Court and Spark
Studio album by Joni Mitchell
Released	January 1974
Recorded	?
Genre	Folk jazz, Singer-songwriter
Length	36:52
Label	Asylum
Producer(s)	?
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Robert Christgau (A) link
Joni Mitchell chronology
For the Roses (1972)	Court and Spark (1974)	Miles of Aisles (1974)

Court and Spark is Joni Mitchell's January 1974 full-length release. Her most commercially successful album, Court and Spark reached #2 on the Billboard 200 charts, and infused her folk-rock style with jazz inflections. Three singles were generated from the album: "Help Me" (her biggest commercial hit, reaching #7 on the Billboard Hot 100), "Free Man in Paris" (about David Geffen, with whom she shared a house around the time of the album [1]), and "Raised on Robbery". It was voted as the best album of the year in The Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics poll. In 2003, the album was ranked number 111 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2006, the album was included in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Template:Album-cover File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... A Studio Album is an album of regular studio recordings. ... Joni Mitchell, CC (born Roberta Joan Anderson on November 7, 1943) is a noted Canadian musician, songwriter, and painter. ... A music genre is a category (or genre) of pieces of music that share a certain style or basic musical language (van der Merwe 1989, p. ... Folk Jazz is a general term for music that pairs traditional Anglo-American folk music with traditional African-American jazz/ragtime, featuring songs and styles of both traditions. ... The term singer-songwriter refers to performers who both write and sing their own material. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... original logo current logo Asylum Records is a record label which was started in 1971 by David Geffen. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the performers, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes . ... The All Music Guide (AMG) is a metadata database about music, owned by All Media Guide. ... Image File history File links 5_stars. ... Robert Christgau (sometimes abbreviated in print to Xgau), born April 18, 1942, is an American essayist, music journalist, and rock critic. ... Joni Mitchell, CC (born Roberta Joan Anderson on November 7, 1943) is a noted Canadian musician, songwriter, and painter. ... For the Roses is the 1972 album by Joni Mitchell. ... Miles of Aisles is a 1974 live album by Joni Mitchell backed by The L.A. Express, on the Court and Spark tour. ... Joni Mitchell, CC (born Roberta Joan Anderson on November 7, 1943) is a noted Canadian musician, songwriter, and painter. ... The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. ... Bob Dylans folk rock album, Blonde on Blonde Folk rock is a musical genre, combining elements of folk music and rock music. ... Jazz is a musical art form that originated in New Orleans at around the start of the 20th century. ... Help Me is the title of a song written by Joni Mitchell for the 1974 album Court and Spark. ... The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. ... Free Man In Paris was a song written by Canadian folk artist Joni Mitchell and appeared on her 1974 album Court and Spark. ... David Lawrence Geffen (born February 21, 1943) is a record executive, film and theatrical producer, and philanthropist. ... The Village Voice is a weekly newspaper in New York City featuring investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts reviews and events listings for New York City. ... The Pazz & Jop critics poll is a highly influential poll of music critics run by The Village Voice newspaper. ... Rolling Stone is an American magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published bi-weekly. ... The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time was the cover story of a special issue of Rolling Stone magazine published in November 2003. ... 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die is a musical reference book edited by Roger Dimery. ...

Track listing

1. "Court and Spark" – 2:46
2. "Help Me" – 3:22
3. "Free Man in Paris" – 3:02
4. "People's Parties" – 2:15
5. "Same Situation" – 2:57
6. "Car on a Hill" – 3:02
7. "Down to You" – 5:38
8. "Just Like this Train" – 4:24
9. "Raised on Robbery" – 3:06
10. "Trouble Child" – 4:00
11. "Twisted" – 2:21

Help Me is the title of a song written by Joni Mitchell for the 1974 album Court and Spark. ... Free Man In Paris was a song written by Canadian folk artist Joni Mitchell and appeared on her 1974 album Court and Spark. ...

Personnel

• Joni Mitchell - Vocals, including background; acoustic guitar; piano; clavinet on "Down to You"
• John Guerin - Drums and percussion
• Wilton Felder - Bass
• Max Bennett - Bass on "Trouble Child"
• Jim Hughart - Bass on "People's Parties" and "Free Man in Paris"
• Milt Holland - Chimes on "Court and Spark"
• Tom Scott - Woodwinds and reeds
• Chuck Findley - Trumpet on "Twisted" and "Trouble Child"
• Joe Sample - Electric piano, clavinet on "Raised on Robbery".
• David Crosby - Background vocals on "Free Man in Paris" and "Down to You"
• Graham Nash - Background vocals on "Free Man in Paris"
• Susan Webb - Background vocals on "Down to You"
• Larry Carlton - Electric guitar
• Wayne Perkins - Electric guitar on "Car on a Hill"
• Dennis Budimir - Electric guitar on "Trouble Child"
• Robbie Robertson - Electric guitar on "Raised on Robbery"
• Jose Feliciano - Electric guitar on "Free Man in Paris"
• Cheech Marin - Background voice on "Twisted"
• Tommy Chong - Background voice on "Twisted"

Joseph Leslie Joe Sample is an American pianist, keyboard player and composer. ... Image:Http://www. ... Graham Nash on cover of his recording, Wild Tales, 1973 Graham William Nash (born February 2, 1942) is an English-born singer-songwriter known for his light tenor vocals and songwriting contributions in pop group The Hollies and folk-rock band Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and as a photography collector... For the past three decades, Larry Carlton has been one of the nations most sought-after jazz guitarists, dividing his recording time between solo recordings and session appearances with more popular bands. ... Jaime Robert Robertson (born July 5, 1943 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a songwriter, guitarist and singer, probably best known for his membership in The Band. ... José Montserrate Feliciano (born September 10, 1945 in Lares, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican singer. ... Cheech Marin (born Ricardo Antonio Marin on July 13, 1946), is a Mexican American comedian and actor. ... Tommy Chong Thomas Chong B. Kin (born May 24, 1938 in Edmonton, Alberta) is a Canadian-born actor and musician who is well-known for his stereotypical portrayals of hippie-era stoners. ...

Production

• Joni Mitchell - Cover Painting
• Producer - Joni Mitchell
• Engineer - Henry Lewy

Trivia

• American singer-songwriter Duncan Sheik covered the title song from this album. His version can be found on Brighter/Later: A Duncan Sheik Anthology.