Conceptually breathtaking, brilliantly realized, lovingly crafted by an artist of consummate intelligence and unerring instincts, Both Sides Now, is among the most surprising and fulfilling albums in Joni Mitchell’s altogether surprising and fulfilling career. A collection of twelve classic love songs, including a new rendition of the title track — the artist’s own enduring contribution to the canon — Both Sides Now puts Mitchell’s inimitable stamp on material culled from some of the best songwriters of our time, working in one of the most fertile genres in the American musical idiom – the torch song.

Included are exquisite new versions of “Stormy Weather,” “You’re My Thrill,” “I Wish I Were In Love Again,” “You’ve Changed,” “Comes Love” and seven other meticulously selected tracks, including a reworking of “A Case Of You,” Mitchell’s own aching paean to love and loss from 1972’s Blue.

Both Sides Now was produced by Joni Mitchell and longtime creative collaborator Larry Klein, who also served as the album’s Musical Director. Arranged and conducted by Grammy-nominated Vince Mendoza (known for his work with Bjork, Pat Metheny, Chaka Khan and many others), with a contribution by the great Gordon Jenkins, these twelve selections spotlight Mitchell’s rich, emotionally resonant range in a full orchestral setting, courtesy of the 71-piece London Symphony Orchestra. Guest soloists include another of Mitchell’s longtime musical co-conspirators, saxophone master Wayne Shorter, as well as Herbie Hancock on piano and trumpeter Mark Isham.

For all its traditional trappings, Both Sides Now is hardly a collection of revamped chestnuts. Among the many creative and conceptual levels on which the album functions, the song sequence itself traces the arc of a modern love affair. “I’ve always used my albums as a way to tell a story, to take the listener on a trip,” explains the artist. “I wanted this one to develop sequentially, with a beginning, a middle and an end, telling the story of what two people in love take each other through.

“I started where every love affair starts,” the legendary songwriter and performer continues. “When you’re smitten, which, of course, is what ‘You’re My Thrill’ expresses so beautifully. Then comes the celebration, when you thank your lucky stars, which is the sentiment of ‘At Last.’ Then there’s a bit of whimsical philosophy with ‘Comes Love,’ expressing the sheer hopelessness of the condition, which also has a kind of prophetic cast to it, like the dark fairy showing up at the birthday party.”

And, sure enough, the next track on Both Sides Now is a gorgeous rendering of “You’ve Changed,” which, for the artist, expresses “the seeds of change.” “We’ve all been there,” she says, “that moment when we realize the person we love is not the angel we once knew, that, already, so soon into the relationship, things have begun to decline. Then comes ‘Answer Me, My Love,’ which expresses the same thing musically, in chords that are neither major nor minor. It was one of my favorite songs when I was a teenager, a Nat King Cole classic and it asks a very simple question: What do I do now?” It was the same question Mitchell asked of herself as she reached this critical point in the song cycle she was assembling. “What happens next is a lot of variable perspectives,” she explains. “To me, the most interesting part of a relationship is what goes on after the blush is off the rose. ‘A Case Of You;’ ‘Don’t Go To Strangers;’ ‘Sometimes I’m Happy;’ ‘Don’t Worry ’Bout Me;’ these are songs that approach love from an adult point of view, a realistic appraisal. But for all of those rationales, there’s still the ache in your heart, which is what ‘Stormy Weather’ sums up better than any song I know. Then, finally, we reach a true equilibrium. For all the pain and disillusionment, we still can’t do without it. ‘I Wish I Were In Love Again’ reiterates that idea and provides a kind of comic relief after the journey.”

Mitchell closes her song cycle with “Both Sides Now.” “I wrote it when I was 21 and was really steeped in the classics of the genre,” she explains. “So it seemed to fit. It’s a philosophical statement that brings the concept of this album full circle.” The remarkable structure of Both Sides Now is underscored by what is undoubtedly one of the most resonant and nuanced vocal performances of Joni Mitchell’s career. “Singing my own material, I often worked on not being a showy singer,” she explains. “The point was to deliver the text with emotional honesty and because of the density of the lyrics there was no room for embellishing. But this music allows the voice to string out like a fishing line and ride the curves like a surfer. And when you’re singing with an orchestra and all that brass swells up, you’ve got no choice but to let it carry you, to sing louder and brighter and do things you maybe never did before. Most pop music is very compressed and even, but when you’re out there in front of all those instruments and you hear that huge sound coming at you, it’s a thrilling, Big Kahuna moment.”

In preparation for recording Both Sides Now, Mitchell drew down deep her enormous reserve of musical inspiration. “We looked to Duke Ellington,” she recounts, “and we looked to the late romantics who were a major influence on the filmmakers of the ‘40s and, of course, Nina Rota, who kept that whole tradition of cinematic romance alive. And, when I was in Toronto, putting the tunestack together, I took to frequenting a bistro near my home that played mostly women singers of the era – Ella and Billie and Blossom Dearie – and it was there that I formulated what I would do and how I would do it.”

What Joni Mitchell has done on Both Sides Now is both a tribute to the enduring power of great songs and a testament to her singular ability to make every note and each word her own. “This record is good for you,” she asserts with characteristic aplomb. “It’s transforming. Most people will

Estimated despatch 5-10 days after ordering.