Top 5: Five Essential Joni Mitchell Songs

One of our weekend papers here, "The Sunday Telegraph" has a nice new feature tucked away in their magazine - various people choosing a Top 5 list. Recently it was Top 5 Joni Mitchell Songs, and James Lachno (?) chose:  

1 - Carey / 2 - Help Me / 3 - Don Juan's Reckless Daughter / 4 - Chinese Cafe / 5 - Both Sides Now, the original 1969 version.

Naturally, as a Joni fanatic, I had my own Joni favourites, but a top 5 is impossible out of over 200 songs of hers, (allowing 10 each on over 20 albums).

I began with: 
Be Cool / Man to Man / Goodbye Pork Pie Hat (the live version on "Shadows and Light"), The Hissing of Summer Lawns, Car On A Hill, and Let The Wind Carry Me - which has been in my system for over 40 years since the 1972 "For The Roses" album (that year I met her in Chelsea - as per previous posts here,, Joni label).

But then theres: Chinese Cafe / Chelsea Morning / Night In The City / Marcie / Tin Angel.   or:

A Strange Boy / Court and Spark / Down To You / My Secret Place / Off Night Back Street / Talk To Me / Cotton Avenue /  Songs to Ageing Children Come / Urge For Going / All I Want / A Case Of You / The Last Time I Saw Richard / Night Ride Home - or those delightful numbers like: You Turn Me On I'm A Radio, or Barangrill, or the different versions of Woodstock. 

Sometimes one is in the mood for jazzy Joni, or that early folkie of the first three albums, I love her piano too on tracks like For Free. There is "Ladies of the Canyon" Joni, or "Hejira" or "Don Juan" Joni ... and sometimes one wants to play all of "Blue'" or "Court and Spark" or the happy "Wild Things Run Fast", so its an impossible task just to select 5 ! Then, there's her 2000 "Both Sides Now" set ...

Next list: Five Beautiful Screen Actors !