Joni Mitchell - Both Sides Now (REACTION

[@bearballin]

Gents, you made mention of the crowd not "reacting". They weren't bored nor disenchanted. Believe it or not, it was a sign of respect for concert goers not to interrupt a performance but to pay attention. They were mesmerized, hanging on every word, every note Joni was playing. Just like when you go to a classical concert, or an opera, the audience waits till the song is complete the you give your applause and adoration. It was called concert etiquette... ❤

[@AirplayBeats]

Yea Che was talking about the crowd not responding but I was upset that the lady wasn’t paying attention to Joni. 😂

[@Cosmo-Kramer]

@@AirplayBeats Jackie Evancho does a beautiful cover of this masterpiece.

[@davidtullis2810]

There's always someone in the audience that doesn't want to be there. They're just there to make someone happy. It always upsets me when I you can't hear the first lines of a song because the audience is clapping or yelling

[@lynby6231]

They’ve obviously never been to a folk club, nobody can enter or leave the room while a song is playing.

[@Straydogger]

It's not a song you jump around to or clap and whistle. You sit and listen and get into the music. Times were different then.

[@ozzy6668]

I love the smile on her face at 3.05 when she realizes that she is singing the second verse for the 2nd time and seamlessly switches to the 3rd verse. Surprised noone has commented.

[@markbarnwell942]

this is one of the great songs of all time. listen to the first version then go to the performance with joni as the mature artist. her performance is stunning.

[@citizenghosttown]

100%. This song hits me in the gut every time I hear it -- both versions. But when you hear it from an older woman. one who has really lived life --- it's especially powerful.

[@BethHutter]

This is exactly what I was going to write. The younger version is great- but the perspective of her an an older woman who has experienced life with all it's ups and downs is just so much more poignant and meaningful.

[@marcbernard6641]

“Love in her eyes,flowers in her hair” Going to California Robert Plant.

[@Cosmo-Kramer]

*_To find a queen without a king_* *_They say she plays guitar and cries and sings....La la la lah_*

[@TheDivayenta]

Now you have to hear Joni singing this 40 years later in her deep alto with jazz musicians. It’s waaaaay more meaningful and hits HARD.

[@idiggraves94]

Are you talking about the Grammys performance? That version of this song destroys me every time

[@GottaDance56]

​@@idiggraves94She recorded a version with an orchestra backing her up in the early 2000's that's the intermediate stop between this performance and her Grammy performance, which was achingly powerful.

[@Searles007]

Prince named The Time's 1984 album "Ice Cream Castles" which is in the 2nd line of this song: "And ice cream castles in the air." He was infatuated with Joni. 💜🤙🏻

[@salmuscles]

Hi La and Che… a beautiful girl with just a guitar and an amazing voice… no skimping clothes no back up dancers … simple and beautiful… this song will be played at my funeral when I die…

[@franktrig]

"Woodstock" live on piano and "For Free" are a must .

[@oldschool3484]

You guys really do a good job in your analysis…

[@jaycmacg]

This year's Grammy version of this song is astonishing. She also did an orchestral version as an older woman about 10 years ago. She truly understands how wise these words are, and how different the lyrics hit when sung by a wise old 80 year old stroke survivor at the Grammy's...just amazing.

[@jaquestraw1]

Goosebumps every time

[@brendanbyer2327]

Check out her performance of this song at this year's Grammy's. Stunning

[@fidge54]

Joni is/was just absolutely amazing

[@terenzo50]

If I remember right, it was the well-known Judy Collins who first introduced us all to the song and the incredible Canadian artist who wrote it. Joni followed along a year later with her first lp produced by David Crosby. She already had a good reputation as a songwriter among the folkie crowd, but her ability as a singer was soon apparent to all. Her self-taught guitar tuning technique is legendary among guitarists.

[@davidwilkins5932]

Amazingly, she wrote this song when she was about 19. She re-recorded it when she was in her 60s, and it’s phenomenal. You should react to it at some point. The weight of years and experience reflect in her voice, raising it to a whole new level.

[@SmokeyTreats]

Joni is who Robert Plant was alluding to in Zeppelin's song Going To California - Someone told me there's a girl out there with love in her eyes & flowers in her hair. Joni produced so many great hits, this one being the top one for me. Thanks for another great reaction guys!

[@t.j.payeur5331]

What a poet..what a musician..what a performer..thanks, men.

[@aspenward390]

Admiration for Joni is an understatement. It is as close to worship as humanly possible. She is a gift to humanity.

