Judgement Of The Moon And Stars - Joni Mitchell - LIVE

BBC, June 1972

[@christophermills7625]

I was there! - at the tender age of 15. BBC TV theatre in London. May 1972. Joni playing a lot of new songs later to feature on For The Roses. The 'clinkers and clunkers in the middle' refers to two earlier takes that went wrong, where Joni stopped short, said 'Oh SHOOT!' then collapsed into laughter. I agree with you Matt - this final take was transfixing and still sounds luminary and brilliantly original 40 years on.

[@ignacioclerici5341]

We don't care This song is about Beethoven , not about you.

[@alvarovukasin1167]

@@ignacioclerici5341 I do care.

[@ottomarcos]

This song is a masterpiece; plain and simple. The first time I ever heard it (in 1972, as both a teenager & a Joni devotee from her first album on), I immediately decided I wanted it played at my funeral. I feel the same way, 42 yrs later. I'm so grateful I got to see Joni perform live on numerous occasions through the years, starting with her Court & Spark tour in Austin; the first time she ever performed in Texas, when I was still a teenager. Talk about a woman of heart and mind!

[@olamora554]

This song got me through a terrible breakup and a desire to better myself while deep in the regrets, depression and sorrow - and I used it as fuel every time I wanted to give up and every time I remembered the jerk that dumped me. It fueled my rage and I marked on. And it saw me through to finally getting my degree, buying the house I dreamed of, and finding the true love of my life all at the same time. You can’t give up, ever. . . “Show then you won’t expire, not ‘till you burn up every passion; not even when you die.” I love you Joni.

[@deedeetee17]

@@ignacioclerici5341 I’m sorry your life is so miserable and dark that you have to put others down to make yourself feel better. This song means anything to anybody. You don’t own it. The listener owns it. And it also got me through a very dark time in my life. So you can be miserable, bitter, and resentful all you want. Nobody cares what you think loser.

[@jmiller05]

Strike every chord that you feel...

[@ignacioclerici5341]

Yeah, She's talking about the Hammerklavier, which is a piano sonata with a billion chords. Almost impossible to play.

[@shellygloo]

Amazing.....one of my favorite songs after all these years...the poetry, the content, her voice.....

[@Ziggysf1]

One of her (many) masterpieces. What a gift this woman has.

[@gerhardlegeland4523]

I'm rather sure that I will have an extra moment when I'll walk through the city close to my home, when I'll walk by Beethoven's house... I will think of his great compositions and of you dear Joni. Think of your touching words full of humility at the beginning, of the beauty of your singing, the incredible lyrics, the beautiful piano playing with this moment of imperfection and your perfect little laugh and your words at the end: my apologies old Ludwig wherever you are for the clinkers and clunkers in the middle... your big laugh... Thank you for these special moments you'll give to me with all that each time I'll pass by the house of Beethoven's birth. Joni you are the greatest of them all. I love you.

[@cherylelia1911]

she speaks about beethoven being so misunderstood and unloved in his own time, and it reminds me of the line "I could have told you, Vincent [Van Gogh] this world was never meant for one as beautiful as you" from Vincent (or Starry Starry Night) by Don McLean (got an error when i tried to paste the link)

[@jarodcarnarvon5198]

Such a beautiful piece of music 🎵 there!!! Just love the piano there!!!

[@MATTshortMUSIC]

One of my favorites by my my favorite artist...how does she sing this so perfect live...feel this so much...

[@colmflyson]

About Beethoven but so much more as well!

[@ignacioclerici5341]

No, it's about Beethoven, not anything or anyone else, you just have no clue how much Beethoven means for the world and for sensitive artists like Joni Mitchell

[@sonicboy19]

This is one of my favorite Joni songs as well. I hadn't heard an older live version of it prior to this, so thanks for sharing it! Does know if this aired on BBC television or if it was a BBC radio broadcast? It would be cool to see a filmed version of it if it exists.

[@christophermills7625]

It was recorded for TV and was part of a short series called Sounds For Saturday that aired in the summer of ‘72 in the UK on BBC2.

[@loverofsong9830]

Hi Sonicboy19 Such a beautifully crafted song. I’ve also been searching for the filmed version. Have you checked out this live performance? Unfortunately, it’s only audio. Ludwig's Tune - Joni Mitchell - 05.22.2000 Madison Square Garden. It’s not my favorite vocally but it’s worth listening to her speak.

[@sonicboy19]

@@loverofsong9830 Yes I have heard it, thank you. Although the orchestral version she did for Travelogue and this live version remain excellent and it would have been a great song to hear her perform live at any point in her career and in any context, I still greatly prefer the original arrangement on piano. It just seems most fitting given the subject matter.

[@loverofsong9830]

@@sonicboy19 Yes, indeed. I agree with all the above.

[@rukeyser]

That imperfect moment, that perfect little laugh...

[@loverofsong9830]

I’ve truly happened upon a treasure. Thank you so much for posting!

[@xstensl8823]

heard her play this at the Trubadour in L.A. in 1974.

[@fritzcat6198]

Wow what a treat! thank you.

[@rosiecider100]

She said..never said to to painters ..paint it again.!Perhaps my favourite album.

[@JayNomad98104]

Good to see my class mates here.

[@sirCULTURE]

Why can't I find her playing this LIVE?

[@garypeatling7927]

Love to see her playing it feel cheated if dont have video to watch I agree this is live completely different to album

[@chrisb587]

Whatever happened to the footage of this BBC2 show ? I remember watching it at the time. Bit weird that the 1970 show survived but this 1972 one didn't ?

[@shushpuppai]

Chris Blower kind of random what they destroyed and what they kept, and what survived because people held tape recorders to TVs, or early VHS recordings, or telerecordings. Tends to be hit and miss.

[@sonicboy19]

@@shushpuppai Agreed. Now wouldn't it be amazing if it suddenly turned up in an upcoming volume of her archival retrospective. While there has been no mention so far of including visual content and I'm certainly very pleased to have audio alone, if she has or has access to any rare video content that she legally able to release, throwing in a bonus DVD in a later series would be a great way of getting it out there for fans to enjoy! While the chance of this ever resurfacing is probably very slim, even a collection of her music videos would be nice to have on DVD.

[@sonicboy19]

@@loverofsong9830 I've never been able to see her perform a full live show since she had stopped touring by the time I started listening to her music in the early 2000's. But I was lucky enough to attend the tribute show for her at Massey Hall in Toronto in 2014, which she attended. And she got up on stage to perform a few songs and some spoken word poetry, which was an amazing surprise and completely unexpected for me. As far as I'm aware, it was the last time she has performed on stage, even if it was just a few songs, so I feel lucky to have been able to catch that. She seemed very happy to be there and couldn't stop smiling, which was great to see.

[@chrisblower8868]

@@sonicboy19 Well I reckon we'll find out pretty soon !

[@patricktuftsofficial]

sounds crazy but the manner in which Joni Mitchell speaks sounds a bit like Marilyn Monroe.