Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Introduction
2. In France They Kiss on Main Street
3. Edith and the Kingpin
4. Coyote
5. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat - Joni Mitchell, Mingus, Charles
6. The Dry Cleaner from Des Moines - Joni Mitchell, Mingus, Charles
7. Amelia
8. Pat's Solo - Joni Mitchell, Metheny, Pat
9. Hejira

Disc 2:

1. Black Crow
2. Don's Solo - Joni Mitchell, Alias, Don
3. Dreamland
4. Free Man in Paris
5. Band Introduction
6. Furry Sings the Blues
7. Why Do Fools Fall in Love? - Joni Mitchell, Levy, Morris
8. Shadows and Light
9. God Must Be a Boogie Man
10. Woodstock

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8839 in Music
• Released on: 1990-10-25
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Live

Customer Reviews

Why do fools fall in love?
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3QPNMCC1GCARK My name is Jeremy Gloff. I am a musician (check me out on Amazon!) and retro music enthusiast. If you enjoyed this review make sure to check out my Amazon user profile to check out my other reviews. I am always up for making new friends and discussing the music I love!!!

beautiful quiet California night + great jazz band + Joni = a concert for the ages
The sound quality is not the best, but for a live recording of that era, it might be as good or better than average. It isn't a large band, and all the instruments are clearly audible. The dynamics are a bit constrained, but nothing like the over-compressed pop music being released nowadays.

The music outweighs any concerns about sound quality. This is an incredible band. Metheny, Mays, Pastorius, Alias, Brecker -- how can one find complaint with this backup??? On Dry Cleaner From Des Moines, Michael Brecker tears up the stage! And Jaco drives the song with machine gun bass lines. Metheny has an beautifully lyrical solo that is a segue from a movingly rendered Amelia. In France They Kiss On Main Street and Free Man In Paris move along with a life they never had on the original album.

True, there are some somber, slower, fussy jazz tunes here like Goodbye Pork Pie Hat and Furry Sings the Blues, but all in all this is an infectious and exciting event. I own the DVD, and bought the album twice, first on LP and now on CD. It's a must-have in the Joni catalog, and it brings repeated joy.

It's true that if you like the purer, folkie side of Joni Mitchell, you might not enjoy this live album as much as the studio albums. If you're not into jazz, you might be bored or annoyed. But I like Joni's jazz period, and this is the best band she could have to bring those songs to a live audience. The performances of most of the songs on Shadows And Light outshine the original studio productions.

Joni's Jazz
I've always loved this CD. Joni is at a plateau in her career here, having moved from folky singer/songwriter to Jazz influenced singer. She probably started slipping a bit after this. Her voice here is perfect, and her phrasing is as always truly unique.

Favourite track for me is "In France they Kiss on Main Street". Pat Methany plays wonderful guitar and the band are really powerful. However 'Coyote' 'Hejira' and 'Goodbye Pork Pie Hat' are all great in there own ways.

The band is phenomenal, Michael Brecker is on Sax, Jaco Pastorius Bass, together with Lyle Mays on Keyboards and Don Alias on drums. This is a one-off Jazz super-group that only ever worked together for this tour, and never recorded in the studio as a unit.

If you like Joni Mitchell's Jazz side this is an essential purchase and you can buy the DVD of this as well, which is well worth getting.