For the Roses

It is perhaps best known for the hit single "You Turn Me on I'm a Radio", which Mitchell wrote sarcastically out of a record company request for a radio-friendly song. The single was indeed a hit, reaching #25 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, becoming Mitchell's first top 40 hit released under her own name (as a songwriter, several other performers had had hits with songs that she had written). "Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire" — a menacing and jazzy portrait of a heroin addict — and the Beethoven-inspired "Judgement of the Moon and Stars" were also popular. The title song "For the Roses" was Mitchell's farewell to the business; she took an extended break for a year after.[1]

"Banquet" describes a metaphorical table from which "some get the gravy / Some get the gristle... and some get nothing / Though there's plenty to spare". "Barangrill", with its more complex arrangement, is a lighter and sprightly rap which extols the uncomplicated virtues of a roadside truck stop. "Lesson in Survival" is the first of the love songs, about the longing for greater privacy, a sense of isolation, and a love for nature. "Let the Wind Carry Me" contrasts thoughts of a more stable, conventional life with the overpowering need to live with minimal constraints upon one's freedom.

The second side opens with "See You Sometime", which deals with fleeting feelings and romantic competition. "Electricity" extols the simplicity and serenity of the quiet country life against the way in which people in modern society think of themselves unconsciously as machines. "Woman of Heart and Mind" is a portrait of a flawed lover.

The album was critically acclaimed with The New York Times saying "Each of Mitchell's songs on For the Roses is a gem glistening with her elegant way with langauge, her pointed splashes of irony and her perfect shaping of images. Never does Mitchell voice a thought or feeling commonly. She's a songwriter and singer of genius who can't help but make us feel we are not alone."

A nude photograph of Joni Mitchell was included on the inside cover of the original LP and is included in the CD booklet. The photograph shows the singer from the rear and was taken from a considerable distance; she is shown standing on a rock and staring out at the ocean. This created some controversy at the time.^{[citation needed]}