Track Listing

1. Urge For Going
2. Chelsea Morning
3. Big Yellow Taxi
4. Woodstock
5. Circle Game
6. Carey
7. California
8. You Turn Me On I'm A Radio
9. Raised On Robbery
10. Help Me
11. Free Man In Paris
12. River
13. Chinese Cafe
14. Come In From The Cold
15. Both Sides Now

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3022 in Music
• Released on: 1996-10-07
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
She has only had a few bona fide hits, but after almost 30 years, she's finally delivered a 15-song compilation of her signature songs that will be a CD point-of-departure for casual fans and newcomers well into the new millennium. The companion Misses volume is an intriguing curio that might rather more generously have been marketed as a bonus disc. --Jeff Bateman

CD Description
HITS and MISSES, released on the same day in October 1996, are, amazingly enough, the first compilations of Joni Mitchell's work. Mitchell is one of the most influential singer-songwriters of the rock era. By incorporating poetic lyricism and a jazzy harmonic sensibility into the troubadour tradition, she paved the way for everyone from Rickie Lee Jones to Sting. HITS features some of the best-known songs from her immense repertoire (MISSES highlights equally important, but less commercially successful, compositions).
HITS begins and ends with early, acoustic guitar-based material. "Urge For Going" (previously unavailable on CD) and "Both Sides Now" both yielded reams of cover versions by the likes of Judy Collins, Tom Rush and countless others. Moving on through the stylistically divergent phases of Mitchell's career, the lush pop songs "Help Me" and "Free Man In Paris" segue into the starkly confessional piano ballad "River" and the slippery, jazzy feel of "Chinese Cafe/Unchained Melody", adorned byLarry Klein's Jaco-manque fretless bass. HITS can only skimthe surface of Mitchell's prolific output; a truly thoroughchronicle would require a box set. But every song here is agem, and this is a perfect place for the uninitiated to begin.

Customer Reviews

Excellent
Having never really heard much of Joni's music before I went out on a limb and gave this CD a go and have not regretted it. This album shows her amazing songwriting ability in a number of different genres, capturing the attitude of the 1960s perfectly using a voice that is soft but full of attitude and an acoustic guitar. The songs are raw and relatively underproduced which highlights the atmospheric lyrics and singing. She swings with some aplomb between folk music (Urge for Going), soft rock (Raised on robbery), pop (You turn me on), easy listening (Both sides now)and creates her own emotional genre (Chinese Cafe, Come in from the cold). All her classics are on this album from Woodstock to Big Yellow Taxi and some other songs that I bet you didn't know she wrote. Takes a couple of listens to get into but once you do you'll never look back.

The Tip of the Iceberg!
Joni Mitchell is one of the few late-20th-century artists to whom the term 'Musical Genius' can be reasonably attached. In the singer-songwriter genre, she is equalled only by Bob Dylan and there is one area, I would say, in which she steps past him - musical diversity.

That explains the above title. It is impossible not to give the work presented in 'Hits' five stars, because it is exceptional, but equally it seems futile to try and condense such a totally varied, (now) forty-year catalogue of work into 15 tracks in 80 minutes. To take Joni - album-wise - at her two extremes, there is the folk singer debuted in 'Song to a Seagull', with the soprano voice, the purposefully constructed melodies and the first-person emotional considerations, and then there is the experimental avant-gardist with 'her big toe stuck in the metaphorical lake of jazz' (to quote Joni herself) exposed in 'Mingus', and a great musical journey comes in between. So while this compilation covers perhaps her most accessible work and it's companion, 'Misses', gives a eclectic taste of her more ambitious output, Joni Mitchell is really an 'album' artist and to fully appreciate the extent of her musical brilliance it takes, as I said, more than 80 minutes, 15 tracks.

If however you are looking for her most accessible work or her most famous songs, or you are new to Joni, this is a good purchase - either this or the album 'Blue', which is one of those every-track-is-outstanding albums (it also happens to be one of the finest ever made).

Just remember, what you are listening to really is the tip of the iceberg. Sort of like reading the back blurb of a really outstanding book.

I once read something about Joni which described someone introducing themselves to her by saying, "I think you're one of the greatest female singer-songwriters of our time," and how did Joni react? - she walked away, vaguely annoyed. I think she was quite right to do that, I think there is unintended offense in that, and I think that when you listen to this CD (even if you don't go on to explore the rest of her catalogue, which you should) you will see why.

She is one of the greatest singer-songwriters of all time, period. Gender doesn't come into it.

women independance
joni mitchell one of the best women songwriters ever, such deep meaning in her lyrics and vocals, that will make your hairs on the back of you're neck stand up, all the songs here are excellent not a single dud, which is cool,
it's great that you've got the lyrics too so you can understand the magic and know the actual words...
my favorites songs are chelsea morning, big yellow taxi,
woodstock, carey, raised on robbery, free man in paris and the beautiful come in from the cold[beautiful]

i don't really like female singers but mitchell is different she has a peaceful way with words that ill leave a lump in your throat, and soothing music to make a perfect escape from reality when you're that the worlds too much,
NOT enough HITS i want more