[@a2zme]

Absolute masterpiece, IMO

[@leonh.kalayjian6556]

Might be the best lyrics of any song

[@tjrivers]

I saw her great performances in Washington DC Mayday Vietnam Protests, I think in ‘72. The night was magical at the night concerts, Baez, Havens, Joni, Jefferson Airplane…more!

[@Peggi109]

Awesome reaction.

[@alanFconrad]

Perfect song/poem by the Great Joni

[@Thomas-aka-TomD]

Joni is a treasure. Thanks for this one. Check a live of her doing "California" and explore the later jazzy stuff. "Miles of Aisles" Live Lp is great too with Tom Scott and Robben Ford ... As always fellas, love the energy!

[@benoitdesmarais2948]

For the live jazzy stuff, I'd say Shadows and Light is the absolute must - there was no topping Jaco Pastorius and Pat Metheny with Joni.

[@Wordsmyth8]

Miles of Aisles is one of my favorite of Joni’s albums. I love the way she re-interprets some of her earlier songs with a jazzier influence.

[@bwheeler1970VB]

Love the live version of California

[@JJReagan]

She has the voice of an angel soft but yet so powerful! Great start to the week guys thanks!

[@franksullivan1873]

Joni is an old soul in the wheel of time.

[@izzonj]

She came up with songs like this at such a young age - and you can listen to her sing it as she got older, including at this year's Grammy's, and her delivery hits you in a different way.

[@mojorider8455]

yes, this! ^ amazing she wrote this so young, like she was so much wiser and insightful beyond her years. And the poignancy of her doing that song NOW. wow

[@mark-be9mq]

How do you react as a crowd to something simple, touching & beautiful. Let it float over you & soak in. Take it home. JM brilliant.

[@lisarainbow9703]

I'd love to see you guys react to more of Joni's jazz period--- she really blossomed musically at that point. "The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines" from her Tribute to Mingus album is amazing. Jaco Pastorius on bass...

[@gluteusmaximus1657]

I once saw a vid about Laurel Canyon/Mama Cass Elliot's house. All the mid/late 60's musicians hung out and playing their newest songs to each other. Few names : Neil Young, Roger McQuinn, Steve Stills, Graham Nash plus many more. One quote was ."there was that blonde girl sitting and listening. The other day she came and played all our songs, but she sang and played better than the whole bunch" !

[@heidih2887]

Yep, she sang that same song for the 2024 Grammys, as an amazing survivor of a brain aneurysm most Dr's never thought she'd survive.. has had to re-learn absolutely EVERYTHING OVER after that 2015 event, and now, she's finally able to get back on the stage (with a little help from her friends) and share that amazing song with the wisdom and grace that 80 years of overcoming obstacles and living and laughing and seeing things from both sides! 🥰

[@brianmurray5055]

Joni is an amazing composer and artist. She is also a great guitar player, ranked number 9 of Rolling Stone's top 250 guitarists. I really love her later compositions where she used a lot of jazz greats on the recordings.

[@chazfromtheburg]

My wife talks about Joni Mitchell the way my buddies and me talk about Michael Jordan. One of the best song writers of all time 🐐 love you guys!

[@NancyMoran-r3b]

The crowd was actually be respectful by listening to every note she played and sang. Her voice was something to treasure, especially if you were in her presence. I never got to see her but I loved her through her writing and singing. There’s no other voice that compare to hers. Her album BLUE is an incredible experience to have.

[@maryconway8759]

Herbie Hancock has an album called River: The Joni Letters. Hancock and Brittany Howard at the Kennedy Center Honors honoring Joni Mitchell, perform this song. It’s fantastic!

[@janetf23]

I'd love to see your reactions to A Free Man in Paris from Joni's 1974 album Court and Spark album someday soon✌

[@laurabrevitz3944]

I've always loved A Free Man in Paris. Reportedly about her friend, record exec David Geffen.

[@igmugleska966]

Surprising fact: Prince was a huge fan of Joni, and started going to her concerts at the age of 15!

[@RioRav]

She learned to play classical music on the piano as a child, then learned Pete Seegers folk activist songs on the ukulele (as her parents disapproved of the guitar at the time), and then started idolizing Edith Piaf and Miles Davis. I think all those early influences are still very present in her vocals, her style of writing, composing and her improvisation.

[@39thala]

A. song that Joni wrote and was a big hit for Judy Collins. In 1969 Judy's version won a Grammy Award for Best Folk Performance.

