350 of 1001 Albums: Joni Mitchell's Hejra

The cool thing about Joni Mitchell's album, Hejra is that it was written while she was traveling across the country giving it this journey flare that she shot for by even titling it in relation to the Arabic word, hijira, meaning journey. You've probably decided by this point whether you like Joni Mitchell or not, and this is very reminiscent of Hissing of Summer Lawns as it seems to continue her journey into jazz and rock.

Most of the songs sort of have a bit of the folksy flare to them, but most of them area also quite slow. It's relaxing, but not an album that ever seemed fitting to listen to. "Coyote" definitely is a good way to start off as it is one of the lighter tunes that conveys well her traveling experience she was going through. From the album continues at the same pace. When we hit "Song for Sharon" you get an eight minute long epic song that never really picks up pace, but does deal with interesting themes like marriage and freedom, and mostly how the two are conflicting with each other for the woman in the story.


The second song on the album is sort of an ode to Amelia Earnhart, and is appropriately titled "Amelia". Joni does really try to empower women through her album by giving them lyrics, and thoughtfulness to their situations they often have to encounter or consider. It's also cool that she was a woman that traveled cross country as you have so many stories about men who did this, but rarely any women who sort of detail their experiences of traveling like that. The one song worth mentioning is definitely "Black Crow" as it does catch you with a nice little guitar rhythm at the beginning of it that sounds good, and mixes it up from the previous tone of the album you're listening to.

Mitchell is really slow music to listen to though, and the songs are incredibly long. Her voice is lovely though, and it has a great flow. It definitely is a trademark. She knows how to lift it and make it apart of the music she sings. The content is empowering at times though, and it's appreciated how progressive she was for female musicians. The album just needed something extra though, and for some reason it never finds it enough to keep you compelled all the way through.

Rating 4 of 10
Recommended Listen: Black Crow