Released in January 1974, the album saw Mitchell infusing her folk-rock style, which she developed throughout her previous five albums, with jazz inflections. A very accessible and commercially appealing album, Court and Spark was Mitchell's commercial and popular triumph—it was not only praised by critics, but was also very warmly received by the public, becoming her most successful album.
It reached No. 2 in the United States and No. 1 in Canada and eventually received a Double Platinum certification, the highest of Mitchell's career. It was voted the best album of the year for 1974 in The Village Voice Jazz & Pop Critics Poll. In 2003 it was listed at No. 113 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Tracklist:
1. "Court and Spark" 2:46
2. "Help Me" 3:22
3. "Free Man in Paris" 3:02
4. "People's Parties" 2:15
5. "Same Situation" 2:57
6. "Car on a Hill" 3:02
7. "Down to You" 5:38
8. "Just Like This Train" 4:24
9. "Raised on Robbery" 3:06
10. "Trouble Child" 4:00
11. "Twisted" (Annie Ross, Wardell Gray) 2:21
Personnel:
Joni Mitchell - Vocals, including background; acoustic guitar; piano; clavinet on "Down to You"
John Guerin - Drums and percussion
Wilton Felder - Bass
Max Bennett - Bass on "Trouble Child"
Jim Hughart - Bass on "People's Parties" and "Free Man in Paris"
Milt Holland- Chimes on "Court and Spark"
Tom Scott - Woodwinds and reeds
Chuck Findley - Trumpet on "Twisted" and "Trouble Child"
Joe Sample - Electric piano, clavinet on "Raised on Robbery".
David Crosby - Background vocals on "Free Man in Paris" and "Down to You"
Graham Nash - Background vocals on "Free Man in Paris"
Susan Webb - Background vocals on "Down to You"
Larry Carlton - Electric guitar
Wayne Perkins - Electric guitar on "Car on a Hill"
Dennis Budimir - Electric guitar on "Trouble Child"
Robbie Robertson - Electric guitar on "Raised on Robbery"
José Feliciano - Electric guitar on "Free Man in Paris"
Cheech Marin - Background voice on "Twisted"
Tommy Chong- Background voice on "Twisted"
Media Info:
Bitrate: 320 kbps
Channels: stereo
Samplerate: 44100
Encoder: LAME 3.98
MPEG-1 layer 3
*many thanks and much respect to levin and all those who care enough to share