Description
The Joni Mitchell Record That Forever Changed the Music and Cultural Landscapes: Blue Is Considered One of the 10 Greatest Albums of All Time
1971 Landmark Reaches New Audiophile Heights on Mobile Fidelity's UltraDisc One-Step 180g 45RPM 2LP Box Set: Limited to 12,000 Numbered Copies, Includes New Liner Notes
Of the countless accolades and analyses that surround Blue, no point is more significant than the fact that the 1971 Joni Mitchell album continues to become more popular, revered, referenced, and relevant with each passing day. Such vitality is not only extremely singular; it is the ultimate measure of great art and, in the context of Blue, indisputable proof of the record's accessibility, integrity, and timelessness. If the most brilliant and everlasting music seeks to find truths shared by all of humanity, Blue can be said to be universal doctrine.
Everything about Blue sounds more intimate, involving, and inescapable on this transparent pressing, which benefits from a virtually nonexistent noise floor and superior groove definition. Mitchell's voice, positioned front and center, and primarily accompanied by minimalist acoustic guitar, piano, and dulcimer playing, comes across clearly and prominently. Suspended notes and radiant chords double as question marks, commas, and phrases. The in-the-room presence and spatial dimensionality make absolute the full-range spectrum of introspective emotions — hurt and distress, self-awareness and joy, difficulty and uncertainty, warmth and desire — Mitchell navigates, queries, and contemplates throughout the record. The defenselessness the singer once spoke about is laid bare here like never before.
The packaging of the Blue UD1S set complements its distinguished status. Housed in a deluxe slipcase, both LPs come in special foil-stamped jackets with faithful-to-the-original graphics that illuminate the splendor of the recording. This UD1S reissue exists as a curatorial artifact made for listeners who prize sound quality and production, and who desire to engage themselves in everything involved with the album, including the unforgettable cover photograph of a ruminative Mitchell shot by Tim Considine.
