Fifty years ago tomorrow -June 22, 1971 - Joni Mitchell released Blue.  The singer-songwriter's fourth studio album, Blue was raw, intense, emotional, beautiful, moving, and hugely influential.  In short, it was the kind of album that only comes along once a generation - if that.  Mitchell recently discussed its legacy with filmmaker-journalist Cameron Crowe for The Los Angeles Times.  She observed, "The most feedback that I got was that I had gone too far and was exposing too much of myself.  I couldn't tell what I had created, really.  The initial response I got was critical, mostly from the male singer-songwriters.  It was kind of like Dylan going electric.  They were afraid.  Is this contagious?"  Now, the album that was at the vanguard of the so-called "confessional singer-songwriter" movement is being addressed on two new 50th anniversary releases.

Today, Rhino released Blue 50 (Demos and Outtakes), a digital EP premiering five previously unreleased tracks from the road to Blue.  (Stream it here on YouTube or here on Spotify!) All five of these recordings will be included in physical form on October 29 when the label releases Joni Mitchell Archives Vol. 2: The Reprise Years (1968-1971) as a 5CD box, an online-exclusive 10LP box, or for download/streaming.

Blue 50 is adorned with an alternate photo of the artist by photographer-actor Tim Considine (My Three Sons, Spin and Marty) utilizing the same color treatment as the original Blue.  The mini-collection debuts intimate demos of "A Case of You" (featuring alternative lyrics to those heard on the final album) and "California" alongside alternate takes of "River" and "Urge for Going."  The former offers an arrangement with French horns at the song's end, whereas the final version features just the solo Mitchell on piano.  The latter song was a live staple of Mitchell's popularized by Tom Rush when he recorded it on his 1968 album The Circle Game (named after another early Mitchell composition, one of three on the LP).  While Joni released her own recording as the B-side to 1972's "You Turn Me On, I'm a Radio," this version dates from the Blue sessions and features a stately string orchestration.  The final recording on Blue 50 is the outtake "Hunter."  While Mitchell later performed the song in concert (as heard on the 2009 release of the 1970 Amchitka concert), she never officially released it on a proper solo album until now.  She told the Ann Arbor Argus in 1969, "That's the two temptations of this crazy cat that came to my door...[I] took him in and he's my cat; and he's really strange.  He has a hare lip and a cleft palate...it's amazing that he's even alive.  He's an eight-year old cat.  I took him to a vet and found that out..."  The song reflects Mitchell's ability to make the mundane transcendent, but it's not hard to see why it was cut from Blue. Its appearance here is welcome, indeed.  In addition to streaming and standard download, Blue 50 is available from Mitchell's online store in FLAC format.

Archives Vol. 2 follows the format of the first volume.  (See TSD's interview with Archives co-producer Patrick Milligan here.)  Over 5 CDs or 10 LPs and nearly six hours of previously unreleased studio, live, and home recordings, it chronologically traces Mitchell's musical journey in the period that yielded her first four albums: Song to a Seagull (1968), Clouds (1969), Ladies of the Canyon (1970), and Blue (1971).  Once again, Cameron Crowe's conversation with Mitchell about this era will be included in the box's booklet.

Like the first volume, it introduces a number of previously unreleased Mitchell compositions including "Jesus" and "Midnight Cowboy," the latter written for the film of the same name but not used.  The box spotlights numerous live concerts including a 1968 show recorded by none other than Jimi Hendrix at Ottawa's Le Hibou Coffee House (and long believed to be lost); Mitchell's 1969 Carnegie Hall debut; and her 1970 BBC appearance with her then-boyfriend James Taylor guesting.  (Those familiar with the bootlegs of this session will undoubtedly thrill at hearing it in full fidelity.)  Session material from all four albums released during this period is also included as are performances from The Dick Cavett Show in the U.S. and Top Gear in the U.K.; on Top Gear, she was accompanied by the band of John Cameron (Donovan, Les Miserables).  Among the many other highlights is a studio version of "Come to the Sunshine" taped at Hollywood's Western Recorders in 1968.

