Joni Mitchell - Shadows and Light

Starring: Joni Mitchell

RS: 3of 4 Stars

Under Mitchell's direction, Shadows and Light documents the great singer-songwriter's 1979 tour and finds her playing some of her especially adventurous material, supported by one of the most accomplished bands ever to back an icon -- Pat Metheny on guitar, Michael Brecker on sax, Jaco Pastorius on bass. Throughout, Mitchell mixes in outside footage: During "Amelia," you see Amelia Earhart; during "Coyote," an actual coyote. In "Hejira," Mitchell ice skates -- something else she apparently does well.

DAVID WILD
(June 18, 2003)