''Wild Things Run Fast'' is the 11th studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. Her first of four releases for

Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...

, it was released in 1982 and represents her departure from

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

to a more 1980s pop sound. This was her first album to work with bassist

Larry Klein Larry Klein (born March 17, 1956) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is based in Los Angeles. He began his career as a bassist, playing with jazz artists Willie Bobo, Freddie Hubbard, Carmen McRae, Joe Henderson, Bobb ...

, whom she married in 1982. Klein would play bass on and co-produce her next four albums. The resulting world tour took Mitchell through the U.S., Europe, Asia and Australia. A video of the tour was released in 1983, entitled ''Refuge of the Roads''. The recorded performances were not performed in front of a live audience, but rather recorded live in a studio once the tour had been completed, with applause dubbed-in during post-production. There was also some Super 8 footage taken by Mitchell on the road. It has since been released on DVD. Mitchell claimed that her inspiration for the album came from hearing the music of popular bands such as Steely Dan,

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talki ...

and

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Polic ...

at a

discothèque A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

during a trip to the Caribbean in 1981. She said that hearing The Police, especially, affected her sound, saying, "their rhythmic hybrids, and the positioning of the drums, and the sound of the drums, was one of the main calls out to me to make a more rhythmic album".JoniMitchell.com – Biography (1981–1984 A Solid Love)
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Track listing

Personnel

Track numbering refers to CD and digital releases of the album. * Joni Mitchell – vocals, acoustic guitar , electric guitar on piano , electric piano , cover painting *

– bass, rhythmic arrangements * Michael Landau – electric guitar * Steve Lukather – electric guitar *

John Guerin John Payne Guerin (October 31, 1939 – January 5, 2004) was an American percussionist. He was a proponent of the jazz-rock style. Biography Guerin was born in Hawaii and raised in San Diego. As a young drummer he began performing with Buddy De ...

– drums , whisper chorus *

Vinnie Colaiuta Vincent Peter Colaiuta (born February 5, 1956) is an American drummer who has worked as a session musician in many genres. He was inducted into the '' Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 1996 and the ''Classic Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 2014. Cola ...

– drums , rhythmic arrangements *

Don Alias Charles "Don" Alias (December 25, 1939 in New York City – March 28, 2006 in New York City) was an American jazz percussionist. Alias was best known for playing congas and other hand drums. He was, however, a capable drum kit performer: for ...

– rhythmic arrangements *

Larry Williams Larry Williams (born Lawrence Eugene Williams, a.k.a. Lawrence Edward Williams; May 10, 1935 – January 7, 1980) was an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer, songwriter, producer, and pianist from New Orleans, Louisiana. Williams ...

– Prophet synthesizer on , tenor saxophone *

Russell Ferrante Yellowjackets is an American jazz fusion band founded in 1977 in Los Angeles, California. History In 1977, guitarist Robben Ford, for his first solo album, recruited keyboardist Russell Ferrante, electric bassist Jimmy Haslip and drummer Ri ...

– Oberheim synthesizer *

Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Shorter came to prominence in the late 1950s as a member of, and eventually primary composer for, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s, he joined Miles Dav ...

– soprano saxophone * Larry Carlton – guitar *

Victor Feldman Victor Stanley Feldman (7 April 1934 – 12 May 1987) was an English jazz musician who played mainly piano, vibraphone, and percussion. He began performing professionally during childhood, eventually earning acclaim in the UK jazz scene as ...

– percussion * Kim Hutchcroft – baritone saxophone * Lionel Richie – backing vocals , co-lead vocals * Charles Valentino – backing vocals * Howard Kinney – backing vocals *

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...

– backing vocals * Kenny Rankin – whisper chorus * Robert De La Garza – whisper chorus * Skip Cottrell – whisper chorus

Technical personnel

*Joni Mitchell – production, mixing *

– mixing *

Henry Lewy Henry Lewy (May 31, 1926 – April 8, 2006),Arizona Obituary Archive: Henry Lewy< ...

– engineering at A&M *Skip Cottrell – engineering at A&M *Clyde Kaplan – assistant engineering at A&M *Jerry Hudgins – engineering at Devonshire Sound *Larry Hirsch – mixing *Chase Williams – assistant mixing *John Golden – vinyl mastering *Lee Herschberg – CD remastering

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1982 albums Joni Mitchell albums Geffen Records albums Albums recorded at A&M Studios Albums produced by Joni Mitchell Albums with cover art by Joni Mitchell