The February 1, 1969 Carnegie Hall show will be released on October 29 as a standalone 3LP set pressed on black vinyl, and a white vinyl variant of this set (limited to 3,000 copies) will be available at JoniMitchell.com.

Has your appetite been sufficiently whetted?  The Blue 50 celebration continues on July 2 with The Reprise Albums (1968-1971).  Available in 4CD, 4LP, and digital iterations, it includes the studio albums Song to a Seagull (1968), Clouds (1969), Ladies of the Canyon (1970), and Blue (1971) as remastered by Bernie Grundman.

Archives Vol. 2 arrives in stores on October 29.  All orders on the official Joni Mitchell store come with an exclusive 7"x7" art print of a never-before-seen illustration by Mitchell from the period.  You'll find the track listing and pre-order links below!  We'll update with Amazon links as soon as they're available.

Joni Mitchell, Blue 50 (Demos and Outtakes) (Rhino, 2021) (YouTube / Spotify / Amazon U.S. / JoniMitchell.com Store / Amazon U.K.)

1. "A Case Of You" - Demo
2. "California" - Demo
3. "Hunter"
4. "River" - with French horns
5. "Urge For Going" - with strings

Joni Mitchell, Joni Mitchell Archives Vol. 2: The Reprise Years (1968-1971) (Rhino, 2021)

5CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
10LP: JoniMitchell.com Store
Live at Carnegie Hall 1969 3LP (Black Vinyl): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Live at Carnegie Hall 1969 3LP (White Vinyl): JoniMitchell.com Store

CD 1

Joni's home (late 1967/early 1968)

1. "Midnight Cowboy" - Version one
2. "The Dawntreader" - Demo with vocal overdub
3. "Song To A Seagull"
4. "Midnight Cowboy" - Version two

Jane Lurie's Apartment, Chelsea, Manhattan, New York City, NY (late 1967/early 1968)

5. "The Way It Is"
6. "Turn Around" - Incomplete

Home Demo, Joni's home (late 1967/early 1968)

7. "I Had A King" - Demo with piano overdub
8. "Roses Blue" - Demo with peacock harp overdub
9. "The Fiddle And The Drum" - Piano demo

Song To A Seagull Session, Sunset Sound, Hollywood, CA (January 24, 1968)

10. "Jeremy"
11. "Conversation"
12. "Both Sides Now"
13. "The Gift Of The Magi"

Jane Lurie's Apartment, Chelsea, Manhattan, New York City, NY (early 1968)

14. "It's Easy"
15. "Another Melody"

Live at Canterbury House, Ann Arbor, MI (March 10, 1968)

16. Introduction
17. "Jeremy"
18. "Songs To Aging Children Come"

CD 2

Le Hibou Coffee House, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Recorded by Jimi Hendrix (March 19, 1968)

First Set

1. "Night In The City"
2. "Come To The Sunshine"
3. Intro to "The Pirate Of Penance"
4. "The Pirate Of Penance"
5. "Conversation"
6. "The Way It Is"
7. Intro to "The Dawntreader"
8. "The Dawntreader"

Second Set

9. "Marcie"
10. Intro to "Nathan La Franeer"
11. "Nathan La Franeer"
12. Intro to "Dr. Junk"
13. "Dr. Junk"
14. Intro to "Michael From Mountains"
15. "Michael From Mountains"
16. "Go Tell The Drummer Man"
17. Intro to "I Don't Know Where I Stand"
18. "I Don't Know Where I Stand"
19. Intro to "Sisotowbell Lane"
20. "Sisotowbell Lane"
21. Intro to "Ladies Of The Canyon"
22. "Ladies Of The Canyon"

Studio Session, Western Recorders, Hollywood, CA (May 31, 1968)

23. "Come To The Sunshine"

