Shine [Digipak] (CD - 2007)

Personnel: Joni Mitchell (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); Joni Mitchell; James D. Taylor, James Taylor (acoustic guitar); Greg Leisz (pedal steel guitar); Larry Klein (bass guitar); Leigh Allardyce (dancer); Bob Sheppard (soprano saxophone, alto saxophone); Brian Blade (drums); Paulinho Da Costa (percussion).

Recording information: Castle Oaks Studios, Calabasas, CA.

Photographers: Charles "Chilly Dog: Hope; Clay Stang.

Arranger: Joni Mitchell.

The world almost didn't get another Joni Mitchell album after she announced her retirement following 2002's TRAVELOGUE. Whatever her reasons for changing her mind five years down the line, the sheer inspiration behind SHINE is obvious. Her first album of new material in nine years, SHINE finds Mitchell adopting a more intimate approach (especially in contrast to the massive orchestrations of TRAVELOGUE), handling many of the instrumental duties herself. In fact, it's her unconventional approach to both acoustic and electronic instruments that gives the album much of its singular charm; unusually organic synthesizer stabs and skittering electronic percussion rub shoulders with oddball guitar tunings and spidery piano lines.

Lyrically, Mitchell melds poetic imagery with sociopolitical themes more seamlessly than she's done in some time, and even revisits one of her earliest songs in this mode, with a perky recasting of her chestnut "Big Yellow Taxi." Listening to the level of artistic urgency apparent on SHINE, it's difficult to imagine Mitchell could have ever really believed she had nothing left to say. minimize