Turbulent Indigo

Turbulent Indigo is the fifteenth album by Joni Mitchell. It was released in 1994, and became one of her most critically acclaimed releases^[5], winning a Grammy Award for Pop Album of the Year.

The album marked her return to Warner Music (formerly WEA) distribution after her previous album, Night Ride Home, was distributed by MCA for its then-newly purchased subsidiary Geffen Records (which, prior to the sale to MCA, had distributed through WEA).

The album takes inspiration from the Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh for Mitchell's self-portrait on the cover. The song "Turbulent Indigo" references Van Gogh, while the song "Magdalene Laundries" recounts the sufferings of Irish women once consigned to Magdalen Asylums run by the Roman Catholic Church and made to work in the asylum's laundries. The song "Not to Blame" was rumored to be about Mitchell's singer-songwriting colleague Jackson Browne and his then girlfriend, actress Daryl Hannah, although Joni denies this. . The song "Sex Kills" referenced a number of late twentieth century topical issues, including violence, AIDS, global warming and consumerism.

As of December 2007^[update], the album has sold 311,000 copies in the US.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Joni Mitchell; except where indicated

1. "Sunny Sunday" – 2:21
2. "Sex Kills" – 3:56
3. "How Do You Stop" – 4:09 (Charlie Midnight, Dan Hartman)
4. "Turbulent Indigo" – 3:34
5. "Last Chance Lost" – 3:14
6. "The Magdalene Laundries" – 4:02
7. "Not to Blame" – 4:18
8. "Borderline" – 4:48
9. "Yvette in English" – 5:16 (Mitchell, David Crosby)
10. "The Sire of Sorrow (Job's Sad Song)" – 7:08

Personnel

• Joni Mitchell - vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards
• Larry Klein - organ, bass
• Wayne Shorter - soprano saxophone on tracks: 1, 4, 7, 8
• Jim Keltner - drums on "Sunny Sunday"
• Carlos Vega - drums on tracks: 3, 4, 7
• Michael Landau - electric guitar on tracks: 2, 3
• Greg Leisz - pedal steel guitar on tracks: 7, 8
• Stewart Smith - guitar on "How Do You Stop"
• 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"

Notes

1. ^ Ruhlmann, W. (2011 [last update]). "Turbulent Indigo - Joni Mitchell | AllMusic". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r206652. Retrieved 19 July 2011. 
2. ^ Willman, Chris (2011 [last update]). "Album Review - Los Angeles Times". articles.latimes.com. http://articles.latimes.com/1994-10-27/entertainment/ca-55120_1_joni-mitchell. Retrieved 19 July 2011. 
3. ^ Milward, John (2011 [last update]). "Joni Mitchell: Turbulent Indigo : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". web.archive.org. http://web.archive.org/web/20090124144501/http://rollingstone.com/artists/jonimitchell/albums/album/321631/review/5945724/turbulent_indigo. Retrieved 19 July 2011. 
4. ^ Christgau, R. (2011 [last update]). "Robert Christgau: CG: joni mitchell". robertchristgau.com. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=joni+mitchell. Retrieved 19 July 2011. 
5. ^ Rolling Stone magazine review