Jane Lurie's Apartment, Chelsea, Manhattan, New York City, NY (summer 1968)

24. "My Second Album"
25. "Lambert, Hendricks & Ross"
26. "The Pirate Of Penance"

Top Gear BBC Radio Broadcast, London, England (recorded September 23, 1968)

27. Intro to "Chelsea Morning"
28. "Chelsea Morning" - with the John Cameron Group
29. Intro to "The Gallery"
30. "The Gallery"
31. Intro to "Night In The City"
32. "Night In The City" - with the John Cameron Group

CD 3

Live at Carnegie Hall, New York City, NY (February 1, 1969)

First Set

1. "Chelsea Morning"
2. A Valentine for Joni
3. "Cactus Tree"
4. "Night In The City"
5. "I Had A King"
6. "Blue Boy"
7. My American Skirt
8. "The Fiddle And The Drum"
9. Spoony's Wonderful Adventure
10. "That Song About The Midway"
11. "Both Sides Now"

Second Set

12. "Marcie"
13. "Nathan La Franeer"
14. Intro to "The Gallery"
15. "The Gallery"
16. "Hunter"
17. "Morning Morgantown"
18. Intro to "Get Together"
19. "Get Together"
20. Intro to "The Circle Game/Little Green"
21. "The Circle Game/Little Green"

Encore

22. "Michael From Mountains"

CD 4

Live at Carnegie Hall, New York City, NY (February 1, 1969)

1. Intro to "Urge For Going"
2. "Urge For Going"

Clouds Sessions, A&M Studios, Hollywood, CA (spring 1969)

3. "Conversation"
4. "Blue Boy"
5. "The Priest"

Jane Lurie's Apartment, Chelsea, Manhattan, New York City, NY (mid 1969)

6. "Jesus"
7. Playing piano and vocalizing

The Dick Cavett Show ABC TV Broadcast, New York City, NY (Recorded August 18, 1969)

8. "Chelsea Morning"
9. "Willy"
10. "For Free"
11. Interview
12. "The Fiddle And The Drum"

Ladies Of The Canyon Demo Session, A&M Studios, Hollywood, CA (late 1969)

13. "Woodstock"

Live at Centennial Auditorium, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada (November 1, 1969)

14. "As I Lie Thinking In My Backyard On August 2nd"
15. "Roses Blue"
16. "Rainy Night House"

Ladies Of The Canyon Sessions, A&M Studios, Hollywood, CA (late 1969)

17. "Ladies Of The Canyon" - with cellos
18. "Blue Boy" - with recorder coda

In Concert BBC TV Broadcast, (recorded September 3, 1970)

19. "All I Want"

Blue Demo Sessions, A&M Studios, Hollywood, CA (September 1970)

20. "A Case Of You"
21. "California"

CD 5

In Concert BBC Radio Broadcast, Paris Theatre, London England (recorded October 29, 1970)

1. Introduction
2. "That Song About The Midway"
3. Intro to "The Gallery"
4. "The Gallery"
5. "Hunter"
6. Intro to "River"
7. "River"
8. "My Old Man"
9. "The Priest"
10. This is a mountain dulcimer
11. "Carey"
12. "A Case Of You" - with James Taylor
13. Intro to "California" - with James Taylor
14. "California" - with James Taylor
15. Intro to "For Free" - with James Taylor
16. "For Free" - with James Taylor
17. Intro to "The Circle Game" - with James Taylor
18. "The Circle Game" - with James Taylor
19. Intro to "You Can Close Your Eyes" - with James Taylor
20. "You Can Close Your Eyes" - with James Taylor
21. "Both Sides Now"
22. Intro to "Big Yellow Taxi"
23. "Big Yellow Taxi"

Blue Sessions, A&M Studios, Hollywood, CA (late 1970/early 1971)

24. "Hunter"
25. "River" - with French horns
26. "Urge For Going" - with strings