[@jenniferfoster1692]

Prince was a huge Joni fan, he really idolized her songwriting & her voice. He went to some of her concerts when he was younger, I think before his first album or around that time. Years later, after he was a star, an interviewer was saying how much Prince loved her and she said yeah, I remember seeing him right up in the front row at some of my concerts. She remembered his unknown face all those years later. This song has been in a ton of movies/tv shows, it's very good for emotional scenese. 'Help Me' is also in a bunch of media, I know you both liked that one, too.

[@annbeguity5932]

Bros THIS is the type of reaction that makes me a loyal viewer: *you go where the music is,* filling in your historical and musical education WELL beyond other reactors, and not guided solely by likely views, etc. Thereby, you gain knowledge and context. Kudos! 👏🏼 I second suggestions to check her version in later years. I like the one from the ‘24 Grammys for the drama (slowly revealing to audience it’s her on stage), and the gorgeous musical support. Tears from many in audience, including Jay-Z (at the end). “Joni Mitchell doesn’t lie” - Q-tip/Janet Jackson BTW the lady on acoustic guitar to Joni’s left is Brandi Carlyle, who is largely responsible for getting Joni out there again in her later post-stroke years. 🙏

[@757optim]

Another classic.

[@jrsinsf]

Guys, check out the album The Hissing of Summer Lawns... amazing music you aren't gonna believe!

[@ronlyster5667]

Love Joni!! Anyone else notice that she accidentally started verse 2 a second time … then made a smooth correction.

[@FavoriteMovieDate]

I had never heard this live. Magnificent Joni! Back then audiences didn’t interrupt the performance, especially one this tender. They waited to clap until the end.

[@Sober2003]

She wrote that song at 21 years old! Remarkable ❤ talent

[@GaryColemanNC]

That's my girl... Thanks, men!

[@sereneandkeen]

Nice Hendrix shirt!!

[@scottsnyder2726]

Her 2022 performance of this at the Newport Folk Festival was timeless and powerful

[@gizmo5925]

Here are some of my favorites by Joni Mitchell: "A Case of You," "In France They Kiss on Main Street," "Chelsea Morning," "Night in the City," "Don't Interrupt the Sorrow," "Turbulent Indigo," "Real Good for Free," "Big Yellow Taxi," "Free Man in Paris," "You Turn Me on, I'm a Radio," "Two Gray Rooms," "Shades of Scarlet Conquering," "Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire," "All I Want," "Blue," and "Carey." That'll keep you busy for a while.

[@roberttompkins6489]

I've listened to it for 5 decades and I still get goosebumps every time and a longing nostalgic sadness that is beyond words.

[@kareng4658]

She's brilliant.

[@SMccrate01]

She also created something like over 50 open tunings for guitar. It was hell on her roadies in the early days before effects pedals allowed one instrument to have multiple tunings. They had to keep running new ones out to her for each song and keep track of them all.

[@benoitdesmarais2948]

Get somme jazzy Joni going: The Dry Cleaner From DesMoines (from her Mingus album) or Edith & The Kingpin (from The Hissing of Summer Lawns).

[@jessicaleblanc-nh1yl]

Her music was played in my home when I was younger. Still listen to her magical melodies & stories to this day. She is/was and incredible gift. Offering so much to those who listened & she is a bit legendary. A girl and her guitar, that is all it took to be her. Thank you for your review!

[@davidmaholchic6146]

Pure beautiful love you Guys

[@gailjohnson5950]

Back then, the crowd watched and listened...they didn't scream or applaud until the performance was over.

[@classicrocklady6288]

Old Souls is what we called our special songwriters.

[@johnnyallen5736]

She is amazing

[@destinyreelly2974]

That’s a poet. That’s a writer. ❤❤❤

[@ML-un1oi]

Thanks for doing this. Excellent reaction, fellas 👏 ❤😊

[@888jimm]

The Hissing of Summer lawns Joni bad to the bone

[@mrnobody9104]

Her music really has you running the full gammit of feels. Truly an artist of the utmost talent!

[@irishbrneyes6978]

The crowd is actually showing respect to Ms. Joni.

[@gzucc]

I love you guys.

[@billdomitilli8125]

Pure Artistry on display/

[@moonstone1159]

One of the greats!

[@janicez2630]

So glad you are experiencing Jody... such a gem.

[@michaelz9892]

Nice reaction. Joni was a genius songwriter.

