''Don Juan's Reckless Daughter'' is a 1977 double album by Canadian singer-songwriter

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

. Her ninth album, it is unusual for its experimental style, expanding even further on the

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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

-influenced sound of Mitchell's previous recordings. Mitchell has stated that, close to completing her contract with Asylum Records, she allowed this album to be looser than anything she had done previously.Joni Mitchell Biography from jonimitchell.com
Retrieved August 22, 2008 ''Don Juan's Reckless Daughter'' was released in December 1977 to mixed reviews. It reached No. 25 on the ''Billboard'' charts and attained

gold record Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

status within three months. The album is also notable for Mitchell's controversial use of blackface on the cover.

Background and content

Much of the album is experimental: "Overture" is played with six simultaneous guitars, some in different tunings from others, with vocal echo effects; "The Tenth World" is an extended-length instrumental of Latin percussion; "Dreamland" features only percussion and voices (including that of Chaka Khan). "Paprika Plains" is a 16-minute song played on improvised piano and arranged with a full orchestra; it takes up all of Side 2. In it, Mitchell narrates a first-person description of a late-night gathering in a bar frequented by Indigenous peoples of Canada, touching on themes of hopelessness and alcoholism. At one point in the narrative, the narrator leaves the setting to watch the rain and enters into a dreamstate, and the lyrics – printed in the liner notes but not sung – become a mixture of references to innocent childhood memories, a nuclear explosion and an expressionless tribe gazing upon the dreamer. The narrator returns inside after the rain passes. In speaking to Anthony Fawcett about working on "Paprika Plains", Mitchell said:

The Improvisational, the spontaneous aspect of this creative process – still as a poet – is to set words to the music, which is a hammer and chisel process. Sometimes it flows, but a lot of times it's blocked by concept. And if you're writing free consciousness – which I do once in a while just to remind myself that I can, you know, because I'm fitting little pieces of this puzzle together – the end result must flow as if it was spoken for the first time.

"Off Night Backstreet" was released as a single backed with "Jericho", but did not chart. "The Tenth World" was also released as a single in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Two of the album's songs had previously been released: "Jericho" by Mitchell on her 1974 live album '' Miles of Aisles'' and "Dreamland" by

Roger McGuinn James Roger McGuinn (; born James Joseph McGuinn III; July 13, 1942) is an American musician, best known for being the frontman and leader of the Byrds. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 as a member of the band. As a so ...

on his 1976 album '' Cardiff Rose''. ''Don Juan's Reckless Daughter'' featured contributions from prominent jazz musicians, including four members of Weather Report –

Jaco Pastorius John Francis Anthony Pastorius III, also known as Jaco Pastorius (; December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987), was an American jazz bassist, composer, and producer. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential bassists of all time, ...

, Wayne Shorter, Manolo Badrena, and Alex Acuña.

Artwork

The original album artwork depicted a photomontage of shots taken by Norman Seeff, later arranged by Mitchell with a camera lucida and set on an orange-and-blue colour backdrop selected by Glen Christensen. Most prominently, Mitchell is featured in

blackface Blackface is the practice of performers using burned cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment. Scholarship on the origins or definition of blackface vary with some taking a glo ...

with a pimp outfit and afro wig. In the inner sleeve, she appears in blackface again with a speech bubble reading "Mooslems, Mooooslems! Heh, Heh, Heh." This reference to

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

echoes the line "While Muslims stick up Washington" in the song "Otis and Marlena", which itself refers to the 1977 Washington, D.C., attack and hostage taking that involved the Black Muslim Hanafi Movement. Mitchell's use of blackface became one of the most controversial moments of her career, widely criticised as

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

in subsequent years. On 29 April 2024, ''Don Juan's Reckless Daughter'' was given a new album cover on music streaming services. The new cover features a photo of Mitchell with a dog, an outtake from the 1985 photo sessions for the later album '' Dog Eat Dog''. A subsequent box set, ''The Asylum Albums'', and standalone physical reissue also use the new cover. No announcement was made about the change nor any official reason given, and Mitchell has not commented on the matter.

Critical reception

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' opined that "the best that can be said for ''Don Juan's Reckless Daughter'' is that it is an instructive failure," writing that "it's sapped of emotion and full of ideas that should have remained whims, melodies that should have been riffs, songs that should have been fragments." ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'' concluded that "many of the novel sounds that marked her shift to the fully electric, pop-oriented sound have gone bland for lack of detailed attention."

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians *

– vocals, guitars; piano *

– bass guitar; bongos ; cowbells * John Guerin – drums * Wayne Shorter – soprano saxophone * Alex Acuña – congas, cowbell & backing vocals ;

shakers The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, more commonly known as the Shakers, are a Millenarianism, millenarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian sect founded in England and then organized in the Unit ...

; ankle bells *

Don Alias Charles "Don" Alias (December 25, 1939 – March 28, 2006) was an American jazz percussionist. Alias was best known for playing congas and other hand drums. He was also a capable drum kit performer. He played drums on the song "Miles Runs the V ...

– bongos ; congas, claves & backing vocals ;

snare drum The snare drum (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often u ...

& sandpaper blocks ; shakers * Manolo Badrena – congas, coffee cans & lead vocal ; congas ; credited "in spirit" * Airto Moreira – surdo * Larry Carlton – electric guitar * Michel Colombier – piano * Chaka Khan – backing vocals * Glenn Frey, JD Souther – backing vocals * Michael Gibbs – orchestral arrangements and conductor *

Bobbye Hall Bobbye Jean Hall is an American percussionist who has recorded with a variety of rock, soul, blues and jazz artists, and has appeared on 20 songs that reached the top ten in the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Early career, work for ...

– credited "in spirit" * El Bwyd – "the split-tongued spirit" vocals Production * Henry Lewy, Steve Katz – production, mixing *Robert Ash – assistant engineer *Frank Laico – orchestra recording *Glen Christensen – art direction * Les Krims – artwork on Ms. Mitchell's dress * Norman Seeff – photography *Keith Williamson – photoprints

Charts

References

{{Authority control Joni Mitchell albums 1977 albums Asylum Records albums Albums recorded at A&M Studios Albums produced by Henry Lewy Albums produced by Joni Mitchell Albums recorded at CBS 30th Street Studio Jazz fusion albums by Canadian artists Jazz-rock albums Experimental music albums by Canadian artists Avant-garde jazz albums