“… an essay, a tragedy, an opera, a dark comedy…” These words, presented within the insert of The Beginning of Survival, perfectly describe Joni Mitchell’s latest release, an album spanning two decades of socially-conscious music.
Each song was specially selected to follow, as Joni puts it, “commentaries on the world in which we live.” From the very first song,”The Reoccurring Dream”, the essence of theatrical melodrama becomes obvious as we are invited into a modern consumer nightmare, with Joni’s clear honest voice ringing through.
Despite the only new aspect of this album being a collection of her latest paintings, it remains a self standing masterpiece. Songs speaking to our own troubled times, as relevant now as they were when they were first released. Powered by vivid poetry and varied jazz infused pop-rock melodies, this is a coherent and focused collection as only a profound Canadian icon can do it.