[@bobdelp2023]

LUVVVVVVVV IT, OF COURSE!!! 💯😊 HEY LAH AND CHE!👍 SO THIS COMES OFF OF HER ALBUM ( CLOUDS ) HER 2ND ALBUM GUYS

[@NancyMoran-r3b]

For Free is a reflective , truthful song.

[@TeresaMount-t9o]

Very beautiful voice and song, thank you.

[@christisheeks6334]

Really loved your reaction to one of my favorite artists. We're blessed to have Joni in our lives!

[@bobdelp2023]

AMAZINGGGGG HUH, SIMPLY STUNNING!!!💯😊CLOUDS, LOVE AND LIFE! HEY LA & CHE YOU GUYS HAVE A GR888888 FUN 4TH OF JULY, MANY BLESSINGS GUYS! 👍

[@AirplayBeats]

Happy 4th to you my friend!!

[@jamesferris4573]

Joni Mitchell said in an interview once that she was too young when she wrote this song. The meaning of the lyrics was not as powerful until after she had lived longer and had experienced more things. I know that is definitely true in my case.

[@joanfisher1079]

Her live video doing California is a must too. Of you loved Help Me, Freeman in Paris is a must listen.

[@Wordsmyth8]

Joni is the best.

[@danevans5823]

Even in the turbulent 60s with all of its chaos and insanity Joni had a grasp on reality and living with love and respect for all living thigs

[@annereidy7981]

Such a good reaction, you got it so well!

[@brewstergallery]

Hey there you pair o giants from El Neddo de España. A lovely version that shows just how remarkable Joni is. Did you catch that she started repeating verse #2 again, nervous maybe?, and before she got the chorus did the correct third verse and chorus. Grace under pressure and so beautiful and touching that it brings me to tears. Thanks for this coz it's the 1st time for me to see this one and I've seen a lot of Joni videos. She and Neil Young did a couple of " lost youth" songs around the same time.

[@ron88303]

Legend.

[@cwhumble3]

Holy crap this song has been rattling around in my head for the last 10 years and I never knew the title. TY fellas

[@AnthonyCiulla]

Her live recording of her song California is a must-see. It's her playing the dulcimer.

[@hipsville]

Judy Collins covered and charted with this song back in 67-68. It's great.

[@susanmurray7654]

You guysxHAVE tobwatch the documovie Echoes in the Canyon. About the music scene in Laurel Canyon, CA

[@EchoesDaBear]

Great reaction guys!! Good catch on her lyrics! She wrote this when she was 22 - first released when she was 23. How many at that age have this kind of perspective on life?! A profound understanding. Beautiful track, legendary songwriter. Thanks for this. Cheers!

[@john-daviddennison2862]

You guys are the best!!.. Love the channel...

[@JaneDoe-lq3du]

Oof. That song gets me in the feels every time. Definitely very poetic. Carey is another good one of hers.

[@custardflan]

JONI is a great guitarist, which is showcased on Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire, one of my favorites of hers, about James Taylor's heroin addiction.

[@jacqueline4514]

I couldn’t agree more; I was listening to her words as well and it made me feel that another kind of life is possible.

[@joelliebler5690]

One of the all time classic folk songs with zJoni’s natural sultry yet innocent vocals! What most people did not know back then was that Joni as a teenager had given up her baby for adoption to pursue her singing career and so had experienced what most young people do not have to go through at such a tender age!

[@mjm5081]

❤Joni❤

[@alanaltimont9007]

She starts to sing the second verse over again but then corrects herself and starts over again without a hitch. She was a pro even in her youth.

[@mjm5081]

Noticed that too. She gave a smile as if to laugh at herself 😃

[@GottaDance56]

Thanks La & Che for playing my suggestion! I hope you can also check out her later version (early 2000's) and her Grammy performance of this song. The optimism she sang with here is replaced by life's pain and loss. Joni is an artist's artist. ❤

[@AirplayBeats]

Our pleasure!!

[@davidhowe5415]

An old soul, for sure.

[@susanmurray7654]

A girl and her guitar!

[@paulprendergast3184]

Joni is always a great listen. Thanks guys!

[@beckycourtemanche1088]

When ever I hear Joni Mitchell, I know the chill bumps are not far behind! Her album Blue will forever be in my top 10 albums. Love your channel.

[@kenhewitt7357]

Pure genius.

[@kjisnot]

Joni live doing "In France They Kiss On Main Street" live at the Santa Barbara County Bowl, September 9, 1979. Includes nasty bass by Jaco.

[@hugh8329]

What a voice.