The Complete Geffen Recordings [Box set, Original recording remastered, Import]

Enough with the eternal effort of trying to categorize her music; anyone even remotely familiar with Joni Mitchell knows she is not a category. She is an artist on a journey, as these albums certainly indicate.

On the indispensable DVD, "Joni Mitchell: Woman of Heart and Mind", it is explained that "Wild Things Run Fast" was somewhat of a return to pop form after the negative reaction to the pure jazz of "Mingus". But even on "Wild Things", Joni's stamp is purely her own; in this case its a CD of mostly love songs. A Joni love song, however, is not a silly expression of teenage fantasies, but a thoughtful (an often humourous) rumination on the idea of love, the pain and the sacrifices, the question of love at its nature.

"Dog Eat Dog" is one of the most challenging of her albums, even for hardcore fans, but it is definitely worth the effort, while the ethereal "Chalk Mark.." and the gorgeous "Night Ride Home" deal with sobering issues like child abuse, runaways, and (of course) true love.

If you are hesitating about buying the set because you may already have one or more of the CDs, don't. Joni's new liner notes are alone worth the price of the set, as is the introductory essay about the history of these great recordings and how, without the great lady's efforts, we may have lost them altogether. The packaging is lovely and the remastering is superb.

In an interview for the "Heart and Mind" DVD, Joni states that in order to reach people in music, you need to plumb the depths of yourself, turn yourself inside out. These four discs are certainly testimony to that. They also prove that, for all the emptiness of 1980s culture, Joni's voice still soared and captured a vacuous decade with her straight-on optimisim and dedication to her craft. She respects her music and her audience; this set is a great testimony to that respect.

Joni Mitchell is, in my opinion, the finest songwriter of the last 40 years. No one except Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and perhaps, occasionally. Kurt Cobain, can touch her as a poet--and no one at all has left a richer legacy of gorgeous melodies and totally original instrumental settings. Unfortunately, most of her best work has been done since her early commercial (and critical) peak in the first half of the 1970s, and hasn't reached the audience it deserves.

The Complete Geffen Recordings collects four records dating from 1982 to 1991 which, between them, contain at least 8 or 9 of the best songs you'll ever hear in your life. I was never crazy about the first of these records, "Wild Things Run Fast"--the playing is a bit too slick, and the songwriting standard is low for a Mitchell record--but "Chinese Cafe" and "Moon at the Window" are absolute classics. "Dog Eat Dog" has a very 80s synths & drum machines vibe, but Mitchell twists the New Wave tendencies into a unique sonic landscape that suits her brittle songs bemoaning a decade of greed & intolerance (a decade which, from the perspective of 2003, seems positively benign). "Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm" is almost as sonically adventurous, and contains the brilliant songs "My Secret Place" and "The Beat of Black Wings." Finally, "Night Ride Home" was billed as a return to form--by people who never bothered listening to her 80s records. It does return to a more acoustic vibe, showcasing Mitchell's unique guitar style. The title song and "Come in From the Cold," among others, are thrilling.

The box set includes 3 unreleased tracks. Joni's glorious cover of Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" is worth the $50 all by itself. The wordless demo version of "Two Grey Rooms" is beautiful, but interesting primarily as a window into Mitchell's writing process, and a voice-&-piano demo of "Good Friends" from "Dog Eat Dog"--one of the most elaborately-produced tracks on an elaborately-produced record--is a refreshing alternative version.

The 4-cd Geffen set presents, repackaged and remastered, Joni Mitchell's post-jazz, return-to-pop period, from 1982 to 1991. True, Mitchell's 80s period is jazzier and more daring than conventional pop music, but these CDs nonetheless mark a major shift from the wordy and impressionistic jazz-rock fusion of her late 70s work to a simpler and perhaps more accessible pop-rock. By nearly anyone's measure these albums do not stand up to her finest work, the masterpieces Blue, Court and Spark, and Hejira. But their extraordinary production value (very appreciated by this fan if not by all), accompanied by some remarkable songs (Moon at the Window, Impossible Dreamer, My Secret Place and Cherokee Louise are the respective highlights, among others) make for intriguing, challenging and beautiful listening. Another highlight: the bonus demo of Two Grey Rooms, a track demonstrating better than any other found here (or perhaps before or since) what for me is the essence of Joni Mitchell's work: sensuality, desire, sophistication, love. I can't respond to another reviewer's claim that this set isn't adequately remastered. I detect a richer, fuller sound than the original CDs, and I'll have to leave it at that. The booklet contains extensive comments by the artist, some insightful, some spiteful, some amusing, all Joni.