10 Greatest Unplugged Albums In Rock History
2. Blue - Joni Mitchell
Every single musician tends to come to songwriting from a different perspective. While you may have someone who's great at writing melodies, they might not always be the best person to communicate their message to the masses. And while Bob Dylan may be a genius songwriter, you're not going to call him a show stopping singer. Every so often though, you get that one rare artist who's able to capture both at the exact same time.
Having already created iconic tracks like Woodstock and Big Yellow Taxi, Blue by Joni Mitchell is the moment where everything started to truly click. Outside of the amazing lyrics, you can tell that Mitchell is a student of music, looking to use it to guide her to different emotional places. In that way, these songs feel closer to watercolor paintings than home recordings, almost like you can see where everything is taking place just from the sound of the song.
Combined with the lyrics, the whole thing feels like a scenario taking place in your mind, from feeling that cold breeze of winter on the song River to feeling like you were crumpled up and thrown in the trash like she sounds on the title track. In that sense, Blue is more than just an album of songs. It feels more like a companion at this point.