More of the Music of Joni Mitchell
- This vintage copy boasts solid Double Plus (A++) grades or BETTER from top to bottom – the first copy to make the site since our last shootout in 2022
- Check out the clear transients on Joni’s guitar — you can really hear her moving her hands around the fretboard and pulling on the strings
- It’s tough to find this album in clean shape with this kind of warm, natural sound (something the new reissue is no doubt profoundly lacking)
- Stick with the Two Tone labels if you want the highest quality sound – the later Tan labels can be good but even the best of them are many steps down in sound quality from the White Hot shootout winners
- This would most likely include any modern repress on Heavy Vinyl, although to be honest we have never played one for Clouds – what would be the point?
- 4 1/2 stars: “Clouds is a stark stunner, a great leap forward for Joni Mitchell. Vocals here are more forthright and assured than on her debut and exhibit a remarkable level of subtle expressiveness. Guitar alone is used in accompaniment, and the variety of playing approaches and sounds gotten here is most impressive.”
Everything you could ask for from this album is here on this copy: stunning clarity and transparency, breathy vocals, richness, sweetness, warmth, and tons of ambience.
Check out the clear transients on the acoustic guitar — you can really hear her moving her hands around the fretboard and pulling on the strings. The immediacy is mindblowing — Joni and her guitar are right there in the room with you, without being forced into your lap.
The best sounding copies of Clouds are the ones that put Joni and her guitar right there in your living room.