''Turbulent Indigo'' is the fifteenth album by Canadian singer-songwriter

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

, released in 1994. The album won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Album. John Milward, writing for ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'', wrote that it was Mitchell's "best album since the mid-'70s". , the album has sold 311,000 copies in the US.

Background

The album marked her return to

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(formerly WEA) distribution after her previous album, '' Night Ride Home'', was distributed by MCA for its then-newly purchased subsidiary

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(which, prior to the sale to MCA, had distributed through WEA).

Music

The song "Turbulent Indigo" references van Gogh, while describing the mental turmoil both he and Mitchell face in the creative process. The song "Not to Blame" was rumored to be about Mitchell's fellow singer-songwriter and former lover

Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American rock musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 30 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he had his ...

, who was alleged to have beaten his girlfriend, actress

Daryl Hannah Daryl Hannah (born December 3, 1960) is an American actress and environmental activist. She made her film debut in Brian De Palma's supernatural horror film ''The Fury (1978 film), The Fury'' (1978). She has starred in various films across the ...

. Mitchell also takes in non-personal issues, notably in the song "Magdalene Laundries", which recounts the sufferings of Irish women once consigned to Magdalen Asylums run by the

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and made to work in the asylums' laundries. Similarly, the song "Sex Kills" referenced a number of late 20th century topical issues, including violence,

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and

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Artwork

According to Matt Mitchell of ''

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'', the album's cover artwork features a

self portrait Self-portraits are Portrait painting, portraits artists make of themselves. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, the practice of self-portraiture only gaining momentum in the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century ...

of Mitchell "styl ngherself as a

Vincent Van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks ...

type."

Critical reception

''Turbulent Indigo'' received critical acclaim''. Q''s Tom Doyle called the album a "welcome return to the atmospherics and acoustic terrain she's best known for", further writing that "The majority of the tracks here recall the wafting soundscapes of 1976's '' Hejira'', with gentle, controlled feedback, Pastorius-styled bass,

Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (August 25, 1933 – March 2, 2023) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer and bandleader. Shorter came to mainstream prominence in 1959 upon joining Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, for whom he eventually became the primary comp ...

's tumbling saxophone patterns and walls of acoustic guitars providing a dramatic backdrop for Mitchell's bold lyrical imagery."'' Q'', December 1994

Track listing

All tracks composed by Joni Mitchell; except where indicated #"Sunny Sunday" – 2:21 #"Sex Kills" – 3:56 #" How Do You Stop" ( Charlie Midnight, Dan Hartman) – 4:09 #"Turbulent Indigo" – 3:34 #"Last Chance Lost" – 3:14 #"The Magdalene Laundries" – 4:02 #"Not to Blame" – 4:18 #"Borderline" – 4:48 #"Yvette in English" (Mitchell,

David Crosby David Van Cortlandt Crosby (August 14, 1941 – January 18, 2023) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He first found fame as a member of the Byrds, with whom he helped pioneer the genres of folk rock and psychedelic music, psych ...

) – 5:16 #"The Sire of Sorrow (

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's Sad Song)" – 7:08

Personnel

* Joni Mitchell – vocals, guitar, keyboards *

Larry Klein Larry Klein is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is based in Los Angeles. He began his career as a bassist, playing with jazz artists Willie Bobo, Freddie Hubbard, Carmen McRae, Joe Henderson, Bobby Hutcherson, Way ...

– organ, bass *

–

soprano saxophone The soprano saxophone is a small, high-pitched member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented in the 1840s by Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax. Built in B♭ an octave above the tenor saxophone (or rarely, slightly small ...

on tracks: 1, 4, 7, 9, 10 *

Jim Keltner James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America". Howard Sounes. ''Do ...

– drums on "Sunny Sunday" * Carlos Vega – drums on tracks: 3, 4, 7 *

Michael Landau Michael Christopher Landau (born June 1, 1958) is an American musician, audio engineer, and record-producer. He is a session musician and guitarist who has played on many albums since the early 1980s with Boz Scaggs, Minoru Niihara, Joni Mitchel ...

– electric guitar on tracks: 2, 3 * Greg Leisz –

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a console steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings, enabling more varied and complex music to be played than with other steel guitar designs. Like all steel guitars, it can play ...

on tracks: 7, 8 * Steuart Smith – guitar on "How Do You Stop" *

Seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

– vocals on "How Do You Stop" * Bill Dillon – synthesizer on "Yvette in English" * Charles Valentino – backing vocals on "Yvette in English" * Kris Kello – backing vocals on "Yvette in English"

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control Joni Mitchell albums 1994 albums Albums produced by Larry Klein Asylum Records albums Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album Albums with cover art by Joni Mitchell