Hear 5 Demos & Outtakes From Joni Mitchell’s Blue 50th Anniversary Release
Joni Mitchell’s Blue — ever heard of it? Mitchell’s iconic fourth album turns 50 years old tomorrow and it’s been getting the full retrospective treatment, with elaborate features in the New York Times and a rare interview with Mitchell herself which Cameron Crowe conducted for The Los Angeles Times.
Today, five previously unreleased demos and outtakes from the album are available as part of a digital EP called Blue 50 (Demos & Outtakes). These songs will also be included on Joni Mitchell Archives Vol. 2: The Reprise Years (1968-1971), a compilation coming out in October that will document the period leading up to Blue.
Blue 50 (Demos & Outtakes) includes early demos of “A Case Of You” and “California,” an alternate version of “River” that features French horns, an early take of “Urge For Going,” a song that was intended for Blue but didn’t see a proper release until a 1996 greatest hits compilation, and a studio recording of “Hunter,” which Mitchell played live but never officially put out.
Listen to all five of those below.
Joni Mitchell Archives Vol. 2: The Reprise Years (1968-1971) is out 10/29.