wears the trousers magazine

Best contributions will feature in liner notes of new 5-disc boxset

Joni Mitchell has had an uneasy relationship with the music industry and music critics since the ’80s, so it’s no surprise that she’s turning to her fans to help her piece together the liner notes for a 5-disc retrospective that Rhino Entertainment are putting out in November. The as-yet-untitled project will span Joni’s entire career, from the mid-’60s to 2007’s Shine, and is said to contain over 85 songs across four CDs and a DVD. “Several” of the songs will comprise alternative versions and unreleased material, while the video content will contain previously unissued performances. Speculation has already begun that these crave-worthy inclusions will include an official release of the demos for The Hissing Of Summer Lawns, alternative takes from the Mingus sessions (only previously hinted at in interviews), and/or material that was originally scheduled for double-disc reissues of Hejira, Court & Spark and The Hissing Of Summer Lawns back in 2007 that never came to light. All of which makes this perhaps the most anticipated tracklist reveal of the year. The countdown is on!

As always, Joni will be overseeing the design and packaging of the boxset set herself, and that’s where you come in. Joni is inviting fans to send in a statement of why they enjoy her music. “It can be one sentence or a short paragraph… It can be a personal experience with the music or why in general you like it. An example of which might be… ‘Joni, you make race-less, gender-less music’ or ‘Girl, you make me see pictures in my head’…”

Submit yours here.

Alan Pedder

FREE MP3: Joni Mitchell, ‘Shades Of Scarlet Conquering’ [from The Hissing Of Summer Lawns demos]