sean!) are the occasional errors of fact that the author is guilty of. He misquotes the lyrics of Joni's songs on at least three occasions (for "The Boho Dance," "My Old Man" and "Trouble Child"), misspells "Rene Auberjonois" (sorry, Odo), and falsely states that Mitchell's 1975 live album "Miles of Aisles" contains "radical jazz-rock rearrangements" of some tunes from "Court and Spark." (The only song from "Court and Spark" on "Miles of Aisles," in actuality, is "People's Parties," and is quite faithful to the original acoustic rendition.)

These slips undermine only slightly, however, what is in essence a very-well-thought-out examination of one of Mitchell's greatest accomplishments. If I seem to be raising frivolous objections here, I suppose it must be because I tend to get a tad defensive when it comes to my favorite recording artist. Though the book is riddled with typos (it is to be hoped that the other entries in the 33 1/3 series have been composed with more attention!), Nelson's lucid, loving and enthusiastic work ultimately proves to be a very nice tribute to this wonderful record and its genius of a creator. It makes me want to pick up several more volumes in the 33 1/3 series, such as the ones for "Electric Ladyland," "Exile on Main St." and "Forever Changes." I sure do hope that the authors of those volumes have put as much thought and passion into their essays as Sean Nelson apparently has with his. The bottom line is that all fans of Ms. Mitchell in general and "Court and Spark" in particular should enjoy his work. Just be prepared to take some exception with some of Nelson's "idiomatic logic"!(less)

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Jul 11, 2010

Jim Coughenour rated it

A few nights ago I discovered a half-shelf of the 33⅓ series in a used bookstore, and exchanged all my credits for a small stack of titles – covering classics I know inside out to others I barely recognize. I guess I was seduced by the format. In any case, Court and Spark is the first I've finished. — And if you're too cool for Joni Mitchell, stop here. Every rock music critic sounds like a pretentious idiot. That's a given.

Sean Nelson explicates C&S song by song, taking JM's poetry ...more

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May 12, 2009

Ruth rated it

This is my second foray into the 33 1/3 series. I liked this one a lot and would recommend it to Joni Mitchell fans, but only if you are pretty familiar with the album in question, because it is basically a close reading of each track and how they fit together, bookended by close-ish readings of Blue (he thinks the whole thing is one person's story) and To the Roses on the front end, and The Hissing of Summer Lawns (he thinks it's too cold, detached, and harsh) on the back. I automatically bon...more

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Sep 17, 2007

Jesse rated it

Pretentious writing about a pretentious album by a pretentious musician. Next!

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Jul 30, 2009

Nathan rated it

Recommends it for: Jackson Browne

Shelves: 33-1-3-series

Had it not been for Sean's writing in this book, I'm not quite sure I would have made it all the way through. Stylistically, he's a light writer, which made it easy to pass between his interwoven quotes and what not. Sadly, after reading this book, I feel a bit sorry for Joni Mitchell. What little I know of her has left me to feel that she burst into flames and faded into the memory of an America past.

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Mar 04, 2011

Betsey rated it

I was somehow hoping for more from this book. I enjoyed it and I learned some new things about Joni Mitchell but commentary on the album itself fell a little flat. I wasn't really looking for someone to explain to me the meaning of each song which is largely what the latter half of the book does. In this case, I think my expectation were just off.

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Jan 31, 2010

Noel rated it

Sean Nelson invites you in for a heart-to-heart about our Joni and her biggest hit of an album, adding wit, warmth, and detailed insight to what could have been just another muso monologue.

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Nov 07, 2008

Patty rated it

Joni Mitchell was an important part of my early musical life, and this was the first album of hers I bought. I enjoyed the semi-scholarly analysis of the tracks and how Nelson situates this record within Joni Mitchell's body of work.

I only have the album on vinyl so I hadn't heard it in years; while reading I looked up some of the tunes on YouTube and found that I could still remember every note. A good entree into this series, and I look forward to reading more. In fact, there's an...more

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Dec 22, 2008

Tiffany rated it

Shelves: music, critical_essays

I know nothing about Joni Mitchell, but I do love Sean Nelson (Harvey Danger, The Long Winters, etc.). He's intelligent, witty, and has great hair (I think his writing power comes from the hair), thus I'm a devoted follower.

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Now that I've read the book, I'm still in love with Sean (Was there any question?). He's funny and witty, and his analysis of the CD and the individual songs is intelligent (it's like reading an English term paper).

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Aug 14, 2008

Michelle Auer rated it

I read it because I know him, but I actually enjoyed the book even though it is not the usual genre I enjoy. He did a great job!

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Court and Spark (33⅓ #40)

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