Joni Mitchell 10: Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter

As if her contemporary jazz leanings weren’t enough of a challenge, now Joni unfurled a double album of music more experimental than anything she’d yet done. Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter tore apart song structure even farther than Hissing Of Summer Lawns did, almost daring listeners to try and keep up.

All double albums need to start with a fanfare of sorts, and this one does too. Beginning with the atmospheric guitars and wordless vocals of the “Overture”, there’s a sharp segue into “Cotton Avenue”, a fairly straightforward, snappy jazz lope. Jaco Pastorius plays bass throughout the album, and his approach dominates “Talk To Me”, which recalls parts of Hejira and includes an ill-advised chicken impression. (The recurrent 12-string has us thinking of Ralph Towner.) “Jericho” is reprised from its debut on Miles Of Aisles, given a more cohesive arrangement away from the L.A. Express.

Because it takes up all of side two, “Paprika Plains” is the centerpiece, a sixteen-minute piano improvisation with lyrics and painstakingly arranged orchestra. The first few minutes are wonderful, since we always love hearing Joni and her piano, but the final three minutes or so are a delightful resolution, when a rhythm section plus Wayne Shorter’s soprano sax joins in. Ambitious as it is, it still belongs here.

“Otis And Marlena” is more welcoming, more like the accessible Joni strums of recent albums, taking a sudden shift at the end to set up “The Tenth World”, several minutes of Latin percussion featuring vocals from Manolo Badrena of Weather Report. The percussion continues on “Dreamland”, but this time supports a better vocal arrangement from Joni herself.

Things get back to normal somewhat on the final side. The title track sports a guitar rhythm and counterpoints very close to that of “Coyote”, so much so that it almost seems like the same song. “Off Night Backstreet” does evoke a slightly urban atmosphere, and “The Silky Veils Of Ardor” is just Joni and her guitar (more than one, actually) in the same mood as the “Overture” nearly an hour earlier.

Initial reaction to Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter was less than kind, but just as with her previous “failure” (as some considered Hissing Of Summer Lawns was), there is some excellent music below the ornate wrapping. Some trimming here and there would easily have made it a stronger single album, but Joni always played by her own rules. (To wit: the original album cover included a photo of Joni in blackface as her “alter ego” Art Nouveau on the front, as well as a shot of young Joni in Native American garb on the back with a speech bubble reading “How”. When the album was remastered and reissued in 2024, new artwork was substituted with no fanfare.) Dive in and be rewarded.

Joni Mitchell Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter (1977)—3½