Don Juan's Reckless Daughter

Don Juan's Reckless Daughter
Studio album by Joni Mitchell
Publication (s)	1977
Label (s)	Asylum Records
Format (s)	LP, CD
Genre (s)	Folk , jazz
Title (number)	10
running time	59:38
occupation	Vocals , guitar : Joni Mitchell Electric bass : Jaco Pastorius Saxophone : Wayne Shorter Percussion : Manolo Badrena , Alex Acuña
production	Joni Mitchell, Henry Lewy, Steve Katz
Studio (s)	A&M Studios
Location (s)	Hollywood
chronology " Hejira " (1976) Don Juan's Reckless Daughter " Mingus " (1979)

Joni Mitchell (1975)

Don Juan's Reckless Daughter (German: "Don Juan's reckless daughter") is a 1977 double album by Joni Mitchell . It's an experimental album that carries on the jazz fusion sound of Mitchell's album Hejira from last year. The title is inspired by Carlos Castaneda's well-read book The Teachings of Don Juan , which was first published in 1968 (German: Die Lehren des Don Juan ). The focus is on the fictional Mexican Indian Don Juan Matus and his teachings.

The album received mixed reviews, but peaked at number 25 on the Billboard 200 charts after three months . It was Mitchell's last long-playing record to go gold in the United States.

Background and content

Mitchell said of the album:

"These recordings ... are experimental and it didn't really matter what I was doing, I just had to fulfill my contract."

- Joni Mitchell

Experimental are Overture , which was recorded with up to six guitars, The Tenth World , a longer instrumental piece with Latin American percussion, and Dreamland , which only contains drums and voices, including those by Chaka Khan .

Paprika Plains is a 16-minute song that combines an improvised piano with an orchestra. In it, Mitchell tells of a nightly meeting in a bar frequented by indigenous people of Canada, where topics such as hopelessness and alcoholism are addressed. At one point in the narrative, the narrator leaves the bar to watch the rain and enters a dream state.

Prominent jazz musicians played on the album, including four former members of Weather Report : Jaco Pastorius , Wayne Shorter , Manolo Badrena and Alex Acuña , who also played with Mitchell afterwards.

Track list

All songs were written by Joni Mitchell.

Page 1:

1. Overture - Cotton Avenue - 6:41
2. Talk to Me - 3:45
3. Jericho - 3:22

Page 2:

1. Paprika Plains - 16:21

Page 3:

1. Otis and Marlena - 4:09
2. The Tenth World - Joni Mitchell, Don Alias, Manolo Badrena, Alex Acuña, Airto Moreira, Jaco Pastorius - 6:45
3. Dreamland - 4:38

Page 4:

1. Don Juan's Reckless Daughter - 6:36
2. Off Night Backstreet - 3:20
3. The Silky Veils of Ardor - 4:01

Musician

• Joni Mitchell - vocals, guitar, piano on "Paprika Plains"
• Jaco Pastorius - bass; Bongos on "The Tenth World"; Cowbells on "Dreamland"
• John Guerin - drums
• Wayne Shorter - soprano saxophone on "Jericho" and "Paprika Plains"
• Alex Acuña - percussion, backing vocals on "The Tenth World"
• Don Alias - percussion, backing vocals on "The Tenth World"
• Manolo Badrena - percussion, lead vocal in "The Tenth World"
• Airto Moreira - Surdo on "The Tenth World" and "Dreamland"
• Larry Carlton - electric guitar on "Otis And Marlena"
• Michel Colombier - piano on "Otis And Marlena"
• Chaka Khan - background vocals on "The Tenth World" and "Dreamland"
• Glenn Frey , JD Souther - background vocals on "Off Night Backstreet"
• Michael Gibbs - orchestral arrangements and conductor in "Paprika Plains" and "Off Night Backstreet"

Web links

• Criticism at Allmusic (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ David Yaffe, Joni Mitchell. A portrait , Berlin 2020, p. 299
2. ↑ allmusic.com: Don Juan's Reckless Daughter
3. ↑ Biography ( Memento from August 4, 2008 in the Internet Archive )